For years, I have searched for the perfect egg. Years ago, I thought I had the answer. An article in a club newsletter gave a formula where the length was 1.29 times the diameter. However, my eggs seems short. So, I researched where that formula came from. I found where. It comes from people using mechanical drawing to draw the “perfect” egg. However, I realized that their “perfect” came from what they could draw.

A trip to the refrigerator for a flat of large free-range eggs and my caliper showed that nothing in that flat complied with that ratio. In reality, my average was closer to 1.39 times the diameter with a lot of variation. I went another step and figured out how to stretch my formula. It was all a waste of time.

My process now is to:

1. Turn a cylinder and measure the diameter.
2. Mark the big end of the egg.
3. Mark one half the diameter to indicate the transition from big end to small end.
4. Calculate 1.39 times the diameter. -This is the longest I will turn but shorter is okay too.
5. Turn the big end using an adapted octagon method.
6. Wing it (chicken wing?) for the small end.

This leaves the small end with a rough nub on the end. The question now is how to finish the end. Three choices include:

1. Sand the rough end preferably with a sanding pad.
2. Use a doughnut chuck to hold the egg to the lathe.
3. Use a special egg chuck such as in my video
   Woodturn Simple Egg Chuck From PVC Fitting

I am ready for spring.

Enjoy!