My first SuperSoft Jaw movie was a good example for thin parts. But it neglected to show another strength - securely holding on to delicate objects for light machine work. I've brought along Tormach's good friend Ed as a special guest star for this movie. Ed is a tinkerer and inventor here in Madison. He's been involved in small CNC machines for since the 80's and actually did the majority of the design work for the SuperSoft Jaw product - taking it from an off-the-wall idea to a useful hardware kit. Ed kept mentioning that he could use SuperSoft Jaws to firmly hold an egg in the vise, so I asked him come over and show us how it was done. The "Egg machining" portion of the video, however, is completely self indulgent. The long version of the clip below shows how the setup is done:
From very limited experience, I can tell you that the best way to cut Egg Shell is High RPMs and slow speeds - I had best luck with our Kress companion spindle kit. And if you plan to use a Right-handed endmill to scramble, run the Spindle CCW. That'll keep the egg inside the shell - it kind of works like an immersion blender. Here's the last two minutes of the movie again. Straight to the Punchline, for those who like to skip to the back of the book. Home Shop machinist Pass Along Tips: Speaking of Creative Workholding, I just received this Pass Along tip from Village Press in my mailbox today: Using PVC Pipe as a Stop for Facing Operations If you aren't already getting these, its free to sign up. You can sign up here to get on the mail list. Its a great source for learning about those clever machinist tricks that nobody ever tells you about.
