Wooden Ratchet Noise Maker

Here is a wooden ratchet noisemaker I made, also known as a "gragger" when used during the Jewish holiday of Purim. For mine, I used a few scrap pieces of 3/4 inch thick oak, a 1/2 inch wood dowel (less than 6 inches worth), a piece of 1 1/4 inch dowel for the handle (about 5 inches long), and some 3/16 inch dowel for the wooden pegs. I also used two 1 1/2 inch 8-32 machine screws with washers and bolts.

For tools, I used a table saw, a miter saw and a drill press.

Step 1 The gear

I decided to make a gear with 8 teeth. I used a 2 1/4 inch hole saw to give myself a gear a little larger than 2 inches in diameter. First, I drew the pencil lines; it was easy to layout with a combination square. Then I ran the hole saw into the center of the pencil marks, just deep enough to mark out the circle. Now I can drill the smaller holes where the pencil lines cross the circle I just cut. For this gear, I used a 5/8 inch spade bit.

Now I can put the hole saw back on the drill press and finish cutting the circle. Perfect gear! Next, you need to enlarge the center hole to the size of the dowel that will be running through it.

Comments

[stephenniall]

 I would've Thought  you would've used a router for the hear  But your way is very Simple .. I like it

[um7kay]

my woodshop teacher loved it!!

[Vagn Rosell]

If you want to make it 'double noisy', you can add an ekstra gear and stiff board, - symphony orchestra style - with the gear wheels slightly offset.

[Eric Hart]

Wow, that would be pretty loud. I wonder how many stiff boards you can get on one and still have it work?

[Vagn Rosell]

As many as you like... I think the best wood for the stiffboard would be ahs (e.g. from an old garden tool handle if not otherwise available). Its durable, bends well without cracking, and beeing a "soundwood" (commonly used for electric guitar and bass-bodies) it would make a louder, - mayby more 'musical' or pleasing sound than the very hard and stiff oak. =o)

[Serpentine]

Dude! I'm Jewish, so I've seen and used many graggers before, and by far this looks the best. I love the design, it's much better than any one I have used before. The design looks really original, and it probably makes a sufficient noise. I'd love to use this at Purim this year. xD (In case anyone is interested, gragger is pronounced grogger)

[thepelton]

You could use it in a bar when requesting more rum, and be grogging for grog. LOL. Couldn't resist that one!

[SWV1787]

In the verse in Alice in wonderland referring to Tweedledee and Tweedledum loosing their "rattle" this is what they were referring to.

[bustedit]

i think originally something like this was used by watchmen or the police as an alarm

[somebullcrap]

i had heard the little metal toy ones originated from WWI and was an alarm for mustard gas .but i'd bet the chinese had made something like it long before then

[blah12344321]

yea they were gas alarms

[Bongmaster]

also known as a clacker and used in football matches by fans to cheer on the team ;)

[doommeister]

Aye, looks like a football rattle to me. Sweet, don't see these too often at a game anymore.

[luvit]

i'm making one for a bar mitzvah. i hope no one minds.

[lemonie]

Really nicely presented. These things were used in the UK for making noise at football (soccer) matches, whether or not they were introduced by Jewish immigrants I couldn't say. But the British designs usually had a square-cam, if I remember it correctly. L

[thepelton]

Neat! I wanna make some. One for myself, and some others for sale. Would using it be "Gragging"?

[Tool Using Animal]

I'm a sucker for a good looking woodworking project, and that gear is fabulous.

[theRIAA]

amazing woodwork and pictures. This looks like a very fun thing to build. Is the peg-type design your own?

[Eric Hart]

Yes, I pretty much made up this design as I went along, with some research images as a general guide for proportions. I've seen pegs used in a number of wooden automaton toys. I started by using one to hold the gear to the handle axle because I was worried glue might eventually wear out, and a nail or brad might split the gear. I liked the look so much I just continued using pegs through the rest of the project.