any ideas?

Get yourself a copy of Richard raffan's book where he shows you how to cut wood best for woodturning. Oh wait a minute that's useless advice it would cost you money LOL .Why not look it up on youtube! It is not difficult just remember not to simply stick a slice of wood on the lathe and start cutting.That would end up with a disaster as you would be cutting into endgrain pure and simple and this does not give best results.Basically when you take a blank I.E a slice of a tree trunk you need to cut it in two through the middle like dividing a pie in two equall pieces.then stand each piece of the pie upright with the flat piece of the wood on the table and draw a circle on the top piece as it sits there.Then cut them again this time so that you end up exposing the straight grain .In other words cut the slice of the wood round enough to put on the lathe which exposes the side of the wood rather than the poriginal slice look it up on the net it is not difficult although I am making a pigs ear of explaining it LOL Alistair