Which size gouge for 'bottom of the bowl' standard grind?

[Allan Wright]

I have a good fingernail grind bowl gouge. I'm thinking I need to add a second bowl gouge for bottom of the bowl work. I'm thinking standard grind, secondary heel bevel. What size would you all recommend for this type of work? I'm thinking something on the larger size since for bottom of the bowl use it may be hanging out a bit more in some cases.

[Harold Wright]

I use a 3/4 Bottom Bowl Gouge from Doug Thompson. Works great.

[Dennis Ford]

I have a 5/8" Henry Taylor and a 3/8" Thompson "U". The "U" profile is better for this grind and the larger shaft is good for medium to large bowls. The Henry Taylor gouge works but is not ideal.

[Thomas Canfield]

I bought a 3/4" Thompson U for that purpose a couple of years back to get to the bottom of a bowl. I later got a "J" tool rest that allows for additional support inside the bowl and a smaller tool like Dennis recommends works well then.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I've got two gouges for the bottom of bowls - both are D-Way's - 5/8" and 1/2" - with Dave's 'bottom feeder' grind (basically a traditional grind with the wings swept just past vertical and a secondary bevel. With the heel softened they both get you there. I like a delicate cut at the bottom so the 1/2" is my preference. Like Thomas, a Robust J rest designed by Hannes really helps stabilize the cut by supporting close to the surface.

[Pat Scott]

I have a 3/8" (1/2" diameter bar), and 1/2" gouge (5/8" diameter bar) that I use for the bottoms. The diameter of bar is somewhat dependent on how far off the tool rest you are or how deep of bowl you're making. The more overhang you have the bigger diameter you'll want to reduce vibration.

Ashley Harwood bought a Thompson 3/4" U gouge but found that there was too much vibration due to the long flute. A lot of metal was removed for the flute, and even though it was 3/4" diameter bar, it just vibrated too much for her. She approached Doug Thompson about making one with a shorter flute, which he did. I want to say hers has a 4" or 5" flute instead of the normal 7" flute, but I don't remember the exact length on hers. Anyway, Ashley sells the shorter flute 3/4" gouge for $115. It's not listed on her website so you'll need to email her. Thompsons normal 3/4" U-gouge with 7" flute sells for $110, so to me I'd gladly pay the $5 extra for Ashleys.

I'd buy a 5/8" or 3/4" diameter gouge first before spending money on a different rest. You might find that for what you do, another rest is not needed.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I've been experimenting with Dougs Fluteless gouge, after seeing Robo Hippy's vid on You Tube. I think it works well, although I don't think I've gotten used to the new tool. Prior I used a 5/8". Well, I still do use the 5/8". Getting the tool rest in the bowl I think is important, no matter what tool you decide to use. I don't have the "J" rest, but I have a couple different "S" rests.

[Mike Campbell KS]

I've been experimenting with Dougs Fluteless gouge, after seeing Robo Hippy's vid on You Tube. I think it works well

I second this. I love the fluteless gouges, I now have 3.

[robert baccus]

I've been playing with BF gouges for 20 years. My 2 faves are a 1/2" deep bowl and a 1/2" spindle gouge ground to 70-75 deg. Too big a gouge gets hard to control taking that big of a bite. Does great finish cuts in certain circumstances also.

[Thomas Canfield]

I'd buy a 5/8" or 3/4" diameter gouge first before spending money on a different rest. You might find that for what you do, another rest is not needed.

As I posted earlier, I bought a 3/4" to have the reach/strength to get to bottom of large bowl with straight tool rest, but later decided to get a "J" tool rest (about 1/2 price of 3/4" gouge) and can then use a 3/8" to 5/8" bowl gouge to reach/strength for bottoms. The 3/4" bowl gouge now is used more for hogging off rough exterior of natural woods, but has its use.