Bowl gouge

[Rich Stewart]

This is probably going to sound like a pretty stupid question but, where and when do you use a bowl gouge? I have one that came with my set and I can't get it to do anything. It won't work on the outside of a bowl, won't work on the inside. Anybody use one of these things?

[Dennis Daudelin]

Since I do little spindle work, I use a bowl gouge about 98% of the time that I'm turning (face work). In fact, I sharpen 3 bowl gouges all with the Ellsworth grind before starting each project. I use the 2 heavy duty ones (with the Hosilak holders) for roughing. Then I use the wood handled one for my finish work. If it's a large project, they may get sharpened again. The finish one always gets sharpened again before my final finish cut (both on the inside and outside). I leave one grinding wheel setup at all times just for the Ellsworth grind. I purchased a second v-arm for my wolverine jig just so I could sharpen other tools on the other grinding wheel.

The second tool that I'll use for my faceplate turnings (bowls, and platters mostly) is a parting tool. I have the standard diamond shape and a thin bladed type.

When I do spindle work, I use a large 1 1/4" roughing gouge to coarse shaping and then a spindle gouge for any fine work, beads and coves. Of course the parting tools are needed here too. I will occassionally use a skew for fine cutting of a spindle to give a finish cut to a project or to cut the end square.

I do make quite a few pens and use my roughing gouge for almost all of that work except the two ends. It's amazing how well it works for that application!

If you're having difficulty with your bowl gouge, thoughts that come to mind are that you make not have it sharpened properly or you are not presenting it to the wood well. Most fingernail grind bowl gouges are presented by rubbing the bevel and then lifting the handle. This should put the cutting edge against the wood and prepare it to cut. It's also critical that you cut downhill. Examples are when making a bowl that you cut the outside from the foot to the rim and when cutting inside you cut from the rim to the center of the bowl. There are exceptions of course but this is considered the standard approach.

If you have a side grind, there are 5 different styles of presenting the gouge to the wood (as defined by David Ellsworth). David does a great job in his videos on showing how to use each cut and when to use it. It really simplies the use of the side grind gouge! If you have a side grind and don't know the 5 types of cuts, it's worth learning them. You can learn them from an experienced turner, a local club or via one of the videos.

Do you have someone near by you that could look at your grind and how you're using it? It's so hard sometimes to use words when a single sighting can see the problem right away! Maybe you can send a picture of the gouge?

I hope that helps,

Dennis

[Philip Duffy]

Bowl gouges are used to make bowls and lots of other things. It is an extremly versitile tool, capable of making several kinds of cuts on the outside of things and the insides as well. Don't mean to sound patronizing but the safest thing for you to do is to find an instructor and follow his/her advise for years to come. And, join a local turning club that is affiliated with the Am. Woodturns Assn. Phil

[Barbara Gill]

Is it sharp?

[Jim Becker]

Most tools "out of the box"--especially in "sets"--are not property ground for the job they are intended to do. Whether you choose to use it with a traditional bowl grind or with a side grind, like the Ellsworth (which I use), it needs attention to work right. The best suggestion I can make is to get with an experienced local turner (check the AAW (http://www.woodturner.org) chapter listings) and get some help making it usable.

[Rich Stewart]

Thank you all for taking the time to explain bowl gouges to me. Unfortunately my feeble brain is not getting it. I am going to take pictures of what I have and post them Tuesday so we can all be sure that I am talking about a bowl gouge. Dennis says he uses his 98% of the time. I use what I thought was a spindle gouge 98% of the time.

Thanks again for your time.

[Rich Stewart]

I turned a few bowls and a little walnut box and did some stuff for wifey around the house and forgot to take the pics. Hopefully I can remember Wednesday. I will post a new thread when I do.

[John Nicholas]

A spindle turning is mounted with the grain running parallel to the bed of your lathe. Use a gouge to rough it to a cylinder and then to turn coves - beads or other shapes. When you do this, you use a bevel rubbing technique.

If you have done some spindle turning - you understand the bevel running technique. You also turned with the grain, from the top to the bottom of the bead or cove. You did not turn against the grain, from the bottom to the top of the bead or cove. You also pointed the flute into the cut.

To successfully use a bowl gouge on a bowl, you follow the same rules.

Rub the bevel. Turn with the grain. On a bowl the grain is mounted at 90 degrees to the bed of your lathe.

Snce the grain runs differently from a spindle turning you apply the rule of turning with the grain differently. You turn from small to large to turn with the grain. To turn from small to large on a bowl, you start in the middle and work to the outside.

The bowl gouge should have a steep bevel on it compared to the spindle gouge. 50 - 75 degrees for a bowl gouge compared to 25 - 35 degrees for a spindle gouge. When you point the flute of bowl gouge into your cut, and you are cutting with the grain, from small to large, the gouge will be in a vastly different position than when using a spindle gouge on a spindle turning with the grain.

Before I was allowed to turn the lathe on, my turning club mentor made me go through the motions. I mounted a bowl blank on the lathe, and with the power off, I set the tool rest, placed the gouge on the rest and went throught motions of moving the gouge. I practiced truing the face, shaping the profile, shaping the foot (spigot) for chucking. After 10 minutes of going through the motions, the power was turned on.

After doing some spindle turnings, using the bowl gouge, with the grain on a face mounted piece was very different.

Try going through the motions. It works for me. I set up and actually do this with a new piece. Thinking about what I want to do, helps me to do it right. Maybe when I have been turning for more than a year or two, it will come more automatically then it does now.

John