On occasion I make buttons for my wife and sister. Until now I had been using a 1/8" parting tool. Today I tried something different. I used a sawzall blade in a handheld holder. For the first try I put the lathe in reverse and went at a very slow speed and used the saw's teeth. I had to slowly move the blade forward and backward to keep the teeth from filling up. The blade's set was more than enough to keep it from binding. The second try I just used the blade the same way you would use a parting tool. I had the teeth facing up so they wouldn't interfere with the rest. Both ways worked well. The buttons are less than 1 1/2" diameter so I didn't have to remove too much material. Just wondering other turner's opinions. I like the idea of not wasting wood but not at risking safety.
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Originally Posted by Alex Zeller
