Wearing a polishing plate - GIF

[mklotz]

Allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment.

Suppose one of your really clever students says something like this after viewing the clip...

That looks like a very clever, inventive way to get the job done. Minimum set up time, self-feeding, no expensive machinery or jigs required. If he has a bunch of rods to polish, loading the next one takes virtually no time. So, shopandmath, what is your recommended way to do this task safely yet efficiently?

(Don't say mount it in the lathe and polish there. That's fraught with as many dangers as the pictured technique.)