Wobble the tool as you plunge in making the kerf just a skoosh larger than the tool I don't know why parting tools are not all wedge shaped Seems a consistent design flaw that never gets worked out. Maybe it's a trade off so the used doesn't have to re position the support?
Could be price -- paying for steel that is then ground away, at an extra cost for the perfect, nit-picky grinding. Hoping the D-Way thin parting tool is under my tree this year. Also, there are uses for a perfectly flat, V-shaped parting tool that aren't amenable to the diamond-shape or even slightly tapered such as Dave's. I've been thinking for awhile now about getting a bedan such as Owen linked to, would serve the same purpose (squaring up a shoulder, for instance).
No, not a parting tool, but forming tenons that are square to the shoulder. (as needed by a Talon-type chuck -- not dovetail)
For parting off I like the thin Sorby parting tool, it cuts very well with the double points and takes very little wood at 2mm thick, the other one with the groove on the bottom I do not like as, using it on cast or soft steel, it cut into it, not a point if you have the hardened rod on the toolrest.
Barry, thanks much for posting that link -- that demo was very much like the one I attended a few weeks ago, except that in the local demo he made a "winged" bowl (bowl off center within a frame of thin, flat wood). The video you posted will really helps me remember the different tool presentations he showed, and some detail about the 40/40 grind. With regard to the diamond PT, although I have two of them, I've always found the square ones to work much better, quite possibly because of the "extra" burrs. I'd just about give my eye teeth to take a Batty workshop.
One trick for helping a back that gets sore from standing still--put some sort of a box or flat chunk of wood under your lathe near where you're going to stand. Then put your foot up on it, like you're about to step up on the stairs--it flattens your back and feels better. In a while, switch to the other foot. Then back to the first foot. It's very important that whatever you use stays put and does not pose a tripping risk. The height or thickness of the step should be customized to whatever proves most comfortable. In the olden days when standing for hours while remaining quite still was a periodic part of my work, my top half would be rock steady, while my bottom half was practically peddling a bicycle.
John, it's about that far in my shop from the lathe to the laptop, which broadcasts my Pandora music stream. It really does help to take that short walk periodically -- we were not meant to stand in one place and use basically one position for long periods of time! So a new song or unfamiliar but interesting musician is a great excuse to take a little walk and click on ThumbsUp.
