mandrel, cylinder, usually steel, used to support a partly machined workpiece while it is being finished, or as a core around which parts may be bent or other material forged or molded. As a support during machining, the mandrel is usually slightly tapered so that when firmly pressed into a previously machined hole, a strong frictional grip between the mandrel and the wall of the hole is effected. The mandrel is mounted on fixed centres that fit in tapered holes in the ends of the mandrel, and it is rotated by an attachment driven either continuously from a power source when cylindrical surfaces are being cut on the workpiece or intermittently by hand when longitudinal grooves are being cut. To accommodate a larger range of hole sizes, a hollow expanding mandrel, having longitudinal slots and capable of expansion by a tapered plug, can be used.
In manufacturing coiled helical spring, the spring wire is wrapped around a mandrel that serves as a support; when seamless tubing is being extruded, a long mandrel forms the internal diameter.
Tool-carrying shafts are usually known as arbors, but the words mandrel and arbor are frequently used interchangeably.