Hi Gary,
i have a simple solution that doesn't involve using a lathe at all.
i know it's a shame to wanna use it, so it's gonna be tough to hear this...
take a large hose clamp and lightly tighten it to your cut zone,
scribe a line around the pipe until you get to the tightener.
turn the clamp and finish scribing the line
(you can blue up the pipe before you scribe ,if you wanna take the extra step)
take your favorite saw or cut off wheel
and go to town on the waste side of the pipe.
grind to where you feel comfortable and hand dress it, or all the way up to the clamp if it ain't got to be to the gnat's short hair.
but keep in mind you'll have to rotate the clamp to get the tightener out of the cut zone.
i have utilized this method for 1/2 pipe all the way up to 12" boiler tube.
has not failed.the lines are dang straight , good enough to tig weld.
i hope the method helps out
I do something similar. I have a program (Winmiter) that prints out templates for cutting fishmouths for joining tubes at angles. You just wrap the paper printout around the tube, tape it in place, and use a right angle grinder to cut to the printed line. With care, perfect every time. With the OP's situation, just wrap a sheet paper around the tube (it's self squaring), tape it in place, and cut with a right angle to the edge of the paper.
Ken
Added: http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/winmiter.html
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