Starting and stopping a lathe to check that the blank is perfectly round not only wastes time, but is hard on the electronics when done hundreds of times. Here’s a time-saving solution to alleviate that problem. With the lathe running touch the top of the turned blank against the bottom surface of the turning tool where shown in the photo. If the tool edge rides on the blank without chatter, you know the blank is round. If the tool bounces up and down the least amount, you know you’ve still got a few cuts to make. With a little practice, you’ll be able to feel and hear if a blank is round without having to turn the lathe off to view the surface.

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