My South Bend certainly chatters if the surface speed is too high. Then I slap it into back gear and watch the work slowly revolve like a cement mixer.
Maybe not. You could turn the outside smooth and indicate on it. When I need to temporarily remove the work I loosen the jaws on either side of the label and then tighten only them to put it back. Usually a cut less than 0.005" deep removes metal all the way around.
[cut & paste] To be fair the guys who preferred their 5" chucks liked them better for general work, pie jaws were not discussed. Surely there must be some difference between the chuck that is thrown in with the machine and something you spend $$$s on?I really do like that $500 Bison Set-Tru, though. You could think of one as the first installment on a larger lathe.
jsw