metal lathe cutters

[oklahoma red]

Much good discussion going on inre Scotties call for help on lathe issues. Hand held wood lathe tools offer a lot of versatility in their styles, grinds and techniques of rolling them around and jacking the handles up and down. I will soon be diving off into the realm of cutting on a metal lathe once I get my Logan up to speed.
So, could the users of the big iron post some close-up pics of their favorite cutting bits with a brief description of their specific purpose?
Different world here since the bits are locked in a tool holder and you only have two axis movement. Do you achieve similar results with these cutters in terms of finish as you do with razor sharp wood lathe tools?
This leads me ask if, generally speaking, most of you are performing your boring and rough shaping with the metal lathe then installing some sort of rest and doing the finish shaping with hand held tools? Other posts have indicated that not many are coordinated enough to crank two wheels at the same time (Etch-a-Sketch).
How are you doing say the straight cylinder walls of a poker shape, all with the metal lathe or a combo with the finish being done hand held?
The basic question is are there metal lathe bit configurations that will yield a finish equal to wood lathe tools?
Thanks in advance,
Chas.

[W.Pastuch]

I would say you can get just as good a finish, or even better, since you have much more rigidity and precision in the cut. Also, once you learn to apply a steady movement to the cranks you get also a more precise cut speed, which also contributes to a nice finish.
I learnt to shape on the metal lathe and I find it quite easy to get the shape I want (almost!) with a coordinated movement along the axes. Sometimes I refine the shape by hand turning, whenever I'm almost there, but I want to get say a nicer curve.
You can make any cutter shape you want (even e.g. the entire upper part of a billiard) if you want, you just buy the right blank size and grind it the way you need, always making it very sharp.

[meathod]

I rough out as best I can with the metal cutters. Then I put a piece of square steel in the cutter holder and set it up like a rest for using hand tools. I like the freedom I get with hand tools. I would say that both leave an equally nice finish.

Make sure to ramp up the speed of your lathe to maximum, this will really improve the finish. But I'm sure you know this already.