roughing gouge

[jeff oldham]

I have never been a big fan of the roughing gouge I normally use a skew or a bowl gouge to turn it round but then again all I had was a cheap one,,so I ordered a new one ,,a good one,,crown puts it out,,it has a 30 degree angle and actually im still not pleased with it,,am i missing something here or do other ones feel the same as I do

[Grant Wilkinson]

What are you turning with it? A 30 degree angle on a spindle roughing gouge is very acute. The norm, if there is such a thing, seems to be about 45 degrees.

[tom lucas]

I have a chinese one and a Sorby. Both work pretty good if kept sharp. Angle is 45 degrees. If I were to buy "good" one, I'd probably go with the Carter and Son's gouge. Round, heavy shank and a bit shallower shape.

[Richard Coers]

What technique are you using? I start with the sides of the flute facing the head or tailstock. Then rotate and scoop until the sides of the flutes are facing vertically. Move over a couple of inches and repeat. Then rotate the tool so the side of the flute is nearly parallel to the tool rest and use it almost like a skew. Then run the length of the tool rest to clean up the cylinder. Stock just flies off!

[tom lucas]

I don't really know what I'm doing as I'm still a beginner. But I rough with with the center of the tool, working from center downhill toward each end, tool handle down. When it gets pretty round, I roll over onto one of the wings and angle slightly to get a peel/shear cut. I get near tear-out free, smooth results this way. But as I said I'm still a novice at this stuff. So best to get advice from someone more experienced. Watch a ton of videos too.

[Brian Deakin]

Please see the first 16 minutes of the link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMVGankeK0I

regards Brian

[John K Jordan]

I have never been a big fan of the roughing gouge I normally use a skew or a bowl gouge to turn it round but then again all I had was a cheap one,,so I ordered a new one ,,a good one,,crown puts it out,,it has a 30 degree angle and actually im still not pleased with it,,am i missing something here or do other ones feel the same as I do

I also generally use a skew to rough but I do use a smaller roughing gouge a lot on smaller spindles. I like the 5/8" - I have a Thompson and another brand (can't remember) that's almost identical. The gouge is a deep U shape with flats on either side. You can use the flat just like a skew, moving seemlessly from the curve to the flat. I use it for shaping curves as well as roughing. The shaft is 5/8" all the way to the end so I hold that rather than mount it in a handle.

My other favorite roughing gouge is a very shallow smile shape, almost like the forged continental gouges. Great for beginners, too. In fact I gave mine to a beginner in a weak moment. I do have a couple of others that are quite large, maybe 1-1/4 or so across, one may be the Crown. I don't care much for those and seldom use them (usually when the others are dull and I don't want to stop and sharpen!) They are probably better for larger spindles than I typically turn.

30 degrees does sound a little extreme for a typical roughing gouge but I've never tried one sharpened like that. I think most of mine are about 40-deg but I could measure if you are interested.

What size is your new gouge? What are you not pleased about, how it handles, how it leaves the wood? I know many people hold them perpendicular to the work and move the gouge back and forth but I turn it in the direction of travel.

JKJ

[Alex Zeller]

I'm also new to turning, about 9 months now with a limited amount of time. If possible join a club. I have one close by but they meet at a time that's difficult for me to attend. In the winter the club president goes to Florida so they meet at a different location further away. Having someone show you will help you quickly move past the learning phase. Asking questions here helps but there's no substitute for having someone watch what you are doing and suggest corrections.

For example I recently had a problem with turning curly wood. What I found is that my grinding wheel needed to be trued up which I did. About a week later (the first time I had a chance to turn after truing the wheel) was with curly wood. I had gotten into a habit of doing a quick touch up on the grinding wheel and not honing afterwards. The change in the wheel was just enough to cause my problems. I got lots of advise that helped me realize my mistake but I'm thinking that if I could have shown the gouge to someone with experience they easily could have looked at it.

If you don't have a club close by then plan on doing a lot of experimenting to learn. Lots of good advise here that will help. I've had good luck with Crown tools. They aren't too expensive but are good quality.

[Prashun Patel]

If you are comfortable with a skew, I suspect it’s not your technique but perhaps the angle of the grind.

Can you be more specific about what you are not pleased with?

[Brice Rogers]

I used to skip using the roughing gouge because it was kind of brutal using it - - a lot of vibration. I watched other people using the RG and they were zipping back and forth throwing nice looking chips and curls. I tried and it rattled my teeth out. Sometimes it would take out a big chunk and/or a big catch. I basically stopped using the RG when I only had perhaps 6 months under my belt (5 years ago) So, I reverted to using a bowl or spindle gouge.

Then a couple of months ago I tried it again. But this time I resorted to the ABC basics: I (A) Anchored the Roughing gouge on the somewhat elevated (above center) tool rest and then rotated the handle until it contacted the wood which was above center. I was careful that the gouge was positioned so that the gouge was rubbing at a point under the sharp edge. Then I moved the cutting edge down slightly until (B) I was riding the Bevel was touching and then continued riding the bevel and positioning the cutting edge until it just started to (C) Cut.

That helped a bunch. Now the chips or curls fly off with glee and I am no longer being beat up from the vibration. Also the previous advice of others (especially) cutting "down hill" made it work well. Now I use my roughing gouge much more frequently. I think that I used to basically attempt to scrape with the RG. Now I'm slicing and I typically get a nice finish.

[Roger Davis TN]

Check out Mark Silay on using a roughing gouge. He claimes it will give spindles the best finish of all tools. He always holds tools for a slicing cut. He never uses a tool head on into the fibers but always approaches the wood holding the tool at a angle. Check all three of his slicing videos. You will enjoy them and turn better just as I have. Roger

[Bill Blasic]

If you want the best SRG get the Thompson and I guarantee you will never wear it out. I used mine for over two years without sharpening and thought that it had to need sharpening. Sharpened it on CBN wheel and it cut no different. Been longer than the last time now and is still plowing chips. I do lots of rolling pins and it is the only tool I use on mostly hard Maple. Yes it is expensive but like I said it will last forever and it cuts like crazy.

[David M Peters]

I recently upgraded my SRG from a 7/8" came-with-the-beginner's-tool-set model to Hurricane's 1-1/4" Cryo model and find the larger tool much easier to use. The wider cross section at the bottom seems to let it engage more easily, and when rotated the straight-ish sides delivery cut more like a skew.

[JohnC Lucas]

Hopefully this will answer some of your questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8YYYYA-6jQ&t=16s

[Brice Rogers]

John Lucas, that is a great video.