What tool to use where?

[Jason Morgan]

Can anyone point me to a reference chart (if one exists) of what tool to use for what cut? I realize that at times more than one tool can be used for a particular cut and that some of the tools (parting for example) have their use in the name. but when does one use a bowl gouge vs fingernail grind vs. irish grind, etc etc.

I was wondering if there was something like a wall chart or something like that.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jason.....Don't know of a chart, per se. I have a book "'Woodturning - A Foundation Course" by Keith Rowley. If you are a beginning turner I'd highly recommend it. It was recommended to me last year by Carol Valentine and it is my go to reference. In it Rowley discusses what can be used where...shows photos....diagrams....covers sharpening.....gouge angles......diagrams of proper angles.....It's quite throrough and I often take it to the shop when trying something new. I have videos by Raffan and BIll Grumbine...both are good....but I won't take them to the shop...I'll take my book for an on the lathe refernce.

Another place....is go to the Robert Sorby website. They discuss gouge uses there and show photos.....

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I guess one more thing......When your wood is mounted on the lathe and the grain is parallel to the lathe bed/ways and you are turning the face grain......that is considered spindle turning ........UNLESS the wood is held by a chuck and you are turning the end of that piece and it's grain is still parallel to the bed of the lathe....that is end grain turning.......If the grain in the wood is mounted so it is perpendicular to the bed of the lathe...that is face plate or typical bowl turning.....

For spindle work/turning use spindle gouges, roughing gouges, scrapers and skews....

For end grain you can use spindle gouges, scrapers and skews.....

For face plate work/ bowls....use bowl gouges, scrapers, DO NOT USE ROUGHING GOUGES FOR FACEPLATE/BOWL WORK....ie CROSSGRAIN work....the tangs on roughing gouges are not made for cross grain work and can be dangerous!

Jason....check this out.....http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/pdf/gouge_safety.pdf

I'm sure others will chime in with more advice.

[Gordon Seto]

Ken,
What you listed is very good guide line for most. I think the line can be burry in expert hands. Bob Rosand uses a bowl gouge for roughing spindles. Stuart Batty also uses a bowl gouge cutting his famous long stem goblets.
I believe there are very few absolutes in woodturning. But before going with the alternate use, it is safer to go with the tradition while starting out.
It is also a good point not to use roughing gouge on side grain. A tool is only as strong as its weakest link. A traditional forged roughing gouge is very strong the whole flute length, the weakest part is the tang. When it fails, it usually snaps off at the tang suddenly and becomes a projectile. On the other hand, when the gouge made from round bar fails, it would twist and bend. Round bar gouges are usually less ridgid. If they stick out too far, they would chatter first before the gouges fail.

Safe spinning,
Gordon

[George Tokarev]

Certain tools may remove specific shapes, but they're scrapers. What you'll want to do first is use the tools you have to practice their normal cuts, determining if your stance, height, lathe height and other factors are at fault for negative outcomes. Too many people start messing with the tool when it's the operator. Thousands of years of tool use have shown us which tools are capable of which cuts, so it's going to be the operator, not the grind, the steel, the shape of the rest or the nomenclature on the gouge et cetera which result in negatives. Fortunately, a kind preacher has reformatted an old text at http://www.aroundthewoods.com/book1/contents.html for us. You can get the whole thing at the site indicated in his introduction. These are the truths of tools mixed with "standard" technique. Doesn't mean it's the only way to do, but from reading it, there's a lot more smart in this than most current books. Price is right, too.