lathe operation question time.
I have a very small lathe (sherline, 17" bed)
I need to turn some "longer" items in it between centers. What are some suggested methods to actually locate the center of the rods and then support them correctly to center drill the ends?
The far end can be supported with a steady rest, but if it's not perfectly centered, even trying to center drill it will result in more of a donut shaped groove than a hole.
geometrically locating the center of the stock and centerpunching it, then lining it up with a livecenter and trying to setup the steady rest doesn't work in the item isn't perfectly round, and lots of plastics aren't. If the were, then just replacing the live center with a center drill would work as the next step.
So what are the normal procedures for this?