3/4 or 5/8 bowl gouge ?

[Wendell Steele]

Here in S. Florida the only wood that I can get at the moment is oak, which seems to me to be very hard. Would it be best to get a bigger bowl gouge than the 1/2 that I currently use to remove the bark etc ?

Going to or from Thompson's, should I get the V or U ?
Thanks

[Rich Aldrich]

I have both the 1/2 and 5/8 V gouges from Thompson. The 5/8 is the go to gouge for roughouts for sure. Most of what I turn is hard maple, cherry, birch and some oak. The 5/8 does a great job and is the gouge that most of the people on this forum recommended to me in 2010 when I started turning. Also, I turn a lot of burls.the 1/2" gouge works great for finish cuts, but I still go to the 5/8 when I shear scrape because the wing is a little longer on the finger nail grind.

However, I haven't used a 3/4" gouge.

[Wendell Steele]

Thanks for the info, Rich.

[Robert Hayward]

I have a 1/2" V from Doug and use it often. I recently got the 3/4" V and have a piece of maple sitting on the lathe ways as I type this that will be the handle. Maybe tomorrow morning on the handle.

The 3/4" bowl gouge is a big piece of steel ! I cannot wait to get it handled and try it out.

[Wendell Steele]

Mr. Hayward, will the 3/4 fit into a 5/8 handle ?

[Bill Boehme]

You need to say what lathe you are using (swing and horsepower), size of turnings, what kind of grind you want to put on the gouge (intended use such as roughing, general purpose, or bottom finishing), your experience level and any other helpful hints.

Generally speaking, a 5/8" (US size) is the most used size. My thought is that harder wood doesn't equal bigger gouge. If your lathe is less than 2 HP then I don't see an advantage to the bigger gouge. My philosophy on buying tools is that I don't (actually, it would be more correct to say "shouldn't") buy anything unless I have a well defined need and therefore no doubts about the details. So, my ideal approach would be to use the tools that I currently own. After turning some of the oak I will know whether I need a different bowl gouge along with the details of what I need.

The species of wood doesn't matter much WRT tool size. Tool sharpness and skillful use trump other factors. I like to turn post oak. It is a beautiful wood that loves to split when green. I have several 5/8" bowl gouges with different grinds that I use when turning post oak. I prefer the V shape flute, but a U shape makes a nice bottom feeder.

[Thom Sturgill]

Wendell, I see that you are in my county - come by our meetings and pick up some good wood! I PMed you the info. As to the gouge, I own quite a few and there is no 3/4" among them. Others that I know use the 3/4" as their go-to gouge. It just depends on what you are turning.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, and also a 3/4" bowl gouges. My go to for roughing is usually a 5/8 or sometimes even the 3/8" on my Powermatic 3520B, 2 hp if the reach over the tool rest is fairly close, and the 3/8" often cut better than the 5/8". The 3/4" is use if there is a large overhang (say 3" or more) and/or wood cuts easily enough to utilize the larger cutting edge of the 3/4". I got the 3/4" for extended reach to get to the bottom of a large deep bowl while using a straight tool rest (later got a "J" curved rest for deep). All that said, I would go with a 5/8" first for sure and add a 3/4" later if you find a need.

[Reed Gray]

Well, I do not know your skill level, but I wouldn't suggest a 3/4 inch bowl gouge to some one who doesn't have a lot of time on a lathe. Like Bill was talking about, bigger is not necessarily better, especially with really hard woods, and oak is, to me about a 7 on the 10 point scale. With harder woods, you can not take off wood as fast as you can with the softer woods because there is a lot more resistance to the cutting. I use both the U and V flutes. The V is more suited to the swept back profiles. Both work well with the 40/40 (I prefer 45/45) sweep/roll Stuart Batty type nose profile.

robo hippy

[Justin Stephen]

Own both a 1/2" and 5/8" Thompson "V", and have honestly found that I almost never use the 5/8", no matter how big the piece. I'm just so comfortable with the 1/2", I use it for everything.

[Mark Greenbaum]

When I started to do bowls, I purchased a WoodRiver 5/8" mainly because the Sorby was a bit too pricey. It serves me well, and is my go-to tool; it has good steel that holds an excellent edge. But when I took hollowing classes at JC Campbell, the instructor said I should try to get a 3/8", so I have same brand of that size too. I do fingernail grinds, but remove a lot of the heel so I can get into the flatter bottoms of bowls and boxes. When I win the lottery, I'll probably get Thompson or Carter tools, but for now, I'm pretty happy with less is more. I agree with what others said - sharp tools are the deciding factor, not hardness of wood. Dull tools can hurt you, and make the work much more difficult. That reminds me - I need to re-sharpen everything since my Christmas turning spree.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have a 3/4" Sorby, and that is a BIG gouge. It's almost an inch thick. It usually sits in my tool storage. I put a lowball bid on e-bay and got it. It takes a lot of wood off and it's my rougher, since it's really too big to be used for shaping. BUT since I have a "real" roughing gouge, I use that. Roughing gouges are easier to sharpen. In the rare event that I need to rough a bowl blank on the end, I use the 3/4" bowl gouge. Did I already say it sits in my tool storage a lot? 5/8 is much more useful.

[Robert Henrickson]

I have owned a 3/4" gouge for years, and I have used it maybe as much as twice. I have a 5/8" gouge which I used to use quite a bit, but not much in the last few years. I use a 1/2" gouge for almost everything -- including 16" bowls.

I don't think you want a bigger gouge for harder wood. I turn a lot of oak -- I use a 1/2" gouge.

[Wendell Steele]

Thanks everyone for the info.

[Robert Hayward]

Mr. Hayward, will the 3/4 fit into a 5/8 handle ?


No it will not. The shank is 3/4".

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I guess we are NOT talking British sizes are we ?, as a 5/8” Sorby is nearly 3/4 inch and a 1/2” is 5/8 inch.

The following are all British sizes, that means flute measurements

I have also a 3/4” P & N gouge (thats a 1” gouge) and have used it on large blanks for roughing out, though I tend to use the 5/8” rather than the 3/4” one, the half inch and 3/8 for finish cuts, these are all British sizes and mostly Sorby gouges.

[Dale Bonertz]

Very interesting and curious thread. I use the 3/4" gouge (Shaft size or American size) for roughing all the time. As a matter of fact I have six of them so I can keep going without stopping except to change to a sharp one. I admit I do rough turn a lot of bowls starting in the 14" to 18" round size off the bandsaw.

What interests me is when finish cutting one isn't using the whole of the wing, they are using from 1/16" to 1/4" of the wing from the nose. You can as easily do this with a sharp 3/4" gouge as a 3/8" gouge. Now if you are turning something small using a smaller gouge allows you to get into tighter places. My go to gouge for finish turning bowls is 5/8" (American standard) since it will allow you to turn the inside of a bowl when over the tool rest a bit at the transition area, if not using a curved rest. I could easily make that same cut with my 3/4" gouges but I don't take the heel off of them so finish cutting through the transition becomes more difficult (when rough cutting it doesn't matter). I guess what I am saying is it shouldn't matter what size gouge you're using since you cut with them the same way. It matters more with what you are turning and what nose grind you need or area you're trying to cut into and etc. on what tool and shank size you use. I have 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" bowl gouges with different nose grinds, V & U shape, different metallurgy and they all are useful for different cuts. The one advantage to using a smaller gouge for the final finish cut is it forces the turner to find that smaller sweet spot for that really light cut. This can be done with a larger gouge but it takes discipline to take that final pass with a really light cut.

[Bill Bulloch]

I was given a 3/4" Sorby for Christmas. It came with a Traditional grind and I really liked it. The thickness eliminated most of the vibration when extended far over the tool rest. Then, for some reason, I changed it to an Ellsworth grind -- wish I hadn't done that. Too many challenges: (1) I have to learn how to use it, it does not seem to work like the 5/8" gouges and (2) It will not fit in the Oneway Sharpening jig so I have to learn to sharpen free hand. Also, the handle is to light for me.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Very interesting and curious thread. I use the 3/4" gouge (Shaft size or American size) for roughing all the time. As a matter of fact I have six of them so I can keep going without stopping except to change to a sharp one. I admit I do rough turn a lot of bowls starting in the 14" to 18" round size off the bandsaw.

What interests me is when finish cutting one isn't using the whole of the wing, they are using from 1/16" to 1/4" of the wing from the nose. You can as easily do this with a sharp 3/4" gouge as a 3/8" gouge. Now if you are turning something small using a smaller gouge allows you to get into tighter places. My go to gouge for finish turning bowls is 5/8" (American standard) since it will allow you to turn the inside of a bowl when over the tool rest a bit at the transition area, if not using a curved rest. I could easily make that same cut with my 3/4" gouges but I don't take the heel off of them so finish cutting through the transition becomes more difficult (when rough cutting it doesn't matter). I guess what I am saying is it shouldn't matter what size gouge you're using since you cut with them the same way. It matters more with what you are turning and what nose grind you need or area you're trying to cut into and etc. on what tool and shank size you use. I have 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" bowl gouges with different nose grinds, V & U shape, different metallurgy and they all are useful for different cuts. The one advantage to using a smaller gouge for the final finish cut is it forces the turner to find that smaller sweet spot for that really light cut. This can be done with a larger gouge but it takes discipline to take that final pass with a really light cut.

I have less of a problem with the bowl shatter if I use a smaller gouge that has a much narrower cutting area when cutting inside thin wall bowls, I also use a more traditional grind on most of my bowl gouges, anyway that’s what works for me :)