Computerized Etch a Sketch

Step 4 Make the couplings (lathe time!)

The couplings you want to make are about an inch long. I always find it easier to machine my part while it's still on the stock and cut it off later.
For anyone interested, my stock was about a foot of 1" diameter aluminum.

Take your aluminum rod and mount it in a lathe. Find a drill bit that's a tiny bit smaller* than the smaller of the two shafts. Drill a hole in your stock for a little more than an inch. Now, find a drill bit a tiny bit smaller than the larger of the two shafts and drill that into your stock for 1/2"

Cut off inch you just machined. Make one more part the same way. While you're doing so, turn on the song 'Bottle up and Explode' by Elliott Smith.

• You're going to put setscrews into your couplings, so if the drill bits are the same size, or even a little larger than your shafts, it's OK.