A passive vibration absorber, termed the nonlinear tuned vibration absorber (NLTVA), is designed for the suppression of chatter vibrations. Unlike most passive vibration absorbers proposed in the literature, the NLTVA comprises both a linear and a nonlinear restoring force. Its linear characteristics are tuned in order to optimize the stability properties of the machining operation, while its nonlinear properties are chosen in order to control the bifurcation behavior of the system and guarantee robustness of stable operation. In this study, the NLTVA is applied to turning machining.