Thompson Bowl gouge preference? U or V?

[Prashun Patel]

I am curious to hear other peoples' experience with the Thompson U vs V bowl gouges.

I own a 1/2 U, 5/8 U, 3/8 V, and 1/2 V.

I find that while the difference is subtle, the U's generally cut better on the inside of a bowl, and the V cuts better on the outside (that is, it catches less). Now there are a lot of other factors here for me like the sweep of the wings, the length of the tool handle, but I experience this enough that I *think it may* be a fact. This really hit me when comparing the 1/2" in the two styles.

I do find the U tends to leave a slightly better (less ridgy) finish on the insides.

What do you guys think? The difference is repeatable, but subtle enough that I wonder if it's just in my head...

The V's seem to perform more reliably, generally, and predictably for me.

[John Keeton]

I use my U solely as a bottom feeder for bowls, etc. My go to gouge is a D-Way, but I often will use the Thompson V on the outside of turnings depending on what task I am doing. I would think your findings are consistent with mine as to the preferred use and results.

[Al Wasser]

I much prefer the U. The V gets little use.

[Prashun Patel]

Al, Why? What do you turn and in what situations do you notice a difference in performance?

[Greg Parrish]

Here's a thought, how do you decide between d-way and Thompson when you've never seen either in person? The 1/2" U gouge with handles from both are basically the same price. Any other way to decide which to try first?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Greg - if you list where you are located in your profile - there may be a member living close enough that you can visit and check the tools out. I have both - if you happen to be in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! As far as which tool to get - that is a personal choice. Like I said - I have both but find I like the D-way more. To me (my opinion) it takes a sharper edge off the grinder.

Prashun, I have the Doug Thompson 5/8" V and the D-way 5/8" bowl gouge - which is somewhere between a V & U. Both have their uses but I tend to use Doug's V for fine detail work and shear cuts because it has a swept back grind. I use the D-way for overall shaping. My choice has more to do with handle size than anything at this point. The Thompson V is on a 14" handle and the D-way is on a 20".

[Reed Gray]

Hey, you forgot Lyle's parabolic flute that Doug makes for him..... I think it depends on how you hold your tools when you cut. The more V shaped ones like Doug and Dave's tend to take to the swept back grind better than the more open U flute. With the swept back types, the tendency is to lower your handle and do more cutting with your wings. With Doug's U flute, it just doesn't take to the swept back style very well. It does do the 45/45 (I prefer this to the 40/40). With the more open flute design, which I prefer, I hold my tool level, and do most of my cutting with the nose. A more V flute has a smaller nose and sweet spot. The parabolic flute seems to do both fairly since it has a bit more open nose design. I think the D Way is a bit more V shaped than Doug's V. If you use the swept back, that would work better on the outside of a bowl, but you can't drop the handle much on the inside of a bowl. If you hold your tools level, both will work equally well inside or outside. For shear scraping, one thing the swept back does better than the 45/45 because of the longer edge and bigger sweet spot, you have to roll the flutes over so far that you can't see what you are cutting. This is why I prefer scrapers for my shear scraping and not gouges. You can watch the edge cut the wood. I don't use swept back gouges at all any more.

robo hippy

[Bill Blasic]

The only time I use a U is the transition from the side to the bottom of a bowl that I am having tear out problems cutting. My go to tools are Vs as I feel I have more control with the V and to me the U is more aggressive. With most woods I can rough and finish bowls with my V gouges without problems.

[jared parson]

I own both in the 1/2", and rarely use the U. When i do reach for it, it is always at that transition spot inside a bowl. I Love my V, and plan on adding a 5/8 sometime soon.

[Reed Gray]

Bill, what kind of grinds do you have on the U? I have heard some comment that the U is a great BOB tool, and for those tools, I prefer a blunt nose shape like this: ) and about a 70 degree bevel.

robo hippy

[Bill Blasic]

Robo I use a bevel of about 75° and I remove the heel of the 3/8 U that I use. I have all of Doug's tools (like the fluteless gouge and the bottom of the bowl gouge) and use them at different times.