By Al Judd
I, like others, often find a need to enlarge center holes in washers and other thin, round parts. To accomplish this, I made a magnetic holder to align the washer in the three-jaw chuck for turning.
It’s pretty easy to make the holder: First, part the head off of a 1/4” diameter by 3” bolt. Then, turn a steel slug, approximately 1-1/4” diameter by 5/16” thick, and drill and tap a center hole to match the bolt. Screw the slug securely onto the bolt threads. I applied a self-adhesive, flexible magnet to the “working” side of the slug.
Simply mount the bolt shank in a tailstock chuck, apply the washer to the magnet, and voilà – it will be held parallel to the chuck.
Simple but effective.
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