Bowl Gouge Contoured Honing Stone Recommendations

[Tim Boger]

I'm considering a contoured honing stone to touch up the edge on my D-way bowl gouge in between trips to the grinder. I'm using a CBN wheel.

What have you guys had success with?

Thanks,
Tim

[Bob Bergstrom]

I take it the honing device would be concave. I would suggest a flat diamond card to hone the the outside bevel. A concave one would not conform to the profile of the gouge. I would not hone the inside.

[John K Jordan]

I'm considering a contoured honing stone to touch up the edge on my D-way bowl gouge in between trips to the grinder. I'm using a CBN wheel.

What have you guys had success with?


Hi Tim,

For the outside curve of a fingernail grind or the inside?

For the outside, I always use these little flat paddle hones, the extra fine blue one. I find it easy to control by putting my forefinger just above the diamond plate so I can "feel" the contact between the edge and the heel. Should I mail one to you to try?

372261

For the inside of the flute, I knock the grinder burr off with either an extremely fine small-radius/long-taper conical diamond hone (https://www.amazon.com/DMT-DCSFH-Diamond-Small-Handle/dp/B00004WFT1) or a ceramic hone the other John Jordan (the famous one) carries (http://www.johnjordanwoodturning.com/John_Jordan_Woodturning/Ceramic_Slipstone.html), either of them laid flat in the flute and worked around the edge, just takes a few seconds. Both of these are finer than a CBN wheel but the ceramic slipstone is even finer. I haven't tried it on the outside of a gouge yet but it should work.

I find honing inside the flut especially important for a razor edge on my spindle gouges and on my bowl gouges for finish cuts, but I don't think it's needed on bowl gouges for rough work since any burr from the grinder is ripped off in an instant.

JKJ

[Bob Ballard]

I bought a teardrop shape diamond hone from Alan Lacer that works well for me.

[terry mccammon]

I use a dowel that is sized to fit the inside flute having dressed the dowel with rubbing compound (green). I picked green as I understand that it is used for polishing stainless steel, so it seemed right. It seems to work. On bigger gouges that I sharpen by hand on a vertical belt sander I use the attached cheap, narrow buffing wheel on the inside. Again dressed with green compound.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I’ve been using Dave’s (D-Way Tools) CBN honing plate for a while now for honing the bevel, and the HoneStar contoured CBN honing plate ( from Craft Supplies) for the flute. In practice, I find I seldom use the contoured plate, but its nice to have when I need it. The D-Way plate is 320 on one side, 600 I think on the other - its handy for touching up Macnaughton tools, too.

[Reed Gray]

If I hone the flute, I use my Tormek honing leather wheel. Most of the time I never bother. I may have to try playing with that again to see if it makes any real difference. For fine finish cuts, I will use a finer grit wheel.

robo hippy

[Bill Boehme]

I use a diamond slipstone sold by Alan Lacer. The large radius edge perfectly fits many bowl gouges and the small radius fits my ⅜" bowl gouge. Both faces are coated with 600 grit diamond.