10 year ban is for those who overstay their visas and get caught. What Gary's point was, was to be careful and not overstay a visa otherwise the hammer will come down on you.
Coming back as a tourist for 4-5 months after you finished on a work visa is reasonable, but it really depends on long you are coming back for and with a failed T1, they may wonder more why you are coming back and if you are trying to "sneak" in as a visitor when you actually want to stay. If you are coming back for a few weeks for a vacation, no problem. If you are coming back and your return tickets is 4-6 months later, they are going to wonder. They will then want to know how you will support yourself, where you are going to stay, make you try and prove what sort of funds you have access to and potentially try to prove that you aren't a visitor in their minds.
When in doubt, there is nothing wrong or negative with applying for a visitors visa especially if you plan to return as a visitor for an extended period of time.