On 31 Dec 2005 11:09:42 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Gunner Asch says...

Whats the best way to make a square hole in a round piece of material,
without a broach?

I would start with the aforementioned (in two posts no less!)
'lathe as shaper' approach.

Basically bore a somewhat oversized hole in the round, and then
put the 'corners' in with a shaper-type bit in the toolpost by
stroking with the carriage.

The end result does not have to be truly, completely square, it
only has to have square corners. Boring it oversized to start
reduces the amount of material that has to be 'shaped' off
drastically.

Jim

I DO have a shaper. The drive belt busted. No biggie...$8 or so..but I
wanted to do this an alternative way.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner