is my spindle gouge dead?

[hairytoes]

I fear I may have inadvertantly murdered my spindle gouge, by using it as a bowl gouge. In fact times that by two, I've done it to two of them!

I was trying to gouge out my 1st bowl from an end grain croutch type branch with three branches coming from it (you can tell I'm new). As the wood came round again each time, it proceeded to bludgeon my poor unsuspecting spindle gouges into oblivioun! So now I use a heavier tool for the job, which is mysteriously described as a bowl gouge (dooh!).

The 2 spindle gouges will now no longer take an edge to them, have I totally ruined the tools or can I bring them back to life?
I've thought of grinding them straight across with an angle grinder & then totally reshaping them.

I hope this makes sense to those with sympathy, thanks.

 

[TEP]

Hi hairytoes, I don't think turning any kind of timber will ruin a gouge, unless you bend it #-o , but if you have just taken the edge off the tool it will soon grind back on again. No need to take the end right off, and re-sharpen.

Sorry to be the voice of doom, but sharpening turning tools properly is a art in itself, not that difficult but you do need quite a bit of practise to get them right.

If you need some advice on sharpening there are a few pages around that will help, just ask and I'm sure some one will be able to point you in the right direction. Or pick up this book .It is worth it's weight in gold to a beginner. Good luck.

PS - NEVER use a spindle gouge on a bowl!

PPS - welcome to our little bit of the web.

 

[duncanh]

PS - NEVER use a spindle gouge on a bowl!

In general I agree with this but they are the ideal tool to use when forming decorative beads/coves on bowls. They are also useful when cleaning up the area where the outer curve of the bowl meets the foot.
As long as the rest is close to the work and there is not much over hang then there isn't a problem.

NEVER use a roughing gouge though.

Duncan

 

[CHJ]

ht, are your spindle gouges High Speed Steel or just High Carbon Steel?

If HSS heating the edge when sharpening is not much of a problem as long as you don't keep quenching it in water. Quenching may produce fine cracks in the structure along the thin cutting edge.

If they are just HCS be careful not to heat the edge when sharpening as they will soften.

 

[hairytoes]

Hi. thanks for the responses.
They are HSS & yes I do quench them in water & yes I do overheat them & blue the edges.
I totally agree that sharpening is a complete nightmare, I have the BOOK & I've made the wee jig in it - still got problems!

The inside edge where the round steel bar has been ground away, seems to have been bludgeoned to oblivion & is sort of rounded over, perhaps I just need to grind past this point - but then it overheats, which is why I considered the fairly expensive solution of grinding it square & starting again.

Also both of them now seem to be more of the Golden Eagle's talon profile, rather than the desired workman's finger nail profile.

I emplore you, what is a newbie to do?

 

[CHJ]

.......
Also both of them now seem to be more of the Golden Eagle's talon profile, rather than the desired workman's finger nail profile.

I emplore you, what is a newbie to do?

First things first.
1. Make sure your grinding wheel (80-100 grit White aluminium oxide) is dressed for clean cutting and not glazed.

2. Do not put any pressure on the tool to wheel contact whilst grinding, like using abrasive paper if it is not cutting freely without pressure then it ain't right.

3. Adjust your Dwell Time in any given area of the tool, whatever jig you are using the actual form of the curve formed is down to how much time each area of the gouge is in contact with the wheel. If the nose of the tool is pointed then spend longer on the nose area until it comes back to a nice round fingernail profile.


What form of jig are you using, we may be able to give you some pointers, quite a few commercial jigs take too simplistic an approach to setup that does not take account of individual grinders and their positioning.

My very first Fingernail Jig was made to allow me to achieve a satisfactory grind until such time as I learnt some of the mechanics of grinding jig needs.

 

[hairytoes]

Nice pointers guys!!

I have the wee general purpose home made jig as advocated in the "foundation course," book. I get by ok with it in all other tools - including bowl gouges, but the fingernail on the spindles is extremely difficult for me.

I have now gotten over the blaspheming & cursing at the manufactures stage (for vending these tools in such an obviously incorrect profile) & have now accepted that I'll just need to grin(d) & bear it for a while, until I reach the required competence (if ever).

Your tips are excellent & the advice & encouragement shown to newbies & strugglers like me is very much appreciated!

 

[hairytoes]

I've had a great day today, I think I may have rescued my spindle gouges without grinding them square - so thanks for that guys!!

I just spent more time on the nose & wasn't so aggressive with the swinging action - it's no where near perfect, but believe me it's a considerable improvement.
Without tempting fate (I hope), I feel that today I've made a massive step forward. It's no coincidence that this comes a few days after posting on here - A REALLY BIG THUMBS UP TO EVERY MEMBER..CHEERS.

Just to make things better, I've also sorted out my air filtration troubles. I took the top bag off, turned it inside out & shook it all over the garden - it's now running like a dream - was obviously all clogged up with dust.

Then the wee gardener guy who works for the finca landlord next to me, came & chopped the hell out of Avacado, Orange & Almond trees - a quick word in his ear & a nice cold beer bearing the result of me having more wood than I can shake a stick at.

One very happy guy, I felt the need to share the good vibes - only a newbie can get excited like this when he works out, that he's got to clean his filters for his dust extractor to work .. :lol: .

 

[Jenx]

He heh ..... Nobody's 'born' with a huge font of knowledge HT, its all 'learn from experience', whether that be your own, or that of others... So don't feel bad ! You'll get there... Rome / Built in a day n' all !
Free wood is always a big boost ! A guy came round yesterday and gave me a big lump of a sycamore tree, and a branch of Eucalyptus... god only knows if that stuff is any good .. I don't personally know, but I guess someone does !

Sharpening is the thing that caused, and still to a degree causes, me the most difficulty, and Its the good old Spindly-Monster that I find the hardest too. -- a wee basic jig helped a lot, working on a reasonably tight budget, so its nothing fancy, but its helping.

Sounds like you've had a blindin' day ! 8) 8) 8)

 

[Bodrighy]

Free wood is always a big boost ! A guy came round yesterday and gave me a big lump of a sycamore tree, and a branch of Eucalyptus... god only knows if that stuff is any good .. I don't personally know, but I guess someone does !

I turned a fair bit of eucalyptus (english stuff) when I first started. Takes forever to dry out but in my ignorance I just made things with it. Don't know if it was luck but none of it split. Very bland colouring but easy to turn and takes shaping well, beads, coves etc.

Pete

 

[PowerTool]

I like sycamore - can be a bit bland,but works nicely and is a nice "food-safe" timber for making useable items.

And hairytoes - lots of free timber and a clean dust extractor sounds like heaven - hope you enjoy it!

Andrew

 

[davegw]

Hairy Toes - just to go back to the subject of sharpening, I went for a half day turning course at my Local woodworking centre (in Sywell, Northants) and spent some very valuable time with Brian, the instructor, showing me how to sharpen my tools - money and time very well spent and I believe saved me a fortune in blunt tools