• The forum upgrades have been completed. These were moderate security fixes from our software vendor and it looks like everything is working well. If you see any problems please post in the Forum Technical Support forum or email us at forum_moderator (at) aawforum.org. Thank you
  • February 2026 Turning Challenge: Cookie Jar! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Chad Eames for "Red Tines" being selected as Turning of the Week for February 23, 2026 (click here for details)
  • AAW Symposium demonstrators announced - If the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium is not on your calendar, now is the time to register. And there are discounts available if you sign up early, by Feb. 28. Early Bird pricing gives you the best rate for our 40th Anniversary Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 4–7, 2026. (There are discounts for AAW chapter members too) For more information vist the discussion thread here or the AAW registration page
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Purpose of this turning tool

A scraper with a mystery notch cut out of the bar? I can't imagine the purpose of the notch, esp. on the right side of the tool, which is away from the cutting action. What would it provide clearance from?

I did a little web searching of AMT tools, seems to be a brand from yesteryear (gone by around 1990 or so?), possibly from Japan (found the same AMT in another image, but with a different font/logo style). But I found an image of a box set of them for sale from 2011, here's a partial screenshot of that set, with your unidentified tool in the middle. So, it seems it was manufactured this way. Purpose? Unknown to me. Well, if nothing else, it's a bar of tool steel. Sharpen it and use it, and let it forever be known as the Mystery Scraper. Maybe there'll be another reference out there naming all the tools in their product line.
1000017596.jpg
 
I agree that it is a box scraper, designed to clean up the inside corner of a lidded box. I added this post only to mention that I do a lot of threading of small turned boxes and use one of these, reground to NRS, to "sneak up" on the ID of the workpiece that receives the inside threads. Because it's sharp and handy, I also use it for final surface conditioning of any surface near where the threads will be/have been cut, either ID or OD.
 
Box scraper - besides cleaning up the bottom corner it’s also good to easily make the inside circumference of an internally cylindrical box perfectly straight all the way from the lip to the bottom. I have several, one purchased, some I made, one NRS. Used horizontally, firmly flat on the rest at or just above center. Long handle helps with control. Don’t let the tip drop.

The clearance just behind the flat cutting edge prevents accidentally widening the lip. The flat at the end can help flatten the bottom if desires, grinding it NRS helps. Useful tools for beyond the bowl.
 
My first thought was that it was a threading tool, but since the thread chasers were not pictured, and that would make it obvious, so box bottom scraper. A bit big/wide for my tastes though.

robo hippy
 
Back
Top