I'm CraigB, I don't own a lathe yet.
I did some turning at school and it was fun, you seem to get reasonable results in a short space of time with little experience and not a very high outlay in purchasing the machinery.
I think for under $5000 you could purchase a reasonable lathe and a handy set of chisels and have a completed bowl or box in a matter of hours with very little tuition or experience.
That amount of money for cabinet tools would not go very far and for a beginner the initial results would be quite ordinary.
The good turners do spectacular work, the rest just have fun I think.
When I get a lathe it will be for fun and to turn legs and decorative parts for cabinets etc.
When rejuvenating an old wooden chisel or screwdriver handle, it is spectacular how quickly you can get an acceptable finish when you sand and wax it in bench drill. To get a similar finish on a flat piece would take hours whereas on the drill it takes minutes. The turners seem to get it a bit easier when it comes to finishing.
It annoys me when people find out you are into woodwork and assume you are a turner. When you tell them you don't own a lathe, they knowingly nod their heads and assume you wish you could afford a lathe so you can be a real woodworker.:((
