3 Aug
1998
3 Aug
'98
4:56 p.m.
On Mon, 3 Aug 1998, John Lawson wrote:
[snipsnip]
A trick I have used when faced with turning rubber, neoprene, and
the like, is to fix the piece strongly to whatever spindle you are
using, (lathe, mill, 1/4" drill motor, etc) and then freeze it solid
with either liquid nitrogen or 'freeze mist' from an electronics
parts store... both substances are readily available... LN2 is much
more enviro-friendly, though... and a liter of it is wonderful fun
if you're into science-pranks and demos. I especially like the
super-conducting levitating magnets from Edmund Scientific..
At any rate, frozen rubber resembles wood and can be worked the same.
I recall one of the machinists doing that when I was a summer intern in a
machine shop whilst in high school. Seems like I took the excess LN2 and
froze a chap's sponge rubber chair cushion. It turned to dust, of course,
when he sat on it.
- don