I wonder if anyone can help, i need to reduce the diameter of a small cylindrical steel shaft by 8 thou, I dont have a lathe and wondered if i could use some form of abrasive paper whilst it turns will do the job, the motor attached to it is of high torque.
Lew you can use a lapping process whereby abrasive grit is embedded in a softer material.
Drill a hole the size of the shaft in a piece of hardwood batten and a few inches from the end, and with a saw cut a slit from the end to the hole so the slit meets the hole on a diameter. Screw a wood screw into the batten such that as it is tightened it closes the slit and thus reduces the effective diameter of the hole.
You now have a lap ! Oil the hole and charge it with abrasive - valve grinding compound is good but at a pinch you can even use household Vim ! Adjust the screw so the lap is a comfortable fit on the shaft, hold the lap so you have lots of leverage to stop it spinning and start the motor. Gently move the lap up and down the shaft making sure that you don't dwell at any point. As the abrasive does it's work tighten up the screw to reduce the diameter. You will have to recharge the lap with abrasive several times.
It is quite surprising how quickly material can be removed by this method given the right abrasive, and with a good action a very good finish can be achieved.
Andrew Mawson Bromley, Kent, UK
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