I guess I'm not understanding the problem. Why couldn't an added
compressed air nozzle keep the shavings from building up?


JRJohnson wrote:
[...]
In our modern systems, the tool is a scraper, so the shavings pile up on top
of the tool shank. Once you get more than a small handful of shavings
packed in there, you cannot advance the tool, or withdraw it. So you turn
off the lathe, rotate the wood backwards enough to withdraw the tool a ways,
then turn on the lathe and run the tool backwards and forwards several times
to clear the shavings. Then you cut some more.
[...]