I'm getting on a bit
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No, and there's a very good reason not to especially if you're using a smaller lathe. When you take heavier cuts you don't remove what you dialled in because the tool is pushed back by the cutting forces. If you find you are coming up short the temptation is to make the second to last cut smaller to leave a couple of thou at the end. It's very easy to over- shoot by reducing the size of cut you're taking and therefore reducing the deflection. People blame it on a worn screw etc but really it's just the slide and post bending a bit.
If however you take a light cut, measure, set your dial to zero and remember the number you need to hit to bring it to size you can take any size cut and however many spring passes without fear of over-shooting because the cut you made before measuring was light with no tool deflection.
All above correct.
But to make this easier I do the following
Make a facing cut with your steel rule touching the toolbit this Will make it simple to get your diameter leaving a bit extra.
Then rough out and finish diameter
Then set dial to zero
Do the same for the smaller diameter and make a note of the dial reading
Put pencil line's on the saddle up against the cross-slide
Rough out to the lines finish to the dial
Every one you do will be a little bigger
So reset zero on big diameter then same reading when doing the smaller diameter
You need to be using a mic for measuring to get consistent reading's