lathe work isn't smooth

There are a thousand things that could be wrong. You didn't give nearly enough information. The RPM you choose is based on the type of material you're cutting, the type of tool you're using, and the diameter of your part.

Does you tool have a radius on the end? Is it carbide, or HSS? What is your feed rate? How rigid is your set up? How are you holding it? How long is your part?

and also tool height,shape and did you hone the edge with a stone or very fine 400+ paper to get all the little scratches off it. The will be transmitted to the cut if you don't hone your tool.

Thats about 20, someone else add the 980 other things that could be wrong. :)

John

Go to Ebay and buy a copy of "How to run a Lathe". They often sell for about $10. If you like reading, get a couple of Lindsay books (reprints from the

1920's and 1930's) on running machine tools.

Go Here:

This is a pretty complete tutorial!!!!!

As other posters have said, give us more particulars.

Pete Stanaitis

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