Love this site/forum - all of you have been so helpful on my journey in turning. Look forward to seeing the "experts" advice, etc. Watched many of your videos on YouTube too - so helpful.

In the short time that I've had a lathe (Jan 2021) I've turned about one bowl a day everyday - it's just so relaxing to go from a block of wood to a finished product! However, I've encountered a lot of cracking, checking and just recently, some warping. No matter the finish I put on, some things always seem to develop a crack. Here's my story:

1. Acquired quite a bit of aromatic cedar from a local farmer - tree was cut down about 7 years ago and has been sitting under barn roof since. First few pieces turned very easily, but after finishing and bringing into house, small cracks (hairline) started developing, mainly from knots or center. One piece even cracked about 1/8" inch on the inside rim. I've since learned that I should avoid turning with the pith in the wood if possible.

2. Have turned several pieces of kiln dried spalted maple without incident and have no cracks showing in any piece. Same with spalted pecan and Osage Orange (love this wood!)

3. Magnolia was a tough turn - tearout was fierce. Hard to get smooth finish. (again, under the barn find)

4. Eucalyptus has a nice smell and able to get really thin walls, but cracking and checking very prominent. (another under the barn find)

5. Recently found a post of Facebook Marketplace where a guy was selling Red and White Oak blanks - 6"x6"x3" kiln dried for $1 each. I bought 20 pieces and was stoked. After a day, I took all blanks to my friends shop who has a large bandsaw and rounded the blanks - finding that a lot of the blanks were actually Poplar. Took the pieces home and was super excited about turning these....in the end, got about 8 good blanks to use out of the 20. Ugh.

The next day, I noticed all of the poplar were showing massive checking and even some cracks in grain. Turned one piece and had a terrible time smoothing it. Finished with sanding sealer then with some mineral oil and let sit overnight. Came back next morning and my circle bowl was starting to look like an oval. Turned a piece of the red oak next - love the way oak looks - and next day again, starting to ovalize.

Tonight, the poplar bowl is a full oval and the top rim is wavy. Oak is same way. When I was turning another piece of poplar, I felt like I was getting sprayed with water droplets - so I'm guessing this wood is green - really green. The other two bowls are now full ovals.

Finally - Question 1: Do I NOT need to round a square blank until I am ready to turn it? Seems that whenever I do round one or many, cracks and checks are more evident, especially in cedar and poplar and some oak as well. The pieces I purchased from a retail outlet have been nothing but awesome.

Question 2: What is the forums general consensus on how to finish a bowl? Sanding sealer? Lacquer? Poly? Tung Oil? I'm getting tired of buying a different product to test only to find out it's not what I thought. I'd like to make all bowls and such food safe.

Question 3: I sand 100, 150, 220, 500 then wipe with tack cloth and finish. Between each finish coat, I lightly sand with 1000. Try to do all initial sanding on lathe spinning at 450 (lowest I can go)

Question 4: Just got a Nova G3 chuck - been cutting tenons and placing in chuck. Someone told me to make a dovetail angle, but cannot find that literature in instruction manual. Have had a few pieces come off chuck in motion when cutting tenon off - what am I doing wrong? Also, when wood is being trued between centers, making a tenon is simple - but with tailstock in the way, how would you make a recess? This stumps me to no end.

Question 5: Does lathe speed have any relation to finish or look before sanding? In other words, if I can turn speed up to say, 1200, to make final passes, will the wood finish be smoother than if I do final passes at 800?

I have a Rikon Midi 70-1218VS - bought from Highland Woodworking. Really like it but then again, can't compare to anything as this is all I've used since 8th grade! Also using carbide tools from WEN Products - square and round. Used to use 3" faceplate before the Nova G3.

Wish I could post some photos (someone said to pay a nominal fee and I could, but can't remember where to do that) In a nutshell, the woods I've turned and my "opinions:"

1. Cedar - love the way it smells - turns very easily. Some rough patches/tearout. Shows sanding marks and scrapes easily.
2. Eucalyptus - Another good smell - tight grain, turns a bit harder than cedar. Smooth finish.
3. Maple (spalted too) - Very easy to turn. Not much tearout. Finishes well too.
4. Pecan (spalted too) - Dense. Hard to work - tools must be sharp. Beautiful finish withs spalting. Did not show sanding marks.
5. Magnolia - hard wood. hard to work; a lot of tearout especially from endgrain. Very light wood weight-wise. Made a chalice from it.
6. Red Oak - hard, dense, turns well, but must rough really slow. Open grain makes hard to finish.
7. Poplar - of course, mine was green, and threw ribbons of shavings, but tool caught a lot. Easy to gouge pieces out; a lot of tearout. Dull finish.

Many thanks in advance - know that your upcoming advice, etc. will help me and other newbies too!

Brian