Vintage wood turning gouge preparation

[PJL]

I am a complete novice to woodturning. I inherited a pine Victorian chest with turned feet but it has been sat in a floorless shed for 30 years and it needs two new feet. I have stacks of wood after a number of trees needed work, so, I went out and bought a cheap but solid lathe (Nu-Tool version of the Axminster CCL) but it came without a roughing gouge.

I stumbled across some cheap old and very heavy gouges with new turning handles (1 1/4 and about 3/4) at a flee market in Hove. They are forged steel and one is marked Slater London but unlike modern gouges, these are less than half round and the thickness tapers to the edges.

Are these too old to use? Someone has recently squared off the larger one but it now needs preparation. Should it be squared off and what angle should I grind it to?

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Assuming they are turning gouges and not carving ones, (any chance of a photo?) - roughing gouges are normally ground straight across and with a bevel angle between 45 - 60 degrees.

Regards Mick

 

[PJL]

I only paid £2 so not much lost if they are not suitable. This is the 1 1/4" and the shaft is 1/2" square.

 

[NickWelford]

That doesn't look like a turning gouge to me. More like a woodworking chisel.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Modern spindle roughing gouges are straight on the end but fo rthis one, given the width/curve of the gouge, I would put a slight curve on the end. Grind angle isn't critical, somewhere around 45° - 55° would work just fine.

Being high carbon steel as opposed to high speed steel will require more frequent sharpening but other than that, there's no reason it won't work.

 

[PJL]

Thanks, I will sharpen it and see how it goes. It's 5mm thick at the centre so I don't think it's going to break in a hurry!

 

[CHJ]

But remember it's a spindle roughing gouge, do not attempt to use it on a bowl blank where you will encounter end grain.

 

[Normancb]

How long is the handle on that gouge? If its short like a chisel handle then you have a woodcarvers gouge and I'd not use it for turning - too little tool control and not strong enough. My roughing gouge dates back to 1975 and is nothing like that one. I'm pretty sure you have a carvers gouge.

 

[KimG]

That is surely a carving chisel or a gouge, it doesn't look right for a roughing gouge does it? I mean, it should be like half a pipe not a small section, I would be very wary of putting that to a lathe, especially if you are not experienced, better to spend a few quid on a proper tool.

 

[PJL]

It has a turning handle and the 1/2" square shaft would be excessive for a carving chisel. I will round the end a bit to prevent catching and give it a very cautious try. The lathe will break before this does so the most likely problem will be that it won't keep an edge. I would guess these date from the early 1900's, about the same age as the chest.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That is surely a carving chisel or a gouge, it doesn't look right for a roughing gouge does it? I mean, it should be like half a pipe not a small section, I would be very wary of putting that to a lathe, especially if you are not experienced, better to spend a few quid on a proper tool.

I've a few old large continental pattern (shallow) gouges - they are not the same section. They look to me to be carving tools.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Out of curiosity - can you see what the maker's mark is?

 

[KimG]

It looks like a new handle though, so that might not be a guide, anyway, you have it and it's up to you if you want to use it for turning of course, but a glance at the squared off end seems to show a metal thickness of a couple of millimeters, which may well taper back to a heavier gauge, but if it was a roughing gouge it would be more like 4 or 5mm thick right through. Could just be the angle of the shot of course, a couple more showing end on, reverse side and full handle (which if it's new wont mean anything) might add some info.

 

[Stiggy]

Hi PJL!

That looks too thin for a rouging gouge.

On a side note, welcome to the forum! I live very close to you, in Lewes, and work in Ringmer - if you're passing, bring it in and ask for Dave. I'm a beginner too, but have some idea of what I'm talking about!

 

[Spindle]

Hi

I suspect this may be a turning tool due to the absence of a bolster shoulder, C 5mm thick is pretty much the norm for modern roughing gouges.

I'd be tempted to knock the handle off and make sure there is sufficient length of tang engaged - for that size of tool I'd want around 4 inches minimum. I'd expect the handle length to be at least 10 inches.

Edited to add - I've now measured the tang engagement on my Sorby roughing gouges - 3.75" on the 1.25" one - 3.25" on the .75" one

Regards Mick

 

[CHJ]

Robustness should be OK used as per a Continental style spindle gouge, could it have been an old shool green woodturning tool for use with a pole lathe, not my sphere but just a thought.

I always regard them as the nervous mans Skew and regularly use one instead of skew for spindle work on less than pure grained wood.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The club's got a little A. Isles 1/2" continental pattern that's nearly flat, it's a cracking little tool but I think I'm the only person that uses it.