I had allready gone to your page and read everything you had on parting tools.

I got a Shars tool model that looked similar to your Aloris.

I took a 1/2" VRX endmill to cut the .625" shank to .550 for compatibility with my adaptors. My Syil mill was really rocking good, so I think the material was just too hard for it, but it got the job done, even though it beat up the endmill in the process.

I have fogbuster coolant comming for the mill, but I was running flood coolant on the lathe (I just didn't fill the tank for this precursory project).

I had welded 304 tube that I was trying to part and it was just too hard. I don't think this lathe will be doing any stainless work. I tried .002, .003, .004, .008" infeeds and everything crashed tools, made light cuts, and then gave up the ghost.

In Aluminum the new insertable .120" wide blade will slice like butter at .008"/Rev feed... It sounds like frying bacon which I heard is ideal. The finish on the aluminum is nice and smooth and straight, so I think I'm finished with the parting tool debacle.

I did have an additional problem, when I updated Mach3 to the 2.00065 lockdown, I noticed a strange deceleration in mid rapid movement that would sometimes lock up a stepper and lose steps. I installed the newer developmental upgrade, and it was the same. That was frustrating to me, and I couldn't get it to run right, so I turned off backlash comp, and don't know how it will run, but at least for now it isn't missing steps in rapid jogging.

I have no idea why that is occurring.