On 4/9/2011 12:28 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:

So I guess the real question is: should I be able to do this with a form
tool, assuming enough rigidity in my lathe?


My Dad used to do the inverse of this when making the wheels for wooden
toy cars. He ground a form cutter with a tire like profile, mounted it
on the arm of a fly cutter in a drill press, cut the profile on one side
of the workpiece, flipped the workpiece, cut the profile on the opposite
side, then finished cutting the wheel out with a hole saw. I see no
reason why you couldn't profile the end of a .75" bar with a form tool.

Kevin Gallimore