I hate these mini lathes....

[daved]

Of course, I have the advantage of a bigger, heavier, more powerful machine: http://www.aloris.com/index.php/pages/Carbide%20Insert%20Cut-Off%20Blade.html  Kinda spendy, but I've already managed to break a parting blade.  Little Machine Shop is a good outfit, I bought one of their value packages to get started, not a bad way to go, and the prices seem reasonable, too.  I especially like the QCTP, although I'm almost certainly going to replace it some time in the not too distant future.  I got a 100 series post expecting to get a smaller machine, it works on my 12x24, but I really should have a 200 series, it would let me use bigger tooling.  I think they also may sell an upgraded version of the module you fried, they have lots of upgrade parts for the mini-lathes.  Good luck.

Dave

[redtank]

Daved,
Cut off blades are difficult to use. I learned on a Monarch 10hp tool makers lathe which is a Cadillac quality lathe when compared to most others. When looking down at the top front of  the blade, you want something from 10 to 30° clearance ground back towards the right (outbound) side. You also want to sharpen your blade using a coarse gray wheel putting 10° clearance angle using the outer radius of the wheel. Sharpen in short 1 to 2 second intervals of time and dip the blade in cold water to keep it from turning darker than straw color. Burning the cutting edge will anneal it and ruin the steel. If you turn it blue, you have to grind that part off and start over. You only want .001 to .002 max chip load, too much and the blade will dive in and brake, to little and it will chatter like hell. Chatter can be lessened by increasing or decreasing rpm and increasing feed. Chatter happens when the blade bounces off the work piece instead of cutting. Some guys wrap clay around the blade and holder to reduce it; keep the blades end as close to the holder as possible. Nothing wrong with too small a blade, it's big that can over load your lathe. I like 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8 max. The 1/8 would only be good in delrin due to hp requirements.  Hope this helps..... here is an interesting site for info: http://smartflix.com/store/video/222/Lathe-Tool-Sharpening-and-Other-Things-Tool-Grinding-Made-Easy
Cris