first bowl gouge question

[Nigel Tracy]

Hi all,

I've only turned legs and pens so far but am teetering on the edge of the bowl turning vortex....

Long story short I was gifted a nice Sorby 3/8" bowl gouge with a fingernail grind recently by a turner friend (I think it was his way of pushing me over that edge I'm teetering on).

It's basically a new tool. After reading various "first bowl gouge" posts here I've read many times the response "get a cheap set first--there are some not so bad ones out there--and learn to sharpen on them instead of a $100 tool."

I'd say I'm fairly proficient at freehand sharpening of spindle gouges and skews.

My question is, with said Sorby gouge in hand, should I just go for it? or is that fingernail grind something I should practise on a cheaper tool?

Thanks!

(bowl blank drying questions to follow...)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nigel - I have always been of the opinion that you work with what you have. If you were planning to buy another bowl gouge - then, yes, pick a cheaper model to learn on. The PSI tools are good HSS and about as cheap as you can get.

Other thing is that most of us sharpen with the aid of a system to maintain the swept back grind. I use the Wolverine system with the vari-grind attachment and it takes very little time to touch up the edge of the gouge.

[Steve LeGrue]

Actually, FWW did an analysis of steels in turning tools, and all the ones they tested were HSS except the PSI tools. Don't buy junk. The 3/8" Sorby tool (1/2" bar diameter) is what I give all my students. You don't usually need a bigger tool unless you are working farther off the rest and require the rigidity of a 5/8" bar.

Steve

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hé Nigel get the Wolverine sharpening set, it will give you a good way to keep your tool sharpened the right way and not grind away more steel than needed, with a setup like that you'll have years of use from a good quality tool, and be able to use the Wolverine set for your other tools as well, as I say, Quality hurt but once, cheap every time you have to use it :eek:

[Wilbur Pan]

After reading various "first bowl gouge" posts here I've read many times the response "get a cheap set first--there are some not so bad ones out there--and learn to sharpen on them instead of a $100 tool."

This is really a woodturning urban myth. Consider this (lifted/adapted from the Thompson Tools website):

The cost to learn on a good tool is low when you break it down.

The cost of a high quality 1/2" bowl gouge is $50.

Useable flute length is about 4 inches, which makes the cost $12.50 per inch

It can be ground say 50 times per inch. Cost $0.25 per grind.

Make a huge mistake and lose a 1/4 inch. Cost $3.12

Compare that to something else that turners use all the time: sandpaper. ONE 2 inch disk is $0.20.

If you go through, say 6 grits sanding (120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400), that's $1.20 in sandpaper. Go through three sets, and that's more than the cost of a 1/4" grinding mistake. And having made grinding mistakes myself, I can say that you'll probably lose much less than 1/4" of your tool if you screw up.

So go ahead and use a quality tool and don't worry about "training" with the cheapie tools. I started off with Thompson tools, and don't regret it one bit. Especially since I can do a bowl start to finish, only sharpening twice: once for a final finishing pass on the outside, once for a final finishing pass on the inside. You won't be able to do that with the cheapie gouges.

[Doug Thompson]

Nigel, I second the advice to get the Wolverine and vari-grind... this one purchase will last forever and once learned you'll never have a dull tool. The Sorby is perfect to learn on ( the price was right) and will last a long time even with a few grinding mistakes. One bowl gouge is enough to turn a bowl beginning to end including the foot so don't buy anything else until you see a need for another tool... your tool rack won't be impressive but you don't need a bunch of tools you don't use.