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minding my V's and U's - which one?

Mark Kosmowski

Mark Kosmowski

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Central (upstate) NY
If you could only have one bowl gouge and it had to be a 3/8" Thompson, would it be a V or a U profile and why?

Let's throw in that this will be for a first-time bowl makers (me, but also I am sure that Ned would help play too).
 
Have you read the FAQ?
Thompson Lathe Tools-FAQ

What size turning you are do? The Thompson tool is American standard, the size of the tool is the actual diameter of the steel.
The British gouge uses a different measuring standard by the width of the flute. An European 3/8" BG is the same diameter as the ½" US standard.
 
Boy, that's a tough one. I've got a 5/8" V and a 1/2" U, and both are good for their own situations. I guess if I had to limit it to one, I'd go with the U, and immediately start saving my lunch money for the V.

Another personal preference would be to go with a 1/2" instead of a 3/8". I have a 3/8" cryo gouge from Packard's and it's quite a bit more flexy than the 1/2" Thompson.

And I heartily endorse Randy Privett's Monster handles. You can get one handle that will fit a 1/2" gouge on one end, and a 3/8" (or 5/8") on the other.
 
I like the V shaped gouges, I find the smaller nose if easier to use and the longer wings, can be more useful for some things.

I'd have to go with the 1/2" V shaped gouge.

Cheers!
 
For a bowl gouge, I'd go for the V groove. The inside edge is what does the cutting so a V provide a smaller radius, which makes it easier to hollow out the bottom of a bowl (using a Irish style grind).
 
Ok, if I decide I can squeeze out enough to get two Thompson bowl gouges, obviously it should be one U and one V. Should I get varied sizes? What size to which groove?

I'm going to be starting with small pieces. I think my lathe only has a 10" swing anyway (the Delta ShopMaster midi lathe). And a new lathe is definitely not in the budget anytime soon.
 
Mark I had the same questions you did. I went with the 1/2" V and the 1/2" U. I haven't been sorry with either one. The V is good for hogging wood and the U for me is better for finishing.
 
Your lathe swings 10 inches so a 1/2 inch diameter gouge will handle anything. One of the two gouges has to be a 1/2V and the other could be a 1/2U or 3/8V
 
Ok, so the best choice is one of each, 1/2". Thanks!

Doug - don't sell out of these guys in the next couple weeks. Well, I guess it would be ok if my order was the last one, but otherwise ... :rofl:

For making my own handles, where do you all get your ferrules? (Is that the right word for the metal compression thingee that holds the bit properly in the handle?)
 
Doug - after you ship out the order I just placed (1/2", 1 each V and U) you can go on vacation for the rest of the summer and enjoy the good weather.

Thanks! :wave: :rofl:

I think I'll be making maple handles. Maple is rather plentiful in the Kosmowski household right now. I have a piece of limb that checked in a quarterly fashion that should be just about right to make 4 handles out of. Is it best to remove the bark before turning or can the bark just be turned off?
 
They showed up today!

Good thing I got started on handle making yesterday. I haven't gotten that far though. All I got done yesterday was stock selection - ~26" - gives me room to nip off the ends.

log.jpg

Then I very carefully ripped the stock to size, making sure to use the right tool for the right job.

splitting.jpg

Then I noticed that the gouges showed up today. I can't tell whether or not Doug sent me what I ordered since the packaging is still proving to be daunting. Not to be dismayed, I figured that Doug sent the right stuff - I got two somethings in there at any rate - and decided to start roughing some handles. This is as far as I got done tonight.

rough.handle.jpg

I'm going to rough both of them at low speed before kicking things up for final forming. I figure that I will put the "beefiest" handle on the V gouge, leaving the wimpier handle for the U gouge. I'll go get some copper pipe adapters for ferrules. While roughing the first one, the bark "caught" and hit me square in the chest as one piece. Didn't hurt, but was pretty startling. Took me a few secs to figure out what happened.

More pics once they're ready to be used (assuming I figure out how to open the shipping container :doh: :huh: :dunno: ).
 
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Mark,
Although you can turn it off, it is usually a good idea to remove any large chunks of bark which will readily come off.
I use a cheap chisel for this.
The main reason is that bark is pretty quick to dull your tools (as well as the flinch factor when a piece comes at you).
Cheers,
Kurt
 
I got the other one roughed and started working on finish cuts for smoothness Tuesday - no pics yet - will propably do a quick before and after finish application. Didn't do any more work yesterday, but I did notice that I apparently supported my local economy by buying gouges from Doug - he gets his steel from Crucible Materials Corp., which has a major operation in nearby Syracue, NY. Quick, everyone order some more gouges from Doug to help me and Ned out here, ok? :wave:
 
Ok, I had to kill some time while waiting for my finish to dry (Bush Oil, a local commercial blend of 1/3 each BLO, tung oil and urethane) so I took some pics while the finish was still wet on the lathe.

V.handle.wet.finish.jpg

V.handle.wet.finish2.jpg

This is going to be the handle for the V gouge - it is the chunk of wood in the previous pic. I wanted a simple form. The slight concave section near the end opposite the tool end is definitely a feature that will let me know by feel where my hand is relative to the butt of the handle. Likewise, the sharp concave bit is a feature that will let me know by feel that I am a little past the halfway mark of the handle. I'm just glad that I didn't decide to add more features, otherwise I might not be this far along, have a long toothpick or both.

And yes, I know that this handle is far beefier than needed for the lathe I have. Maybe it will be worthy of Bill's Robust at Five Barns.

Hope you don't mind all of the in-progress pics!
 
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Mark Kosmowski said:
And yes, I know that this handle is far beefier than needed for the lathe I have. Maybe it will be worthy of Bill's Robust at Five Barns.

Hope you don't mind all of the in-progress pics!
Click to expand...

Or maybe beefy enough for your lathe upgrade....you know it will happen.:p
And no we don't mind in-progress pics.
 
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