My attempts thus far at preparing wood for turning has been met with some failures and accidental successes, both attributed to not really understanding the nature of wood. I just watched a YouTube video (link below) that opened up my eyes to some of what I've been doing wrong and some direction on how to improve. Around 2/3rds into the video is an example of how I lost an opportunity to prepare a Mesquite log more effectively. A pic of the log with multiple branches coming out of it was posted here not long ago. Apparently it would have been better to cut the log in an opposite direction and leave what I thought was the pith. I still don't completely understand the concept but it has started me to think differently about my approach to processing wood, especially considering that I can't afford to waste it considering its scarcity around here. I would be interested to hear what others think of the video. Again, here's the link ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zQsF9UrQ5Y