mandrel

or man·dril

[ man-druhl ]

noun

, Machinery.

1. a shaft or bar the end of which is inserted into a workpiece to hold it during machining.
2. a spindle on which a circular saw or grinding wheel rotates.
3. the driving spindle in the headstock of a lathe.

mandrel

/ ˈmændrəl /

noun

1. a spindle on which a workpiece is supported during machining operations
2. a shaft or arbor on which a machining tool is mounted
3. the driving spindle in the headstock of a lathe
4. a miner's pick

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandrel¹

1510–20; perhaps akin to French mandrin

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandrel¹

C16: perhaps related to French mandrin lathe

Example Sentences

In 2012, for example, police in Virginia took $17,550 from Mandrel Stuart, a Black restaurant owner pulled over for a traffic violation.

From Slate

And he designed a homemade barrel by carving spiral grooves—the rifling that makes the bullet spin—inside a metal tube using electrochemical machining, which may sound complicated, but it’s a relatively simple DIY solution to etch steel using saltwater, electricity, and copper wire twisted around a 3D-printed mandrel.

From Slate

The result has been stories such as that of Mandrel Stuart, a barbecue restaurant owner from whom Fairfax County police took $17,550 in 2012.

From Washington Post

Mandrel Stuart was pulled over because the SUV he was driving had tinted windows and a video playing in his line of sight.

From Washington Post

A central metal stick, called a mandrel, is mechanically pulled out of the rivet, with a lump on the end of the mandrel forcing the rivet to expand into the hole, before the mandrel breaks off and leaves the rivet in place.

From BBC