Thompson 5/8" U Grind

[Mary Thompson]

Would a Thompson (no relation) 5/8" U profile gouge be a good one to grind with a traditonal grind a beveled for use on the bottom of large diameter (10" and bigger)bowls?

[Richard Madison]

Probably yes. The 5/8 seemed a bit too large for me, and I would favor the 1/2".

[Thom Sturgill]

I bought one and ground a secondary bevel (I do that on most bowl gouges) to use it for the middle third of the bowl. This is the transitional portion where you change from end grain cutting to face grain. Should work well for the bottom too, but I've not turned enough bowls yet to be that good a judge. However a conventional grind, with or without a secondary bevel, is best for the bottom portion according to my mentors.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use a P & N gouge with a conventional grind for the transition and bottom. I bought one of those rather than grind up my Thompson's.

[Terry Gerros]

Yes. That is what I use as it has plenty of heft reaching over the tool rest.

[Mary Thompson]

Many thanks for the replies. My concern was how the more open "U" would work on the bottom third as compared to more of a "V" profile. This being said, the gouge would then be ground at 65 deg.(?) with minimal sweeping back?

[Doug Thompson]

There are a hundred ways to grind a U shape flute, generally this tool works well with a push cut because of the large nose radius...

[Richard Madison]

Mary, The 5/8 U that I tried was more of a C shape, which I did not feel comfortable with in that size. Doug very graciously traded me for a 5/8 V. Meanwhile I do plan to get the 1/2" U, and will request a straight conical (traditional?) grind at 60 degrees when the time comes. Just need to add a few more dollars to the tool budget. The 1/2 U will replace a very short 5/8 Sorby V which is almost a U. This tool is used for scraping and shear scraping, inside and outside, usually with a pull cut.

[Ryan Baker]

I use my Thompson 5/8" U gouge for exactly that purpose, and it works great. The large size is important since you will frequently be hanging quite far over the rest when using it. Mine is ground at a very steep 80-85 degrees with a minimal sweep back.

[Doug Thompson]

Mary, if you buy a tool I'll put your name on it at no charge.
:D:D:D:D

[Gary Conklin]

Slick there Doug!!:):eek::):eek:

[David Peebles]

Mary, if you buy a tool I'll put your name on it at no charge.
:D:D:D:D

Now that's funny :)

Dave

[Terry Gerros]

Doug,

Well I have to agree with Dave....cute. Mary..buy the tool, you won't regret it.
Terry