Try a bit of solid lube or oil on it, and also honing the end of the
cutting tool helps to eliminate BUE (Built up Edge) which is whats
happening. Minor imperfections, can make stock build up on the cutting
tool edge which then scares or drags the turned surface. Are you
useing HSS or carbide? Carbide likes a higher speed and feed than HSS
does.

Some hot rolled steels are horrible to g et a decent finish on, so it
can take a bit of practice and experimenting with speeds. feeds, lube,
depth of cuts, and one other thing that helps is just grind a slight
radius on the cutting tools tip, and hone it, often makes the
difference.

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:22:49 -0500, "Damian Huckle"
wrote:
Hi guys,

I've just set up a Victor 16 x 40 lathe and did some practice turning on a
2" hot-rolled mild steel round. No matter what variables I played with I
never got a satisfactory surface finish. The tooling seemed to pick-up or
drag metal, and this would lead to small gouges in the finish. I tried
various things, but never could eliminate it consistently.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Damian


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