Bevel angle for gouge

[steve355]

Evening

These planes I’m making are starting to work really well, but I’m still not there with recreating some of the finer details. I realised my gouges (which I have very little experience with) may be sharpened incorrectly. Or at least I want to eliminate that as a reason for messing it up all the time.

So, to create a gouge cut like the one in the picture below, I presume I need an out cannel gouge? What angle should I grind the primary bevel?

Thanks

Steve

 

[johnnyb]

Really it's the same as a chisel. But these need to be really sharp high quality tools to make a cut that shines like that. Practice twisting whilst cutting.

 

[steve355]

Really it's the same as a chisel. But these need to be really sharp high quality tools to make a cut that shines like that. Practice twisting whilst cutting.

Ok, thanks Johnny.

The reason I asked is that I read somewhere (on a carving website) that they should be sharpened at 10 deg so a 25 deg scoop is easy.

 

[Adam W.]

You want about 27º.....In reality between 25º-30º and it needs to be razor sharp with a polished bevel.

The bevel burnishes the cut, which makes it shiny.

 

[johnnyb]

I find sharpening a gouge properly is quite a long winded process tbh. And I've not found any shortcuts that help other than very careful grinding on a white wheel. A tormek may work for the initial work but would groove the wheel. The real work starts after you make sure the end is flat by blunting on a flat stone. Really from that point your working to eliminate those flats without taking to much off using a rolling action concentrating solely on the bigger flats.(a washita is fairly fast here) once those flats disappear keep going as there still there rolling the whole edge. Then use a arkansas slip inside for the wire edge. Alternate a bit. Finally strop on a leather and a leather with a dowel on the inside. Then check for scratches on an endgrain cut. Scratches? then repeat.

 

[johnnyb]

At this point you can't see defects on the edge only on the end grain cut. I know Adam abhors an inside bevel but it helps if the any pits on the cañnel.

 

[Adam W.]

All an inside bevel does is increase the cutting angle of the edge.

 

[--Tom--]

As you’ll inky be using it for a pretty specific task I’d experiment with angles to find the one that performs how you want it to. I don’t know the angles on my most used gouges - but I know they’re about as good as I can get for the job I use them for.

Sharpening them is a bit more painful than straight chisels but not too bad. I found a felt wheel, loaded with compound, the best way to polish and quickly retouch the bevel. Just make sure it’s spinning away from the edge

 

[Jacob]

MDF wheel with Autosol or similar. Slow speed. The bevel on the flat, the inside on the rounded edge of the wheel. Or vice versa for in-cannel gouge. Spinning away from the edge as Tom says.
It's very fast.

 

[steve355]

Well that’s getting closer, 25 deg bevel from my pro edge and a lot of stropping. There’s even a slight “shine” on the gouge cut.

 

[Adam W.]

I use a red India for sharpening, a piece of slate for honing and a bit of leather on a stick with green compound for polishing.

The bevel needs to be like a mirror for it to burnish the wood. Yours looks more like a saw......Sorry about that. :winky:

See my "How sharp does it need to be" video............

https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/video/149/149569-e29d5f0938411e7fbebb9aec54c6ef00.mov

 

[steve355]

A saw?!

Ok I will polish it carefully. I can use my polishing wheel to get a perfect finish but won’t that just dub it over?

 

[Adam W.]

Some things just won't polish out.

 

[steve355]

Better?

Result pretty good actually.

 

[Adam W.]

What does the inside look like?

 

[steve355]

What does the inside look like?

Awful

 

[Adam W.]

Then you need to get that nice and shiny.

 

[steve355]

Then you need to get that nice and shiny.

More like it? It’s a bit dusty as I’d just been trying it out.

 

[Adam W.]

Lovely, can you shave your arm with it?

 

[johnnyb]

Looks great any scratches