Bowl gouge advice

[OldWood]

I'm pretty new to turning and would like some advice on bowl gouge sizes.

I've made a couple of quite successful chisel purchases off Ebay such that I have a 'quiver' of chisels that is in some people's eyes unnecessarily big ! But I have feeling that the two bowl gouges fall into the categories 'too big' and 'too small'.

The big one is a heavy Robert Sorby - 10mm internal (which I understand defines it as a 10mm gouge) and is over 16mm external, rounded square bar.

The small one is a Henry Taylor from 3/8" round bar with a inside dimension which, continuing the imperial measurement, is 5/32" - OK for those less than ? age, that's 9.5mm od and 4.3 id.

I haven't as yet done much with either tool, but my feeling is that I need something somewhere in between.

Many thanks in advance for your opinions

Rob

 

[CHJ]

I personally find a 3/8 (10mm) gouge to be my most used, in fact I have 4 with differing angle grinds for ease of access and bevel contact.

I have smaller and bigger but those 4 cover 80% of my "automatic pick up" tools.

Have a look at Members thoughts in the sticky help thread.

 

[Bodrighy]

Personally find that the angle that the gouge is sharpened at is more important than the size. The big one is great for big bowls etc but you could just as easily use it on smaller ones as well.The smaller one would perhaps be a bit thin to hang too far over the rest without getting chatter. As far as angle of grind is concerned it is far easier to be shown than to tell so if you can get someone to demonstrate the different angles and their uses it would help you a lot.

Pete

 

[cornucopia]

i really only use one gouge for all of my work and thats a 1/2" ashley isles gouge (5/8" external diameter) i can use this gouge for hollowing the bowls on goblets or for a 20" diameter bowl- i do have a 1/4" gouge and a 3/8" spindle gouge but i hardly ever use them.

 

[duncanh]

It depends on what you're making and how fast you want to remove wood. If you're doing bowls with a lot of overhang then larger gouges are useful but I've never felt the need to go over 1/2".
My most used gouges are 1/2" by a long margin followed 3/8". I have 3 (or is it 4 now?!) that are 1/2" from various makers all ground differently - 2 swept back and one traditional. I also have a 1/4" that hardly gets used.
As Pete says, the grind is more important than size. I use most of the gouges on a single project but if I had to choose one it would be 1/2".

If you're just starting out I'd say stick with the gouges you have and learn to make the most of them.

Duncan

 

[OldWood]

Thanks guys - the 3/8" then I stick with !! It's a pretty solid tool.

Out of interest several of you mention different grinds at the same size of gouge. Is there somewhere where I see these and get some comments on their purpose ?

Rob

 

[Jonzjob]

There are several ways to grind as has been said and if you have a look at some of these they give some info on the different methods http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f

For a long time I had done my sharpening freehand and was quite pleased with it, but I decided to lash out on a Wolverine grinding jig with the fingernail grind attachment and have been really chuffed with it! This shows it http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f

 

[CHJ]

......Out of interest several of you mention different grinds at the same size of gouge. Is there somewhere where I see these and get some comments on their purpose ?

Rob

Disregarding all the differing opinions on the benefits of how much you grind the wings (sides) of the gouge, the basic angle of the front bevel controls the approach angle of the gouge.

When reaching into the bottom of a bowl for instance a gouge with a 60-70 Deg. Bevel will be easier to maintain bevel contact.

 

[Jonzjob]

......Out of interest several of you mention different grinds at the same size of gouge. Is there somewhere where I see these and get some comments on their purpose ?

Rob

Disregarding all the differing opinions on the benefits of how much you grind the wings (sides) of the gouge, the basic angle of the front bevel controls the approach angle of the gouge.

When reaching into the bottom of a bowl for instance a gouge with a 60-70 Deg. Bevel will be easier to maintain bevel contact.

Chas, excuse me if I'm being thick here, but shouldn't the gouge be offered the other way up? i.e. with the round bit of the gouge under the gouge to give the bevel chance to control the depth of the cut??

 

[CHJ]

The sketches are shown in this orientation.

Will add this shot to the above image.

 

[robo hippy]

I prefer the bigger gouges as they just feel better in my hands, but I have always liked things bigger and heavier. Use what feels more comfortable. I have been using the Thompson gouges which are only available from Doug Thompson. They are the powder metal type. I like them as much for the steel as I do because they come without handles, and I prefer big wood handles.

As to a jig for my gouges, I haven used one in a couple of months. I took a 3 day workshop with Stewart and Allen Batty last fall, and after watching them sharpen on a tool rest in front of the grinder, I started doing it with all my gouges. If you want a swept back design, just roll the gouge more to the sides. There is a You Tube video of Mike Mahoney sharpening his gouges this way. It is really simple. The only difficult thing about it is when you change angles.

robo hippy

 

[Jonzjob]

Derrrr? Fick or wot Not you Chas!! I can see it now

RH, that's how I used to do my gouges, but now I have that jig I find it a lot easier. Mind you, that may be something to do with passing my 21st birthday now?

 

[dickm]

Derrrr? Fick or wot Not you Chas!! I can see it now

Not 'fick at all - if you stare at those pics for a while, the gouge will appear to flick from one orientation to the other and a while later, flick back. It's a well known perceptual pheme.... phene.... phenon... oh, you know what I mean.

 

[Jonzjob]

I'm glad that I ain't the only one ****!

I think that you ment phemonomen didn't you? :roll:

Well, I am leased we got that cleared up! 8)

Back on thread now.

I like the idea of a second bevel on the heel of the grind. I haven't tried it but I feel a try coming on when I do my next deepish bit..