"Tom Gardner" mars@tacks wrote in message
...
We use 2" x .049 wall tube cut 4" and deburred. We also use three shorter
lengths but in small quantities. I usually get 200' and send it out. For
the short lengths, we cut the tube on a bandsaw then deburr each end,
inner and outer, in a lathe.

Would it work if I slide 1' pieces onto a mandrel in the lathe and used a
pizza cutter type wheel in the cross slide to part the tube? Kind of like
a pipe cutter.

You could use your lathe as a pipe drive I suppose with a regular pipe
cutter. A pipe drive is basically just a big lathe chuck with a couple stop
posts to keep the tubing cutter from spinning instead of cutting. I made
thousands of cuts with one when I was growing up and helping out in my dad's
hardware store. I don't think the cutter wheel would work by itself, but no
reason you couldn't use the whole tubing/pipe cutter. If your lathe will
feed 2" pipe I'm sure there is room for the cutter.

Alternatively if you just wanted to play and get creative...

How about an eccentric drive power hacksaw with a guide mounted on your
lathe? I use a hand powered hacksaw on the lathe sometimes.