Wood chips fly at considerable speed, and in the blink of an eye you can be left without one. Invest in good quality safety glasses (or better yet a face shield). And avoid loose clothing that could get tangled on your work.

Purchase a bench-top grinder and sharpening jig to keep your turning tools in top condition, and spend the time to learn how to sharpen properly. It’s not complicated. Alternately, purchase tools that use replaceable disposable insert cutters.

You can’t turn what you can’t see. Provide adequate overhead, or focused task lighting, on your work.

When spindle turning, rather than standing still and moving your arms, keep your arms pinned to your sides, and shift your body back and forth – you’ll find it easier to make long flowing cuts.

Be cautious of buying large tool sets. You may end up with tools you’ll rarely, if ever use. An alternative is to buy a tool, learn how to use it, and repeat. A good place to start is with a roughing gouge for turning a square piece of wood to round.