how to reduce the diameter of a 1" metal post?

can you just drill the hole to accept the 1” post? if you dont have a drill bit that big, you could stop by a local machine shop and im sure they could.

Either grind it down or return it.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I would follow cliffton’s advice. Most of the tool rests have a 1” diameter post (unless they are metric). By having the hole re-sized, you will not have trouble with any future purchases.

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

I suppose both of those are possibilities. The problem is my ignorance. I have a 6” bench grinder. Should I just work my way around the post, in the same way I might grind anything else? As far as drilling the hole larger, I wouldn’t know how to begin with that. I’ve never drilled such a large hole in iron before.

-- Glenn, Arkansas

Iron drills really easily.

Make sure you clamp it really good if you are going to drill it. Use a drill press at the lowest possible speed with a 1” drill bit.

-- Steve

i was imagining plopping the banjo on my drill press, chucking a 1” forstner, and drilling away. then it dawned upon me that i’m not dealing with wood, and that i would no longer have usable 1” forstner bit. since i don’t own a 1” twist drill, guess i’ll go the grinding route.

-- Glenn, Arkansas

with 1/32 of an inch in diameter that you have to remove, that is only 1/64” from the surface total.

I would recommend using a sander with a high grit considering the little amount of material you have to take off. I would think a grinder could cut to much into the post and make is sloppy.

You could also do something similar to the hole… turn a small dowel that will fit into the hole with a little play, spray some adhesive on it, and wrap it tightly with the paper, chuck that up into your drill press or hand drill and spin it to sand down the interior… once the hole is large enough, put another layer of sandpaper to thicken it, and go at it some more. I think this would give you a more uniform fit, and it will also prevent you from having to do it over again when you buy new tool rests.

-- San Diego, CA

interpim, were you thinking along the lines of 120 grit?

-- Glenn, Arkansas

A freind made me a couple of tool rests, to get the round bar down to size, he used an angle grinder and just took a little off all the way around, it took a little while, and a couple of tries to make sure it fit. Rather sneak up on it than to take too much off. I finished the rest off with a little emery paper. It is still snug but it is firmly in place.

-- Even a broken clock is right twice a day, unless, it moves at half speed like ....-As the Saw Turns

If you have a chuck on your lathe that can hold the rest…spin it and hold hold a grinder or piece of emery cloth steady on it…will cut it down to size fairly uniform. Other wise you will need to grind a little bit at a time or hold a piece of emery clothe on the post and spin the rest (a course cloth will remove the difference pretty quick…..Interpim had the other suggestion I would make….sanding the interior hole…you might use a round file instead of the dowel and sandpaper if you have one. Lastly, A1Jim has the other right suggestion of geting the right size if you can – or another is to order another mount that has the proper diameter hole….then you can use either rests??

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

All those ideas sound ok. I never heard of a banjo that was 31/32. All I’ve seen are 7/8 or 1” . I would open up the banjo hole. 1” tool rest are the norm now and plentiful.

-- Dudley Young USN Retired. Sebastian, Fl.

Haad the same problem with my old Craftsman. The hole is on 15/16. Got a new tool rest and just used the belt sander to bring it down to size. Works great.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

It sounds like you have the metric equivalent of a 1” hole on the banjo
1” = 25.4 mm.
Most likely the hole is 25 mm.
You should mic that before you begin grinding stuff.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I wouldn’t vouch for that 31/32” measurement. I did the best I could with calipers, but it is definitely smaller than the post by just a hair.

Bob, “mic that?”

-- Glenn, Arkansas