Technical Turning rubber

Can i freeze rubber to turn it on a lathe.

 

Yes.
But are you equipped to handle and scource liquid nitrogen?

 

As soon as it warns back up the heat will catch friction. depends on how quick you are.

What are you trying to do? Custom fit a seal?

 

Turning rubber ****s unless it has a high durometer.
SHARP cutter with lots of back angle and the right speed/feed.
The guys that lag rollers for us grind the OD's.
Could rig something up in a pinch, but be prepared to deal with the dust.

 

No liquid nitrogen, so a freezer out out of the question?

 

Okay, ***ume a bushing of some type? Or is this a solid piece?

A bushing could be done with a little thought. Solid? Not likely.

 

Machining makes heat. A 70 or 80 degree difference in temperature from ambient will disappear fast.

 

In a past life, I used a grinder set up on a lathe to size rubber for puck type mounts...military contract stuff.

 

My experience has been you can depending on the density of the rubber. Recently I used a hole saw making some from hockey pucks. Years back I made some rubber body mounts from the dense rubber stuff they use in skating rink walking surfaces. Chucked a threaded rod in a lathe and with a nut squeezed them tight, high speed and walked across. No need to freeze just make sure it's tightly supported and the bit sharp, peels off like an apple skin. Soft rubber will gaul and gouge so best to test the procedure.