I have a dumb question

[paperdays]

I inherited a JET wood lathe from my father who is a big baseball fan. For some reason he never made a bat for himself, so I am trying to turn one for him. I set the head stock piece and turned the lathe on and it threw the piece of wood. Why did this happen and how can I make sure this does not happen again?

[aametalmaster]

Did you have a center in the tailstock to hold the blank in? Its pretty long to just be supported by the chuck...Bob

[paperdays]

Yes, I centered both of the ends and had the tailstock tightened down pretty good.