OK more progress made. I believe my biggest issue was SPEED, pure and simple RPMs. I recently got the dual speed pulley bushed up and installed correctly and I have determined that the slower speed there and the bottom 2 speeds on the flat belt work the best for the steel I am cutting. I can speed up to the highest flat belt speed when I done and take a "polishing" cut and its fine. I may or may not have the correct motor pulley, but I can tell now that for most of the things I want to have the ability to do low speed will be used. I do wonder how I am going to use the live center when I have to work close to it with this new tool post. It seems as tho I will have to allow the cutting tool to protrude more that I am currently doing, although I may be overdoing it with my closeness to the toolpost. How far out is too far out? I really need a machinery's handbook, how much better is the new one vs an older copy?
Thanks again for all the help!
Jason
Jason,
To answer your questions in reverse order, I have a 12th edition and two 21st editions. I don't know what the current edition is up to now but would expect it to have at least some stuff that just doesn't apply to your older manual machine. So from personal experience, I can say pretty much any edition between 12 and 21 should be fine for use with your lathe.
I assume that you have an AXA size QCTP. The 101 or 102 holders that are the most commonly used have four set screws. In most of mine, I have two 3/8" square cutters mounted, one usable for turning and one for facing. Except that in one, I have a 90 deg, "V" cutter mounted (in place of a facing one) that I use for routine beveling and chamferring. They are all arranged such that each cutter occupies one half of the slot. I would say that is the minimum (or maximum extension). For working near the live center, what I do is rotate the TP 90 deg. CW, mount the turning cutter as though it were going to be used for facing, and hang it on the right side of the TP. That usually gives adequate clearance unless the part diameter is very small. In that case, you can use something like an AL6 brazed carbide cutter and work toward the tailstock instead of toward the headstock.
On cutting speeds, your first step should be to determine what speeds your machine actually does with the pulleys that you have. Make a speed chart for the machine. Then in whatever edition of Machinery's Handbook you acquire, find the tables of recommended cutting speeds versus materials. And the cross-reference table from surface speed to RPM at different diameters. In the 21st Edition, the speeds versus materials charts start on page 1759. And the RPM tables on 1790. Note that you can usually safely use the HSS figures with carbide cutters but not vice versa. Also, most of the entries give surface speeds for two or more hardness ranges. If you don't know the hardness, start with the speed for the hardest which will be the slowest. If that works OK, try your next faster speed and so on until it doesn't work so well, and then slow back down a notch.
But don't get stuck on using the same RPM on all diameters of the same material just because its that material. The best RPM for turning a 1/2" diameter steel rod will be much too fast for 2".