Go-To bowl gouge - what is it.

[Matt Mackinnon]

I know that every turner is different, and there are a number of different gouges sold. I am however curious as to what is your go-to gouge for turning bowls? Or is it, that the turning process requires a number of different grinds/size that there is not just one, but a set that you seem to always use?


I understand that turning the sides is easier to turn with a finger (or Ellsworth) grind, where along the bottom you'd need a much steeper angle for your bevel. But how does the size of the gouge play into it? Do you use a 5/8" for hogging off the material, and a 1/2" for finishing? Do you find that you use a different grind for each process or is there a magical gouge that seems to do it all?

I guess I am trying to gather how many different gouges do you regularly use?


Matt.

[Thom Sturgill]

Looks like i get to go first.

I use a 1/2" V for most work (inside and out) with a 3/8" V often at hand for starting. I would use the 3/8" more but for vibration when doing the inside and being too far off the tool rest. For tha treason I often find myself progressing 'through the ranks' to my largest gouge (a 5/8" V) if it is a large bowl 4" deep or deeper. This also depends on the shape and how well my tool rest gets me to the bottom.

I have not come to terms with the conventional grind in the transitional area and across the bottom, and tend to use a scraper in sheer cut mode there. To tell the truth, which size I start with and use the most depends on how the wood responds, but I like the smaller gouges.

[Reed Gray]

Just about any gouge will work on the outside of the bowl. There is nothing that will interfere with the handle and shaft of the gouge. The inside is different. Just about any gouge will work down the walls of the bowl, but getting through the transition and across the bottom is another story. The flatter the form is (like more plate like) the easier this is to do. The steeper the walls are, the more difficult this is to do. Mostly the handle and shaft of the gouge will have contact issues with the rim of the bowl. Here is where you need the blunt angles on the nose of your gouge. Many will use a 60 degree bevel. Here, I prefer a more open flute design, and almost no sweep to the wings of the gouge. Roll over on the side of the gouge rather than flutes straight up. I prefer the fluteless gouges from Doug Thompson here, or his V (which is more open than other V gouges), or his U gouges. I feel that the steeper the V, the more suited that type of flute design is suited to dropping your handle and shear cutting with the wing. This is more difficult to do on the inside of the bowl as again, the tool rest, rim of the bowl, and bed of the lathe can get in the way. On the inside, I do prefer to cut with my handles more level. I used to use the swept back design a lot, but now seldom use it at all. Again, this is in part because I like to turn with my handles more level rather than dropped.

I have a couple of clips up on You Tube if you type in robo hippy.

robo hippy

[charlie knighton]

interesting thread.....i like what Thom and Reed have said.....i have i guess its a 3/8 crown that i normally grab.....would look to replace it with DT but, i have plenty of steel left.....i do many more hf than bowls....like to finish the outside with straight edge chisel, inside with elbo tool

[Richard Jones]

5/8" DT U for most of the work, and a 5/8" Sorby converted to a bottom feeder for certain applications. Have another 5/8" Sorby converted to a shear scraper, if needed.

Lately, I find myself using the 5/8" U for most of the interior, then switching to a big DT 1 3/8" scraper (round nose) for completing the remainder of the interior, then a Hunter #4 for finishing up near the rim. A lot depends upon the wood.

I also use the 5/8" DT for roughing work. It would have to be my go-to bowl gouge.

Rich

[Fred Belknap]

Use a 1/2" D-Way most but I like the 5/8" for the inside on larger bowls and ones where the tool overhangs the rest quite a bit.

[Dennis Ford]

I mostly use 1/2" dia. shank gouges with a swept back grind. Some brands call these 1/2" gouges and others call them 3/8" gouges. I have a couple of 5/8" dia. gouges, one is swept back the other has a conventional grind @ 65 degrees or so. I sometimes use a 3/8" DT U profile with a conventional grind (70 deg.) on the inside.

[Harry Robinette]

My 5/8"V DT for 18" and below,Over that my 3/4" V DT and I do all my finish cuts with the same size but in the U flute.

[Chip Sutherland]

Mine are a 5/8 Crown and 1/2 Sorby both have Irish grinds and U profiles. Definitely replacing both soon after 6 years of service.

[Rick Markham]

I love my 5/8" V from Doug, It's pretty much all I have ever used for the insides of bowls, It just works for me. I have the 5/8 U too... come to think of it, that needs to get reground into a conventional grind, such as Reed described. (Good thinking Reed) I've been meaning to do it for awhile now, since I'm building my shop I should just sit down and do it. Reshaping on the Tormek sucks... Which reminds me I need to get a CBN wheel and grinder...:D Oh and a 3/4" V from Doug would probably be my favorite if I had one...Gonna have to add that to the list too now! I need to stop coming here, but I don't think that would help! LOL

[Ted Calver]

1/2" & 5/8" from Jerry Glaser and a 3/4"U from DT. They all have an Irish grind.

[Ken Glass]

Anything Doug Thompson makes.......... Doug's gouges never let me down. Favorite would be the 1/2" U with a fingernail grind.

[Reed Gray]

Actually, another favorite gouge of mine for the transition and bottom of bowls is an old Oneway spindle/detain gouge with a ) nose profile. Easy to get a steep shear angle. I had thought about a 3/4 inch bowl gouge, but prefer scrapers for roughing. 1 to 1 1/4 wide, 3/8 thick. Most people just don't know how to use them for roughing.

robo hippy

[Scott Hackler]

My "goto" is a 3/8" Sorby (1/2" equiv in the US). I have a bunch of Dougs tools and like them a lot. His steel stays sharper twice as long as the Sorby, but for what ever reason the gouge I reach for the most is the first bowl gouge I ever bought...the 3/8 UK (1/2 USA)" Sorby. But having said that, I recently got a 1/2" U from Doug and have been using that one more regularly too. The V's don't cut the same as I am used to with the Sorby's but the U seems to be closer. Maybe it's just a mental thing.

[John Beaver]

I prefer more of a "u" flute then a "v" flute. I have a selection of 5/8", 1/2", and 3/8" gouges with grinds of 45, 60 and 75 degrees.

Generally, for me, the larger the vessel the larger the gouge. The different angles are to accommodate the interior curves primarily.

If I had to pick one it would be a 1/2" 60 degree.

[John Keeton]

I like Doug's gouges, and in the past, it was a Thompson 1/2"V, but I now prefer a D-Way 1/2 gouge with swept back wings and ground at 42*. I don't do many bowls, but I have a Thompson 1/2"U, ground at 60* for a bottom feeder. I am sure I am an anomaly, but I use 42* for everything except the bottom feeder - bowl gouges, spindle gouges, detail gouges. I have become used to that and it sure simplifies the sharpening process!

[charlie knighton]

interesting thread.....i like what Thom and Reed have said.....i have i guess its a 3/8 crown that i normally grab.....would look to replace it with DT but, i have plenty of steel left.....i do many more hf than bowls....like to finish the outside with straight edge chisel, inside with elbo tool

i might add that i use Kirk DeHeer's jigs on my wolverine...... my 3/8 crown at 50 degrees, pretty forgiving, my DT shallow detail gouge is at 40 degrees thanks to Kirk Deheer's jigs

see American Woodturner winter 2006 vol 21, #4 page 32 Sharpening Demystified

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I've been using Dave's D-Way Tools 5- /8 and 1/2 gouges - since I discovered a few years ago that good tools do make a difference. The polished parabolic flute just works for me. I also use his grind. On most open forms, the 1/2" will get me from rim to center very smoothly. After the rim and top 10% is established, steeper forms get a modified traditional grind (sort of a midpoint between a full traditional grind and a 40/40 grind (more like a 50/30) either 1/2" or 5/8" depending on the size of the piece and how far off the rest I've got to go.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

If I had to pick only 1 gouge, it would be my Oneway 1/2" double ended. Okay, that is actually 2 gouges, but 1 end is swept and the other is not, for the bottoms.

[Lloyd Butler]

All my bowl gouges except 1 are sharpened pretty much the same and they are all the same flute shape except that odd ball.

I start of with the 5/8" and then move down to the 1/2" and then on to a 1/4" for light rim details. They are all tighter U shapes, but not V's with a short swept back wing.

The odd ball is a more open broad U that is now too short for my jig, so I have converted it to the gouge for the bottom transition in bowls. I am still getting use to the "odd" presentation angle compared to the other gouges as it is sharpened with a more traditional grind by hand.

I keep them the same so that I know the way they are going to cut when they are presented to the wood.

I have used other shaped tools, and they cut fine, but just feel odd in the presentation to the wood.

Lloyd