What lathe attachment do I need?

[Dabbler]

+1 to everything said above... One quick addition: If your material has some mass to it, say 1/2" steel, and the RPMs are high (if you are cutting with Carbide, for instance), then ensure your stands /tube/supports are tied down. The rotation generates a tremendous energy, and if something goes wrong, it unleashes unexpectedly. A friend with 30 years exp had his stand thrown a few feet (fortunately away from him) when the 1/2" rod bent!

 

[tjb]

+1 to everything said above... One quick addition: If your material has some mass to it, say 1/2" steel, and the RPMs are high (if you are cutting with Carbide, for instance), then ensure your stands /tube/supports are tied down. The rotation generates a tremendous energy, and if something goes wrong, it unleashes unexpectedly. A friend with 30 years exp had his stand thrown a few feet (fortunately away from him) when the 1/2" rod bent!

I totally agree. Here's a section from my post #23:

I have rarely work with anything longer than about 2 or 2 and a half feet, but several weeks ago, I had a longer piece of 1/2" stock in the lathe. I was facing the end when all of a sudden, the lathe starts wobbling and making a racket that sounded like a helicopter about to lift off. I slammed the lathe emergency button and went around to the outboard side. The stock had bent to 45 degrees about a foot out from the end. Luckily, nothing (and no one) was in the path of destruction when the flailing began, but now I'm a little gun shy. To me, this is a win-win: Getting some wise counsel from experts on how to avoid a catastrophe, and a learning exercise on how to make a useful lathe attachment.