Deburring Tools Give Wicked Good Results!

Many of the tools I use on whistles cannot be bought in a store. A lot of time over the past few years has been spent inventing all kinds of clamping, cutting, grinding and shaping jigs and hold downs. Many of the knives and grinding tools have had to be searched for and altered to do specific jobs on whistle components. I have used deburring tools on whistles for some time now and they are great little gadgets for cleaning up the loose ends and removing plastic and metal burrs from pipe for a nice finished look. Resharpening these tools is possible, but I find the results are mixed no matter how carefully you hone the blade,

This is a very safe tool to use even though the blade is razor sharp. I don't recall getting a cut even on very hard to work with curves and grainy material.

Several companies make deburring tools and prices vary depending on the grade of steel and coatings on the cutters. Noga makes a very high grade blade and has a selection of over a hundred different styles of blades for inside hole and outside hole deburring. Grizzly Industrial sells a very good quality disposable deburring tool at three units for five dollars. I purchased several dozen of these because they are so inexpensive and when they are a bit too dull for working on whistles, I move them over to the wood shop to take the edges off boards.

By pulling the deburring blade down the edge of a board with the grain, you can round the edge perfectly in one pull. The fine curl of wood on a piece of oak or hardwood is fascinating to see...pull and a four or five foot curl of wood is produced.

The end of the blade has a small ball that makes the blade track on curves and keeps the blade in contact with the edge. The blade is very sharp, but it does not slip off the board or piece of pipe because the blade is curved and swivels to follow the edge. I have never had a cut on my hands from the blade in all the hours I have used this tool. Bet you can't say that about your utility knife!

The edges on silkscreen frames are usually either sharp or a bit rough from ripping the wood on the table saw. After I nail the frames together with the air nailer in a jig, I take the deburring tool and make the sharp edges into a nice smooth surface before stretching the cloth onto them. If you make anything out of wood and need a clean edge, these little tools will do a good job for you.

My good friend Boyd Bowden was by for a visit over the holidays and I was telling him how much I liked using the deburring tools on my wood projects. I knew he was a model maker (very impressive sailing ships) and usually involved in some sort of wood project, so I showed him how I was using the deburring tool in the shop. He just laughed out loud when I showed him how easy it was to smooth the edges on a board. I had several extra tools so I sent him home with three or four to try on his projects. I also warned him to try them out on scrap pieces of wood at first because, it is so much fun to use that a really good board could be scrap before you could stop trying out the tool.

I wish I had discovered these handy little gadgets when I worked on small engines. The amount of cuts from working on small engines and lawn mowers were an everyday event, because of all the small sheet metal components with rough edges.

Deburring tools work better for rounding edges on wood than the special English tools made for that purpose and sold for a much higher price. None of the companies making deburring tools mentions they will work on wood, but trust me they do a great job. Try one on the next birdhouse you build. I'm sure you will have fun with this tool.