I have to thank you guys.

wrote:

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired wrote:


Why not us a cutoff tool on your lathe instead of a band saw?

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired

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Dear Dan,

Turning 'between centers' means the work-piece is supported by a
pointed, cone-shaped center at each end, driven by a 'dog' that grips
the work-piece and hooks into a slot in the face-plate.

A cut-off tool is a narrow cutting tool having negative draft, allowing
you to cut a deep slot into the work-piece, effectively slicing it in
two.

If the work were supported entirely by the chuck, or by the chuck and a
steady-rest, you might use a cut-off tool. But when the work is
supported between centers, using a cut-off tool means you've just cut
off one end of your support.

-R.S.Hoover

I have used lathes before and know what a cut off tool is. I was
thinking of supporting the work with a steady rest leaving two pulleys
in position to be cut off, then moving the rest and repeating.

I should have been more clear.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired wrote:

I was
thinking of supporting the work with a steady rest leaving two pulleys
in position to be cut off, then moving the rest and repeating.

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That would work, assuming your chuck was accurate enough. My three-jaw
isn't that accurate (which is why I do a lot work between centers) and
setting up a long piece of bar-stock in the four-jaw can be a bit of a
bother. But I wouldn't be able to get as many slices since the steady
-rest would not allow me to work as close to the dog. (My steady-rest
is home-made and kinda big.) Plus, it would be a bit more work (at
least, for me).

The last time I made pulleys I spent about an hour to produce twenty
pulley-grooved 'slices' from a hunka 3" bar stock about 16" long.
After being sliced on the bandsaw the cartwheels went into a drawer, to
be drilled & faced as needed, often by one of the kids using a 'baby'
lathe.

-Bob