Theuns,
Yes makes these with a metal lathe. I first layout, drill and tap a series of evenly spaced cross holes on the rod before cutting to length with cutoff tool in lathe and finally drilling to size as needed. I prefer to use 1/2" aluminum rod for the 3/16" or smaller drills and larger diameter 1018 CR steel rods for anything larger. Also use only the fine thread series for set screws and tighten these with the shorter length allen wrenches. Big drills require much longer stops and the set screw have to lock on the drill margin (on the land). The paper washers are just squares cut from index cards and not round. Perhaps delrin washers would be better but in most cases you should be backing off the drill just before it touches and the spinning paper washer gives an early warning.
Thanks for the feedback, Paul