Confused with gouges

Brad Boyes

Member
Messages
7
Location
Baden, Ontario, Canada
I haven't started turning yet. Just building my sharpening jigs. I have 3 gouges. 1 is a roughing gouge. The other 2 are below. Can you tell me what they are and if they should be sharpened with a fingernail grind?

Thanks

HPIM1198 (800x608).jpgHPIM1197 (800x608).jpg
 
Best I can tell, the larger one is a bowl gouge with a "traditional" grind, and the smaller one is what I'd call a detail gouge.

I've not really used a traditional grind on a bowl gouge much at all, so for me, I'd probably re-grind it with more of a fingernail profile. The fingernail profile is generally considered to be a bit easier to use, and it's also more versatile...you can do several different cuts with the same gouge. Others, though, prefer the traditional grind, especially when working on the bottom of the inside of a bowl.

The profile on the detail gouge is similar to what I use, although I have the wings of mine swept back a bit farther (a bit more fingernail-ish than yours is now).

Since you're just starting, I'd suggest re-grinding the bowl gouge to have more of a fingernail profile, but I'd leave the detail gouge as-is for a while until you've used it a bit. As time goes on and you gain more experience, you can change the profiles of either gouge to fit your preferences. (And that might take several different iterations in order to find out what your preferences are.)
 
Actually, I think the one on the left is what's called a "continental gouge"(that's what I found when I did a google search trying to find the correct name for it)... I got two in my set when I first got my lathe set up... mine are 3/4" and 1" wide, very shallow, almost like a round nose scraper.... I use them with a slightly modified fingernail grind as a roughing gouge on my bowl blanks... more or less to hog off the wood and rough shape the bowl.... then switch to the regular bowl gouges.... I've seen a couple of videos made in Europe where they use them inside bowls, but it's a little tricky if the bowl is very deep...
I agree with Vaughn on the second... it looks like a detail or spindle gouge.... I have two of those also, one I've ground to a pretty nice point.. I suppose could be called a fingernail... the other is more or less flat across the end with a 10-15 degree bevel on the back side... don't use it as much since I don't do much in the spindle work... I do use the other for some detail work.
 
Don't use a continental gouge on a bowl

Conventional wisdom is not to use a roughing gouge on a bowl. I would say this holds true for beginners with a continental gouge. The tang is not strong enough to withstand the forces generated by face grain if you get a catch and could lead to soiled trousers. For an experienced turner that knows the risks and what they are doing, use whatever works for you.

Further, I would not use the spindle gouge on a bowl except for details. I would advise buying a bowl gouge before you start turning bowls.
 
I agree with the others; the smaller is either a spindle gouge or a detail spindle gouge, the larger a continental gouge.

Bowl and spindle gouges are typically made from a straight section of rod. The different names are the depth/shape of the flute milled into it.
If you go here he shows and describes the different flutes: V shape bowl, U shape bowl, spindle, detail spindle, and shallow detail spindle.
http://www.thompsonlathetools.com/

The continental gouge is formed (bent) and has a tang like a spindle roughing gouge.
Richard Raffan uses one in some of his videos with spindle work and seems to like them a lot, using larger ones in place of the spindle roughing gouge.
I agree with other to not use it on a bowl because of the tang.

This short article explains some different bevels and why.
http://www.woodturningdesign.com/askdale/14/14.shtml
 
Brad, can you post a photo of the larger gouge showing where the metal is inserted into the handle? That'll help us determine if it is indeed a bowl gouge or a spindle/continental gouge.
 
Conventional wisdom is not to use a roughing gouge on a bowl. I would say this holds true for beginners with a continental gouge. The tang is not strong enough to withstand the forces generated by face grain if you get a catch and could lead to soiled trousers. For an experienced turner that knows the risks and what they are doing, use whatever works for you.

Further, I would not use the spindle gouge on a bowl except for details. I would advise buying a bowl gouge before you start turning bowls.

I don't know if I would classify myself as an experienced turner or not... I was looking at a couple of videos awhile back and one of them was produced by a Swedish turner, don't remember his name, but he turned a rather large bowl to completion using a continental gouge... one of the reasons I reground mine with a more or less modified fingernail grind... works great and cuts very quickly on the OUTSIDE of the bowl... it's far too aggressive to use inside unless the bowl is shallow.... I have another pair of these same gouges that were factory ground like a roughing gouge, which I rarely ever use... also have a couple of deep round roughing gouges I bought from PSI... rarely use them either... I thought I would like them and watched a number of videos of good turners using them, I'm still trying to master their usage ... but I also turn very few spindle turnings other than my pepper mills... those I rough with the continental or a bowl gouge... then smooth with a skew then switch to the 60/100/120/220/320/400 grit skews.
 
...he turned a rather large bowl to completion using a continental gouge... one of the reasons I reground mine with a more or less modified fingernail grind...

I think there may be some confusion about a continental gouge vs. a bowl gouge with a continental grind. As Mike mentioned, a continental gouge is similar to a spindle roughing gouge in that it is forged and has has a square tang. Not good for bowls for the same reasons as a spindle roughing gouge. I've also seen bowl gouges (milled from round bar stock) with "continental grind" that's very similar to the profile on a continental gouge. I wonder if that's what the Swedish turner was using?
 
I think there may be some confusion about a continental gouge vs. a bowl gouge with a continental grind. As Mike mentioned, a continental gouge is similar to a spindle roughing gouge in that it is forged and has has a square tang. Not good for bowls for the same reasons as a spindle roughing gouge. I've also seen bowl gouges (milled from round bar stock) with "continental grind" that's very similar to the profile on a continental gouge. I wonder if that's what the Swedish turner was using?

Could have been, since I couldn't see the tool handle or tang...or for that matter a really good view of the tool itself... I do remember that it looked very much like the continental gouge I got with my first lathe set... it was one of those box sets that comes with the lathes... at the time it was bought, neither I nor my son who bought it as a gift for me knew anything about lathes or the tools associated with them - matter of fact, not sure if I know much more now after 10 years... I do know that the way I ground mine and I thought I was coping his, (the Swedish turner) that it's way to aggressive to reach inside a bowl with much depth to it... I tried it on a 4 or 5 inch deep bowl that I had cored out with my Woodcut coring system... when I reached in to clean the sides more, it snatched the tool and caught immediately... so it's an outside only tool for me.
 
I'm in agreement with Mr Pease. The large gouge is a spindle gouge and is used to make convex and concave designs on spindle. Bowl gouges, while may be that wide have a much deeper cove. By giving it a toenail
 
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