What are "chatter marks"--and how does one, first, recognize them, and, second, have any idea about what they may show about the age of a building?

I went to a wedding yesterday, and heard a student of architecture talking about "chatter marks" on a building that let him know which part of the building had been built c. 1770, and which parts hadn't. I never did recognize the chatter marks because I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for!

Thanks for any information.

Best regards,
WW

Chatter marks are scoring or marks left by tools used to shape or finish wood or stone. Kind of like the marks left by a circular wood sander when it gets out of control and skitters across a piece of wood leaving arcs of scuffed wood behind.

And that is the sum total of my knowledge in this area WW!

It would appear that your architecture student knows how to distinguish one kind from another.

- Pfranz

Chatter marks are caused by a tool digging in, then lifting up again. When beams were made by
adzes, it was not possible to get a perfectly flat surface. Modern rotary tools should not make
noticeable chatter marks.

Ah, I think I've just gotten a chattering of understanding! Thanks, guys, for the information--and thanks to you, too, Geoff, for the PM info.

Wonder whether I'd notice any chatter marks out at the stable? It's an antebellum stable.

WW

Dear WW: do you mean your Auntie Belle M. owned it?

Dear WW: I finally remembered one of the situations in which one kind of "chatter marks"
were troublesome. My father bought a big machinist's metal working lathe because it had
gotten worn to much to do fine machine works. We made our own baseball bats on it.
It took a lot of practise to be able to hold chisels to remove wood smoothly. Held the
wrong way, they would dig in deeply, and then jump back, very rapidly, leaving a series
of mars that spoiled the look of the surface.
For Fourth of July, my father drilled out a large piece of truck axle, and made us a cannon
that you could hear for miles when we set it off down on the Common. The Hunt kids had
an admiring audience, I can assure you. Oh to be a kid again.

my father drilled out a large piece of truck axle, and made us a cannon that you could hear for miles when we set it off down on the Common...Oh to be a kid again

Oh, to be a kid with a father like that!
Mind you, we do have 5th November (Bonfire Night) round these parts, which involves a lot of similar family fun

Regarding chatter marks, I'm full of admiration for people with that sort of knowledge or vision - I mean, recognizing the type of tool used to produce a particular piece of wood (or whatever) is pretty impressive. In a way such people live in an enriched world, even if it is enriched only in a limited area.

The best of such specialists, of course, can communicate what they see - which brings us neatly back to the power of words.

Speaking of specialists, wwh, what haven't you done in this life? I ask a simple question about chatter marks, and learn that you have, among the many things you've done, made your own baseball bats from scratch, and, as if that weren't impressive enough, learned your father made a cannon from--what????!!!!--an axle, and let the thing boom off on a common.

Uncommon life, yours! I'd love to see a list of everything you and yours have made.

Best regards with utter amazement,
WW

Dear WW: you should see some of the mistakes I've made.