Drill a thru hole the size of the carbide rod near the end of a piece of bar stock, which will be used as the shank of the boring bar. Mill the end of the bar stock back until about 75% of the hole remains.

Stake the pre-split carbide in place with a center punch, silver solder the assembly then grind about 5 degrees relief and clearance into the carbide. These sturdy cutters can be used as boring bars, undercutting tools and single flute key cutters.

Frequently bearings, gears, cams etc. need to be mounted near the center of long shafts. One easy way to remove material from a slightly oversize shaft (and save a lot of sandpaper) is to spin the shaft in a lathe and use an angle head die grinder mounted with a sanding disk to size the shaft.

One way to close down a slightly oversize reamed hole is to construct a tool-steel punch with a 60-degree (30 degrees per side) circular beveled edge on one end. The diameter of the punch should be an 1/8" larger than the dowel size and have a slip-fit hole reamed into the end of the punch to provide alignment over the dowel pin. The punch should be hardened and drawn to about 60 RC. One whack of a hammer using this punch over a loose dowel pin should close down the hole and tighten the pin nicely.