What tools are these?

Roger Tulk

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St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
These were in a bin at MLCS for $10 each. I picked them up pretty quickly, as my primary mission was to bring back a couple of scrapers (I also grabbed a sharpener for bench chisels and skews, and a four prong spur centre I can use with my present lathe.) When I got home I took a closer look at them, and now I am not sure if these are spindle gouges with fingernail grinds, or bowl gouges. If they are actually bowl gouges, can I use them as spindle gouges anyway? The reason I wanted a couple of cheap spindle gouges was to try different grinds, anyway.

Thanks!

Lathetool 01.jpg Lathetool02.jpg
 
I would consider those to be bowl gouges, and yes, they can be used for spindle work. :yes: You did good for $10 each. :thumb:

Here's an article describing the primary differences between the two types of gouges:

http://www.woodturningdesign.com/askdale/14/14.shtml

And this is probably a good time to mention that although you can use a bowl gouge for spindle turning, it's generally not a good idea to use a spindle gouge on a bowl, since they typically have a thinner (and weaker) cross section than a bowl gouge. Also, never use a roughing gouge (or spindle roughing gouge, as some folks have started calling them) for bowls or any other work where the wood grain is perpendicular to the lathe bed. The tang on a roughing gouge (the part that is attached to the handle) is not designed to handle the stresses of bowl turning. Having a gouge breqak at the tang can be a very ugly thing. ;)

I also found a pretty interesting article about the evolution of the bowl gouge (and other turning tools):

http://www.customwooddesign.com/turningrevolution-3.html

We really have it made compared to some of the modern turning pioneers. ;)
 
Thanks, guys! You're right Vaughan, I did do well, as I also picked up a round nose scraper and a beading tool for the same price. I had to pay full price ($16.95) for a square end scraper. When I go to see my brother again in April, I plan to take my truck, and come back with a lathe.

I did know about not using a roughing gouge on a bowl, and not using spindle gouges either, but I wasn't sure whether that worked the other way around.

Thanks again!
 
you done good!

Roger,

Looks to be a V flute and parabolic flute with Ellsworth grinds or something similar, at least to my meager knowledge. I would definitely turn a bit with these before changing the grinds. You did very well scoring these for ten dollars each and I'm a little green! If you look up Lyle Jamieson on youtube you will find about all he uses is his own signature grind much like these, possibly just like these, I can't tell from pictures.

As a general rule turning tools made from round stock can be used to turn anything and those with a tang like a file are only for spindles. Some spindle tools are from round stock too, especially some of the really small ones. These spindle tools can be used as detail tools on bowls and hollow vessels with no issues I believe.

Hu

Edit: What is MLCS?
 
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...As a general rule turning tools made from round stock can be used to turn anything and those with a tang like a file are only for spindles. Some spindle tools are from round stock too, especially some of the really small ones. These spindle tools can be used as detail tools on bowls and hollow vessels with no issues I believe...

Very true. :thumb:

This is MLCS:

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/
 
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