A number of woodturners have told me to stay away from oak and softwoods for turning: oak because it cracks so easily; softwoods because of uninteresting wood patterns.
I had initially heeded this advice and avoided oak. After all, there are many other woods to work with. However, this summer I received as a surprise gift a piece of an oak trunk that came from a tree cut down on Columbia Street in Chapel Hill, discovered and lugged to my office by a coworker during her lunch break. So, recently I turned it into a bowl (image 1); and was pleasantly surprised not only by the fact that cracking was not a problem, but also by the interesting and to me novel wood patterns that emerged. And how interesting and nice to hear my 14 year-old daughter spontaneously state, that this was her favorite wood of the (seventeen) ones I have turned so far.
As for softwoods: WGNC’s Chris Boerner has shown that beautiful pieces can be created from pine (images 2 and 3). I recently turned Himalayan cedar (deodara cedar) and found it to be quite an interesting and worthwhile wood to work with (image 4).
My summary: I will not avoid oak and softwoods any more. And furthermore – and not a new revelation to many, I am sure: Probably every wood is worthwhile turning and exploring.