Ok, I'm struggling with the methodology towards ensuring that a small faceplate I need on my pickup winder runs 'true' (true here being no/little runout on the vertical suface). This is because a guitar pickup will affix to the face plate ...& fine copper wire feeds (0.1mm) onto the pickup - ideally I'd like runout to be below 0.1mm

Previously, I made a small faceplate out of perspex (milled it on my homemade CNC) ...the centre of this faceplate mounts onto an 8mm stepper shaft - it was my first attempt & frankly it's not up to scratch. (if I piddle about with the faceplate, I can get the runout is about 0.1mm, but it's somewhat erratic!)

To give you a flavour, here's what a faceplate looks like on someone else's pickup winder (I don't need the slots that his has)...

http://www.mechanicalphilosopher.com/knight38.jpg

Here's my perspex one (note my faceplate mounts onto an 8mm stepper motor shaft)....

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/6553/14811707.jpg


Ali is obviously the most prefereable material - the face plate need to be at least 3" in diameter (I'll be buying a 3" 4 jaw independent chuck imminently, so 3" is the max I can go) - but how would I go about making a faceplate? I now have a lathe, but not the skills!


I'm thinking here that since the faceplate will ultimately mount onto an 8mm stepper shaft, that a 'donor' 8mm steel rod will feature somewhere in the methodology.


How about something along these lines....


1. Slap a bit of 3" round Ali into a 4 jaw independent chuck....centre it up.

2. Drill an 8mm hole in the centre. (this being the diameter of the stepper shaft it'll mount onto)

3. Turn down the ali to have a 'flange' on the end (say the last 20mm)

4. Part off say the last 50mm.**

5. Put a grub screw into the flange.

6. Insert the aforementioned 8mm steel rod into the part - tighten the grub screw.

7. insert the rod (with part) into the lathe chuck - face off the outer surface of the faceplate.

All being well, the part should now mount onto a stepper shaft & turn 'true' on it's vertical face.

Does this sound plausible? Is there a better/easier way?


**Never having done this.... how the %*$^ do you part off 3" dia Ali?! (the parting tools I've seen for mini lathes all look so feeble with only a small protruding cutting bit!)