Hey Kevin - we have probably all been there so don't feel like the lone ranger.

Take a look at the video section on this site to find several excellent videos that I am sure will help you along.

Most of all - have fun and Stay Safe!

I would suggest a spindle ROUGHING gouge should not be used in bowl making process.  Richard Raffan has made probably many thousand bowls using a spindle gouge, sometimes in conjunction with bowl gouge, ON THE OUTSIDE.  His books and videos, I think best used together, are wonderful for education and for inspiration.

Kevin Campbell wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2016 at 7:52pm:

I have participated in a couple of week long work shops with Richard Raffin, in his hands the 1/2" spindle gouge is very effective on the outside of the bowl and is superior to a bowl gouge for shaping the tenon.
He always stated that spindle gouge and a Spindle Roughing gouge are not to be confused, and Roughing gouges were dangerous for bowl blanks.
Richard grinds his gouges to allow him to safely execute cuts on the project at hand. Since working with him again this year the biggest take away from his tutilage is an increased confidence in sharpening, using only a platform and freehand, light touch on the CBN often, and cutting is much more enjoyable with razor sharp gouge.

For me, it was a mistake to try to make "keeper" bowls on my first tries.  Someone trying to learn to cook doesn't make a meal for the in-laws on their first time in the kitchen.  Kids trying to learn a new sport aren't thrown into a game before hours of practice.

I'd suggest you get practice wood and make ten practice bowls that are meant to be learning opportunities, not "keeper" bowls.  Ideal practice wood is green if you know an arborist, have a cooperative public service department in your neighborhood, or find decent sized trimmings along power lines.  But this requires that you have and are proficient with a chain saw and have some idea how to orient bowl blanks in a log or large branch.  Option 2 is someone in your area with a band saw mill that cuts logs into slabs and will sell you one, hopefully green.  Option 3 is a 3" or 4" thick poplar slab from a hardwood lumber dealer in your area.  Option 4 is an untreated cedar 4x4 or southern yellow pine (syp) 2x6 from a lumber yard or big box store.

The first 3 or 4 bowls are just to get some confidence and muscle memory moving the tools and sharpening.  For the remainder, try to identify some design before beginning and try to produce it, but don't worry if it doesn't turn out exactly as intended, or the design has to be modified during turning.  Happens to me regularly.