Yes its normal to call the offset equal to the tool number.
I wouldnt bother personally about using the Z home as your master as Z changes every job you do so if you say have Tool 1 with no Z offsets and all other tools referenced to that you can then set the Z of the stock with that tool and all the rest will be correct in relation.

Hood

Thanks so much for the speedy responses. I am going to try it some more right now.

I have tried exactly your steps and get some strange responses. At times it seems like my dros dont reset and have offsets longer than my machine. I am still baffled why a G54 X0 Z0 F10 will act differently with different tools. Sometimes it appears 10ipm, others 3-4? When I see that my tool is about to pass or crash into my stock when verifying whether the tool table set up was successful my Smoothstepper throws up some fault (after I have pressed esc)

Can you attach your xml and also zip and attach the full macro folder of the profile you are using as something definitely is not right.
Hood

Hood, here are the files (I hope). Let me know what other info I need to provide. Again, Thanks so much.

It didnt get the XML?

Maybe this time?

I would personally get rid of the M6End macro as it may be the source of some of your issues.
Also I note you have set X offsets for a few tools but Z offsets are all Zero.
Hood

Hood, Thanks for the review and tips. What is an M6End do? Is there any negative to getting rid of it? I have tried the tool setting quite a few times and get varied responses. Though I think I am following yours and Rich's tutorials (I have tried both ways and they may be the same?,but written or understood differently). I am still very puzzled as to why my axis go different speeds with different tools but the command is the same (G54 Z0 X0 F8). Also trying to do exactly what your instructions said one of my X axis offsets was in the 9" range! Not Z, X. My X limit is 4 or so. I was touching the diameter of a .3115 piece of stock. I tried it quite a few times attempting withand or without pressing enter, with or without pressing "part X or Z" and using only the touch button. I get seemingly odd and misunderstood behavior though I feel like I have read enough to at least get the 2nd tool to also touch my stock in the general area (I expect .001's but would be very happy within an inch or so in the beginning). Tool 1 always seems to behave correctly ;-)

The M6End macro is for Mills as far as I understand, the standard Turn M6End macro has the following in it
REM nothing here in lathe

in other words its not used. Likely you can use it but what it is doing in your setup is actually moving the axis in a tool change which could potentially be dangerous in a lathe, also it may be the cause of the feedrate issues as it is writing to the DROs I think.
Hood