I have never used my negative rake carbide cutter. I am going to turn some acrylic tomorrow. The piece is about 2" sq and 4" long. Do I start with my normal cutting tools and finish with my negative rake? Where, in relation to the center of the turning piece, so I start?

I am asking because the last time I turned a piece JUST like this one, it chipped out badly due to some areas that were much harder than others. I was using carbide tool then too. I switched back to the hardened steel cutter and it seemed to better. Maybe it was just me.

If the piece has sharp corners, you can start at one end and work from the part that’s perpendicular to the lathe bed. Come around from the end to the side, knocking off the sharp corners. 

 

Carbide cutters seem to work better when turning already rounded but you can gently finesse square ones round 

I start in just 1/8 wide at a time from one end, slowly going deeper into the piece till it spins mostly round, then move over and repeat until I get to the other end.

35 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

I start in just 1/8 wide at a time from one end, slowly going deeper into the piece till it spins mostly round, then move over and repeat until I get to the other end.

What cutting tool are. you using? Do you switch off?

1 hour ago, lew said:

If the piece has sharp corners, you can start at one end and work from the part that’s perpendicular to the lathe bed. Come around from the end to the side, knocking off the sharp corners. 

 

Carbide cutters seem to work better when turning already rounded but you can gently finesse square ones round 

Start at one end, using what cutting tool?

Just now, Ron Altier said:

Start at one end, using what cutting tool?

Most often I use an Easy Wood Tool with a Ci5-NR cutter. It’s the small diameter round one. 

3 minutes ago, Ron Altier said:

Start at one end, using what cutting tool?

 I only recently acquired Easy Woods carbide tools, and have used them to do some Corian work.  But in the past I used a HSS skew chisel and made alot of pens doing it this way.  The carbide cutter is much easier to work with and you need not sharpen it.  If you have a extra HSS skew put some tape on it and only use it for the acrylic.  This way you know you need to sharpen it.