by Arkay » Tue May 20, 2014 2:29 pm
The same simple but very well working trick is used for centering the cutting steel in a lathe. The only difference being that the ruler or any small, thin sheet of straight metal here is placed vertically between the steel tip and the round shaft. Now the steel is moved slowly towards the shaft until the tip ( or the cutting edge ) touches the vertically held ruler ( or any other small thin piece of straight metal ). If the steel is centered correctly , the metal sheet will be clamped really 90 degrees between the steel and the shaft. If the steel sits too high, the upper part of the sheet will point inward, towards the center of the chuck. If it sits too low, the lower part will point to the chuck center.
regards,
Arkay