Texturing tool recommendations

[Brian Gustin]

Since I sometimes accidentally get nice chatter effect from my skew, I think a thicker steel or a stiffer steel would work better. Reciprocating/cut off saw blades might be the ticket.

I just use an old kitchen butter knife...

 

[William Rogers]

Thanks for the heads up! It looks like I can buy that wheel separately for another $20, not from Woodcraft though. The Craft Supply version linked earlier doesn't include the handle. Buying the handle separately is another $35-40. It comes down to maybe a few dollars difference between the sites depending on sales/shipping.

I didn't catch that. I bought mine a long time ago and it did include the handle.

 

[William Rogers]

Just to clarify I use both of my large Sorby's more than any of the others except one of my chattering tools. The big Sorby's have bearings and can take a lot of pressure without ever wearing out where the small Sorby has no bearing as it just runs on the screw shaft and I know of folks who have worn them out and I don't know how they replace them. I did a lot of learning with Nick Agar and he favored the big Sorby's and used them in ways that I had never even imagined.

Bill, don’t disagree the larger spilling tool is more robust. However I generally texture on smaller turnings and the large tool was too big for me. I bought two replacement bushing years ago, not sure where I got them. Same concern about wear. However doing a google search I cannot find them now. I “usually” put some graphite on the bushing when I use the tool. The bushing do last a long time.

He is the part number of the bushing.

 

[Bill Blasic]

William I'm not putting anyone down about what they use. Hey I use what I need when I need it, it's just that most of what I do chatter work on is bigger stuff. I wouldn't use the big ones on 3" parts that is what I have the little one for but in the same case I do not use the little one for big stuff. I've never wore out the bearing on the little one it's still like brand new I assume. Thanks for that number it is now saved if needed.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

The bushing/screw or the small Sorby I think is a special order item. Friend of mine ordered at Craft Supply and had to wait a few months till they had enough Sorby product to create the order.

A point on the Wagner it will produce spirals by turning it at 45 degree. Not as clean as the Sorby but still a nice design.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Missed this thread the first time around, but a steel wire wheel on a drill can offer a random texture pattern. It won't leave a sharp transition to the untextured parts- you may need a bit of sanding or even skew/gouge work at the transition zone if you want a sharp transition. Using it on a slightly wider wood diameter acting as a transition may help. Varying drill speed, lathe speed, applied wheel pressure, and rotating the angle of the wire wheel to the wood surface are all worth experimenting with. Wood density/hardness plays a roll as well. Experiment on scrap first.

 

[john lucas]

Wire wheel texturing is a lot of fun. You can hold the wheel in your hand (with a glove of course) and more or less scratch a pattern. Most people use it in a drill. John Jordan showed me how to sharpen the wire. Basically you run it backwards and hold it against your grinding stone. This raises a burr on each wire. I would not do that on a CBN wheel unless you treat it with the Slick Stick. I have used a disc sander to do that.

 

[John K Jordan]

I use the pointed star wheels a lot, followed by the Wagner knurling tool, considerable texturing by hand, then occasionally, spiral texturing wheels.

Texturing with pneumatic needle scaler is another effective technique for large areas but not much for fine detail. Some people would remove every steel rod and round and polish the ends - kind of like pounding a few thousand times with ball peen hammer with a tiny ball face.. Grit blasting gets popular at times - doesn't texture so much as accentuate the grain of certain woods giving a unique weathered look (if not overdone.)

My personal LEAST favorite texturing is from a chatter tool. Maybe it was a little overdone some years ago, but mostly I don't like the look as much. And as mentioned, it's mostly good on end grain. Kids like the look, especially on finger tops if color is added.

A hand-held knurling tool is great for wood that's close to cylindrical and on circular flat surfaces. And makes for some very interesting knobs when used on convex shapes (I should take a pic of one.) Anywhere a bit of extra grip is helpful. A bit harder to use on very hard woods.

Knurling is also good to make functional things easier to grip. I made this knurled collar from Dogwood, threaded to fit the lathe spindle. I like it for turning a spindle by hand for hand sanding or stippling. More comfortable than turning the threads on the lathe spindle! Good for working on wands, conductor batons, finials, etc.



I cut a recess on the other end to clear the flat on the spindle, just like on a chuck, chuck insert, or spindle adapter/extension.



I use knurling on the metal lathe too. The forces needed are far greater so instead of using a hand-held tool a special knurling tool is held firmly and allows increasing pressure. Machine tool suppliers also carry a variety of knurling wheels if someone wants to experiment with a little variety.

Knurler, Large Capacity with 6 sets of Knurls 3770

Drills 3770 0 to 2" diameter capacity; Fits standard 4-way and quick change tool posts; Three sets of diamond knurls; Three sets of straight knurls; T...

littlemachineshop.com

The best result is when the diameter of the stock is considered.
Look under Chris' Tips for info.

BTW, the other John Jordan, the famous one, used a wire wheel on wood at times.

JKJ