Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
broke a gouge!
Andy in Raleigh
>Was I too aggressive? This is seasoned (over a year) pear but it has that nasty knot. The gouge is a no name cheap carbon steel 1" that was about ready to be resharpened. Speed was 1500 (per the chart posted a few days ago, that should be fine).
-Andy
Re: broke a gouge!
David Hammond, in Powder Springs GA
>From here that gouge looks like a spindle roughing gouge, and if so, that was your problem, probably not bad steel. The wide U-shape on a spindle gouge, with those unsuported wings on both sides of the fulcum on that gouge are very vulnerable to a catch, and a catch on that softer steel would be all it would take to do what you did. Try to get a round stock bowl gouge, and I think you'll get much better results.
But, it is possible that it was a bad tool - my Dad hung a 1/2 Sorby Texas style gouge on an end grain peice of hickory - a minor catch snapped the end of that gouge in half like nothing - from the small catch I saw my Dad have, which was still rather frightening, I'm assuming the gouge was defective.
David
Re: broke a gouge!
JamieDonaldson
>Wrong tool and too much speed- must have made a scary noise! Get a HHS side ground deep flute bowl gouge- either 1/2" or maybe a 3/8" if you baby it.
Re: broke a gouge!
Dave Peebles Lyons,Ohio
>Hi Andy,
That looks to me like a spindle gouge or a very shallow roughing gouge.
A couple of questions....
Did the break happen at the tool rest? What I mean by that is, did you have a large overhang on the gouge over the tool rest. It looks like it broke off a couple of inches from the end.
What brand of gouge were you using. From the pic, it reminds me of some ATM gouges that my Father in law use to have. They worked great for spindle turning, but were a little light weight for bowls. They were also carbon steel.
I am of the opinion that if you can swing it, but a good bowl gouge right off the bat. I have never believed the idea that you should learn to sharpen on a inexpensive tool. Get a good one right off the bat and learn to sharpen it right away. I would almost bet that you will not waste more than a half a inch of steel before you get the shape you want.
These are just my opinions, and should be worth just what you paid for them. :)
I hope you came out of it unscathed, other that a broken tool. :)
Dave
a little more info...
Andy in Raleigh
>I have been using the same tool at the same speed on the same wood (same trunk) with good results prior to this, but this was the first piece with such an ugly knot. The section I was cutting is nearly round and fairly smooth. There wasn't a lot of noise or other warning sign. I have a small HSS bowl gouge that I switch to when I have the blank rounded, or at least what I will use rounded.
Re: a little more info...
John Lucas
>Andy
When I have a hard spot in the wood or I'm trying to round out a bump in the piece such as a knot that sticks out, I anchor the tool handle on my hip and pivot the tool on the tool rest. This takes a very controlled arc out of the wood with each pass.
I think what often happens, especially when roughing is your cutting happily along taking about 1/8" off the wood as it rotates and suddenly you hit that knot that sticks up and your taking 3/8". It grabs the tool even if you have the bevel rubbing. This is where I stop sliding along the tool rest and pivot the tool. I'll move the tool a tiny bit along the tool rest and pivot agian. This lets me get rid of the high spot safely.
I would suggest using the bowl gouge as well for roughing. It's designed for that purpose. roughing gouges as we know them were designed to rough out spindles.
Re: broke a gouge!
George Van
>When I initially turn a bowl blank between centers, roughing the side grain, am I not spindle turning?
Would I be able to use my roughing gouge on this step? or am I asking for the same problem as Andy.
I would apreciate a clarification if possible.
George
Re: broke a gouge!
Joel Hunnicutt
>The only time it will act like a spindle is if you're doing an end grain vessel. During standard bowl turning, whether between centers or on a faceplate, you hit endgrain twice every revolution.
Re: broke a gouge!
George Van
>Thanks for the clarification Joel.
Now I understand better.
Re: broke a gouge!
Bill Hale / The Wood Spinner
>To me it looks like to much hang over on the tool rest. You also said the tool was dull so you were probably pushing it and not letting the tool do the cutting. I would also guess the wrong tool for what you were doing.
Good turning and be safe