I bought my first Noga deburring tool 12 years ago, from McMaster Carr. Frankly, I don’t remember if I bought it because I needed it, or because I saw it in McMaster’s online catalog while searching for something else, and believed it was something I could use.
A typical deburring tool, shown above, consists of a handle and interchangeable blades or accessories. You use it, with the appropriate blade, to clean up edges and other surfaces of machined, cut, drilled, or worked-on parts.
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It basically breaks or eases sharp corners and edge by removing a small amount of material.
There are different reasons why you might want to do this. For holes, it can make it easier to insert fasteners. For rectangular materials, it can make things easier to handle. For cut materials, it can remove burrs that stick out and affect part fitment.
I like Noga because of the availability and affordability of blades and accessories, and there are different handle styles, such as one with an adjustable length blade holder.
Typical deburring tool handles allow blades to swivel, so that the blade can follow an edge without the user having to rotate the tool in their hand.
I posted about Shaviv deburring tools a few years ago, and I continue to use my Mango II deburring tool on occasion. I have a few specialty Noga deburring tools, such as countersinks that I use on tapped holes, and a sheet metal deburring tool that I use less than I thought I would.
Deburring can sometimes take the place of filing, and is cleaner too, creating chips rather than dust.
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A 3-blade or 5-blade assortment set is a good place to start, and there are also bundle, sets that give you a bunch of standard general purpose blades.
If you think it’s something you can use, you can get a handle with a couple of blades for under $15, even under $12 (plus shipping, via McMaster).
Buy Now(Noga 3-blade set via Amazon)
Buy Now(Noga heavy duty handle with 10x S10 blades via Amazon)
Buy Now(5-blade set via McMaster Carr)
Deburring blades are identified by special numbering systems, and different brands, such as Noga and Shaviv, have different systems. For instance, Shaviv’s general purpose “heavy duty” sized blade is E100, Noga’s is S10.
All my deburring tools came from industrial suppliers – McMaster Carr, Zoro, and MSC. But they’re also available at Amazon, at least certain products are.
If you find that Noga handles are too “chunky” for you, there are several brands and styles of “disposable” deburring tool handles that are more slender, such as the Noga Edge-Off. You can’t remove or change the blades on these tools.
There’s also a “universal” set with small diameter handles, but I don’t like them as much as Noga’s standard handles.
Jerry
I might add one more use for a deburring tool. To remove a sharp edge on metal for safety reasons. I keep a recurring tool next to my chop saw. A quick pass along the freshly cut edge makes for much safer handling, in particular along the bottom where you often get a hurry or curl. It only takes a second or two to rebuff the razor edge down to something much safer to handle.
mla
To @Jerry’s point, I noticed I have some sharp edges in my gutters when I was cleaning them out last. Would a deburring tool like this be a good/fast way to knock those down?
I was thinking about taking a file to them but thought it would be too much of a pain.
Jerry
If it is a burred of curled edge, yes. If it is sharp corners of jagged edges, not so much. Think running a shallow cutting plane on the edge of a board. It breaks the edge by removing a small curl of metal the way the plane would remove edge splinters off a board.
Bob
Anyone try the Husky one? It’s $7 and has a aluminum body, but still room in the body for storage. The plastic ends don’t seem durable though.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Deburring-Tool-80-531-111/304583908
Koko The Talking Ape
“There are different reasons why you might want to do this. For holes, it can make it easier to insert fasteners. For rectangular materials, it can make things easier to handle. For cut materials, it can remove burrs that stick out and affect part fitment.”
It also shows that you give a shit about your work. It makes corners visibly cleaner and more finished looking.
JoeM
Seriously? I turn 37 this month, and have been a full-time tool user since I was 9 years old… and I’m only discovering they make this tool NOW???
I’ve been rasping off sharp or uneven edges for years!! You’re telling me they MAKE A TOOL FOR THIS? Where the hell has it been all this time????
UNCLE JOE NEEDS!!!
David
Joe, they’ve been rolling the introduction of these out regionally, painfully over many years. They just came to your area a few weeks ago. You’re right on top of things!
Happy new year!
David
Armen
In addition to metalworking I use one of these for cleaning up 3D prints.
Removing support material and leftover brims is easy, but you do have to be careful with the very soft plastic — its easy to remove too much material if you dig in too hard.
Alex
I ment to post this in the roto-burr article the other day. It’s basically the same idea as what you posted except it fits in anything with a 1/4 drive.
https://www.kctoolco.com/gedore-e-8730-deburrer-bit-1-4-hex/
Stuart
I’ve meant to pick up something similar with my next McMaster order, but I always forget.
https://www.mcmaster.com/7811a18
There’s also a 2″ hex shank version:
https://www.mcmaster.com/7811a19
A W
I was at Home Depot a couple weeks ago getting some pipe clamps cut to size, and asked if they had one.
They didn’t, but I pointed out that the cutting and threading machine had a deburring function as well. It was better than nothing but wasn’t as smooth as doing it by hand however.
BobPal
Order one based on your review and used it for the first time today. Worked great. Why didn’t I know about this before?
Stuart
Glad to hear it! To be fair, they’re not everyday tools in the same sense as core power tools, hand tools, or other tools you can find at the average hardware store. I posted about it specifically because it’s a useful tool that not everyone knows about or is well familiarized with.