Not long ago I was making a wheel guard for my little Sanford surface grinder, starting with a big slug of aluminum.

I'd turned down the back side and the mounting sleeve, and was getting ready to reduce the outside diameter of the piece when I thought about those long sharp ribbons that would come off when I turned it on the lathe, so I knew I'd want to take off some bulk on the band saw:

This time, though I made the relief cuts I'd ordinarily use to cut the diameter, and then it occurred to me that I could go directly to the lathe from this point.

I was able to take really deep cuts with ease, and let the chips fall where they might:

I have no idea if this is any kind of standard working procedure, but I was pleased with the result:

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