On Feb 23, 8:54*pm, Karl Townsend
wrote:
I need to make a pin .25" long by .096" diameter with a 0.109 by 0.117
head. It needs to be hard so I'll make it out of a 7/64 drill bit, the
size of the head.

What's a clever way to hold this in the lathe? it would be hard to
make soft jaws go down this small. I'm thinking some sort of
collapsible bushing that I'd drill.

Karl

They do make pin vises for such things, chuck it up in that, then
center it up in the 4 jaw. And drill shanks are soft and you'll have
a hard time hardening it if the bit is HSS. Go get a piece of drill
rod the right size, the good stuff comes with heat treatment
instructions so you can get the proper hardness. You could almost
chuck the thing in an electric drill and reduce the size with a file.
There's not that much to take off. Make two while you're at it.

Stan