Hi John

Don't know what you intend parting, although I've never put catcher tubs under part offs, mine tend to stay between the parting tool and the tail stock centre at the point of break, but then I go steady when the cutting tone drops just prior to break off.

Don't forget you may not be able to wind your cuts in as vigorously as you did with the larger machines.

enjoy

For washers and other hollow objects I do as advised above, for solid parts I put a piece of cardboard with a slight U shape underneath to catch the parted off part.

Thor

The nastiest experience I have had parting off is the item jamming between a chuck jaw and a way of the bed. Biggish bang and a sudden stop.

Since then I have always tried to find a way of catching the part when it separates. However using a hand or centre in tail stock is out of the question (hand and lathe too valuable). A hacksaw has been used for the final separation when convenient with a wood block beneath to stop the saw blade from hitting the bed.

JA

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My parting off has been totally transformed from a regular disaster to total success since I changed to a decent tool holder.

I must have the world record of broken parting tools and ruined parts being parted off. – All this changed overnight.!

I tend now not to 'pussy-foot' about with the feed when parting but use lots of lubricant when doing so.

The new tool holder goes to prove that one of the main requirements for parting off is "Ridgidity, ridgitity, ridgidity.!

Nick

Thats Three main requirements Nick !!

Since my apprenticeship days ,we always used to catch hold of longer rods as they were parted off,it was shop practice,and as we were making instrument parts and damage to the part was frowned on as it meant more polishing,later on ,damage to the employee was not thought about,small parts were caught in a tobacco tin which had a few holes in the bottom to drain the slurry. Fifty years later I still do it on long parts,small parts with holes are caught on a screwdriver or land on the swarf between the bed ways which acts as a cushion.Parting off in those days was all high speed toolbits laboriously ground to shape but they worked better as they had more side clearance,speed was usually half normal turning speed, All apprentices did their 6 month turn on the Ward capstan, sometimes parting off a couple of thousand parts a week,for the first hour or so in winter the slurry was freezing cold,and it rotted our shoes,One thing do not hold hexagon bar when parting off ,if your hand is near the tool post it really hurts.Keep the tool blade as short as possible,non working slides locked,speed lower,on the capstan parting tools were usually on the front and form tools to the rear,and don't break the blade when the turret is fed forward,On the Boxford parting off was done from the front (no rear tool post) and with four way tool post,which is better for holding tools rigid but nowadays prefer the Dixon tool holders as it makes turning so much easier, particularly on one offs ,at work batches were up to 200 hundred so the time to shim up the tools in the four way was lost. One other comment is if the job is to be sawed off after parting most of the way then remove the rod from the lathe and saw it off in the vice.