The difference between a 3/8" spindle gouge and a 3/8" detail gouge

[Glen Blanchard]

I have never really seen this explained, so I'm speculating here. The difference between these two spindle gouges is that the detail gouge is:

1. more likely to have a smaller angle placed on the bevel than a normal spindle gouge
2. usually has the heel partially removed so as to allow the gouge to fit in tighter spaces

Am I close to being correct?

[Roger Chandler]

The detail gouge has a very shallow flute, and has a grind angle of about 30-35 degrees, then the heel ground away from that. It does what you say.....allow getting into tight places. I use one for finials, and in some of the beading on small pieces. Some will take a detail gouge, and grind it into a vortex tool [google Cindy Drozda vortex tool].

A spindle gouge has a bit deeper flute, but not as much as a bowl gouge, and a grind angle that is more around 50 degrees, and cutting end should resemble the shape of the end of a finger, looking at it straight down from above the flute. This combination of flute/grind angle/ end shape, makes it perfect for rolling beads, and cutting coves.

[Glen Blanchard]

Forgot about the possibility of a difference in the flute.

Thanks, Roger!

[Reed Gray]

As near as I can tell, there is pretty much no difference. Some are more shallow fluted, some are a bit deeper, and if you were to take all of the commercial ones and put them in a pile and then let the turners figure it out, the actual differences would be the turners, and not the tools. When used, both tend to have flatter bevels, in the 30 degree range, and more pointed noses for creating tiny neat details on our turnings. I can use a 'bowl' detail gouge for putting dainty things on spindles, and the other way around. Those that are intended for bowl use may be a bit more sturdy/thick.

robo hippy

[Michael Mills]

Here is a link to a video by Doug Thompson; the spindle and detail gouge is about the 18 minute mark. He did show on his web site the three and gave the amount of material he removes to form the flute but I can not find it now. These are the spindle gouge, detail gouge, and shallow detail gouge.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

A detail gouge has a lot more "meat" in this case steel, below the bottom of the flute. The flute itself is similar to a spindle gouge. The thick web makes the detail gouge more stiff and less likely to vibrate.

[John K Jordan]

I have never really seen this explained, so I'm speculating here. The difference between these two spindle gouges is that the detail gouge is:
more likely to have a smaller angle placed on the bevel than a normal spindle gouge
usually has the heel partially removed so as to allow the gouge to fit in tighter spaces

Glen,

Different manufacturers have slightly different designs. I do a lot of spindle turning and these days mostly use Thompson gouges (with several duplicates of my favorites). According to Doug Thompson the way his are made:

Spindle gouge: the flute depth is 50% of the stock diameter of the round shaft.
Detail gouge: the flute depth is 33% of the diameter of the shaft
Shallow detail gouge: the flute depth is 20% of the diameter of the shaft

This means the detail and shallow detail gouges have more metal in the cross section and are potentially less flexible. In practice, none are what I would call very flexible for spindle work!

- The definition of the gouge says nothing about the grind.
Any of these can be ground to any bevel angle. I consider the factory grind unusable and just there so a buyer can see it is a lathe tool. You reshape the tool and grind the bevel angle you want.

- The definition says nothing about the shape of the heel.
Any gouge can have the heel cut back, rounded, and or polished. I usually round off the heal on all my gouges, both spindle and bowl, so they won't burnish a line on the wood if the heel touches during a cut.

I shape and sharpen using either the Wolverine vari-grind or the Tormek jig. Another difference in the grinds might fall under the category of "that's just the way it is": If a Thompson spindle gouge and a Thompson shallow detail gouge are ground with the sharpening jigs set exactly the same and ground to the same bevel angle with swept-back wings (the so-called fingernail grind), the shallow detail gouge will be much more "pointy" since more of the sides must be removed to get a sharp edge on the sides since being shallower, the width of the flute is narrower. This can make the shallow gouge excellent for getting into tight places, almost as tight as you can cut with a skew chisel. That can also make it a bit less forgiving in some situations!

Note that the grinding jigs only set the angles and the operator decides on the shape of everything past the point. Two people grinding the same gouge with the same jig can get very different grinds away from the tip. I sometimes grind some unusual shapes to experiment, especially with bowl gouges (for example to cut deep in the bottom of a bowl), and to make special-purpose tools. For example, I ground one 3/8" Thompson shallow detail gouge into a wonderful little negative rake scraper that will leave a glass-like surface on end grain in hard wood.

BTW, the reason I have a bunch of duplicates of my favorite gouges is because I like to sharpen three or four identical gouges at the same time. When one gets dull while turning I just grab another one rather than stop and sharpen.

JKJ