I make predator calls. I turn on a small variable speed rikon. I sharpen with a 4x36 belt sander. Unless you spend the money on jigs for sharpening. I would not spend much money on chisels until you learn to sharpen.
I've started messing with pots a little. I prefer turning on an expanding mandrel held by a collect chuck at the headstock. Collet chuck from PSI and mandrels from Enco(I think). There are lots of ways to skin this cat. If your interested in making duck and the like barreled calls a collet check and expanding mandrel may be the way to go.
My recommend is get the lathe you can afford, chisels, some kind of chuck), and something to sharpen with. I prefer sharpening on the belt sander, as I stated before. Its probably the cheapest method but requires some touch. A medium fine stone works good for touching up skews and parting tools no matter what you main system is. PSI makes some great stuff at really good prices. Their 4 jaw baracuda sets are probably the best deal going. Same with their collet chuck. Their chisels are fine too. 3/4" roughing gouge, 3/8" spindle gouge, 1/2" skew, and 1/8" parting tool ought get you started. Or a pre arranged set. I would look for a lathe with a #2 morse tapper on head and tail stocks. 1in 8 spindle. Most tooling is made available for this configuration.
A little extra. A saw for rip cuts to take 2"ish stock to striker size may be nice.
Eddie Castalin on You Tube can teach you a lot about turning and finishing. As many of your first issues will be turning related. If you have an issue regarding turning stuff, his channel will likely help. He is kinda funny too so its not boring to watch. He covers a wide variety of sharpening, sanding, turning, and finishing topics.
PSI link
http://www.pennstateind.com/Here is a call I made recently. Black cherry burl open reed.
