How to make a pickup winding faceplate that runs 'true'

[BillTodd]

You should be able to bore and face in one operation.

Face the plate. Drill the hole to 7 or 7.5mm then ream or bore it to 8.0mm - boring will give you a straight hole at right angles to the face. (if you haven't a boring bar just grind and old drill bit)

Trying to face a 75mm plate mounted on a 8mm bar with a grub-screw sounds like a recipe for failure to me.

[HankMcSpank]

You should be able to bore and face in one operation.

Face the plate. Drill the hole to 7 or 7.5mm then ream or bore it to 8.0mm - boring will give you a straight hole at right angles to the face. (if you haven't a boring bar just grind and old drill bit)

Trying to face a 75mm plate mounted on a 8mm bar with a grub-screw sounds like a recipe for failure to me.

Lol...fair enough (I was anticipating that the hole would be extremely 'neat'...but nevertheless, I'll take your experience as my lead!)

Let's say I've a lump of 3" diameter in my chuck - I face it, bore it....how do I part the piece off? Do parting tools for mini lathes handle 3" dia material ok? (or would it just be easier to buy in the right length in the first place!)

PS I like the idea of using an old drill bit as a boring bar - off to Google!