Project Information
Chatter tools are a type of turning that can put a decorative "chatter" pattern on the end grain of turned objects. In November and December I made many turned boxes. While doing research on box turning I saw lots of boxes with chatter. I'm not sure if I like the look or not, but I wanted to check it out and like anything else learning to get good looking chatter takes some practice. Since I like making tools I researched chatter tools on the web and found several sites with instructions. I followed one by Gary Webster. I'm not much of a machinist, but drilling and tapping 3/8" galvanized pipe wasn't very difficult. The blades are made from 1/2" band saw blades. One is concave and one is convex the tip. I'm going to experiment with other bits of steel for blades such as jig saw blades. It seems that lathe speed and the density of the wood affect the chatter pattern too. The 3rd photo is one of the early tests showing chatter on walnut. The handles are white oak about 10" long and about 1.25" in diameter at the thickest part. Finished with a simple home made beeswax & maple oil concoction.
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