I woke up this morning thinking about your predicament and it occurred to me that with my wood lathe, I could try chucking a bolt and drilling a hole through the center. The largest bolt I could find laying around was 3/8 but it worked pretty well.
I used my pin jaws to hold the bolt and started with a center drill bit.
After getting the pilot, I then switched to a twist bit.
I actually chose a drill bit that was too large for the inner thread dimension of a 3/8 bolt and before I broke through the bottom, the bolt turn into a spring but otherwise it worked very well. Just a little cutting oil and about 200 RPM. Note that both the center drill bit and the twist bit are cheap Harbor Freight purchases. The center drill bit makes it easier to get it started in the center without it walking or the twist bit flexing. I think that if I had used a smaller bit to leave a thicker wall, it would have worked perfectly.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
