Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:

Would a surform rasp or similar have any use on the lathe? I was
wondering if it would be handy for those "chippy" or wrong-way grain
turning projects that really don't want a whole lot of material to be
removed at once.

It could be useful, but not in the way you're thinking. When
roughing a square piece, I will use a rasp to take off the hard
corners, before actually turning. My headstock locks, so I will
use that to hold the piece, take the rasp to the corner, unlock,
turn 45 degrees, knock off the next corner, etc. A sureform would
work just as well for this. At any rate, it does make roughing out
a piece a bit easier.