which 1-1/4 - 1-1/2 roughing gouge???

Re: which 1-1/4 - 1-1/2 roughing gouge???

Mike in Mystic

>I have a packard woodworks (www.packardwoodworks.com) brand M2 1-1/4 roughing gouge that I find to hold an edge quite well. They have higher grades of steel, as well. I am a very very green beginning turner, but I got it on sale and seems to have been a good choice.

Mike

Re: which 1-1/4 - 1-1/2 roughing gouge???

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I have a Sorby and a P&N in that size range, and while both are good, I prefer the P&N;

The following is from a review I did of a variety of P&N tools (the full orginial can be found as a pdf here:http://www.fholder.com/Woodturning/lyn.html):

Of the several tools I have from the P&N line, three strike me as exemplary in design and performance. The first of these is the roughing gouge. To my knowledge, P&N is unique in offering roughing gouges milled from round bar stock, rather than the usual practice of forging from flat stock. This allows for a much heavier than average roughing gouge (relative to others of the same size) and a very sturdy transition from side walls to tang. The round tang is far stronger than the narrow flat tangs of other roughing gouges, and allows the gouge to fit into the round bores of steel handles. Milling from round stock also allows for side walls of a constant radius, unlike most roughing gouges where the upper portion of the flute is flared. The potential down side of this approach is that with the deep flute ground below center, the upper section of the side walls curve in slightly. I have not found this to be a problem, as I don�t tend to cut in that area of my roughing gouges. For those that are concerned, one can lightly grind down the upper corners until the front profile is exactly a hemisphere. You can also try a tip from Michael Hosaluk (one of the first North American P&N importers) who notches the upper corners (going back about 3/8 of an inch) of the gouge (see attached photo). Michael does this so that he can get a clean cut on the side of details (such as square shoulders on tenons) with this side bevel when the gouge is held with the flute parallel to the tool rest.

Re: which 1-1/4 - 1-1/2 roughing gouge???

RonZ

>A big spindle gouge can be used for a roughing gouge.

I have three sizes a small Sorby one for pens, 3/4" for general work and 1 1/4" for large work, both by Hamlet. Hamlet is probably the best priced for value received. If you look at Packard, their private brand is in fact Hamlet. I turned 10" meeting table legs from square and used a Hamlet and a Crown. The bent at the stem where as the Hamlet didn't and kept it's edge better.

Why a roughing gouge at all?

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I use the Ellsworth/superflute gouge for everything from roughing to final shear cuts. Don't know why I'd need a roughing gouge, but I suppose I'm willing to listen. The Ellsworth roughs bowl blanks perfectly well, and its not a single purpose tool.

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

pete

>that is a good question.. i wanted to try some turnign that started with rough bark forms. would a bowl gouge handle be enough?

also i start with a lot of square stock that i wanted to bring to round form fast, so ifigured a large r..gouge would be the fastest tool..

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>To get from square spindle stock to round fast, don't start on the lathe. Start with your tablesaw or jointer, (or even a drawknife) and make an octagon before you put it on the lathe. For flat, bowl stock, start with your bandsaw to get it roughly round.

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

Tony Reynolds

>I can round out square stock MUCH faster with a roughing gouge (with no tearout ) than you can cut it octagon on a saw. we're talking seconds. Nothing beats a roughing gouge for rounding square spindle stock.

Tony

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

Tony Reynolds

>Guess I should have clarified roughing out for end grain turning. Don't use a roughing gouge on a bowl blank that alternates endgrain sidegrain. You're sure to get a nasty catch. For those I'd just knock the corners off with the bandsaw or chainsaw and go at it with a pull cut using wings of a bowl gouge to rough it.

Tony

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

Wood Spinner

>I agree with Mike ???

If I were in my Colorado shop I would make you an offer you could not refuse. I have a 1 1/2 " that I have had for at least 8 years and have used it possibly 4 times.

Good turning and be safe

Bill

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

pete

>woodspinner..

dig that one up fire me off a pic..

i may be interested..

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

RonZ

>I guess it has been a while since you've worked between centers! First I like to keep my bowl gouges sharp for turning bowls, why dull them roughing. I can round a blank in seconds, takes much longer with the bowl gouge. I had a job of rounding 10"x30" cherry and ash pillers. I told him to take of the edges and it woulld cost him less [and spare my arms] but he was in a rush and paying me by the hour. I tried my 1" bowl gouge and zilch. I used my 1 1/4" roughing gouge and the chips flew.

This is for side grain only. Use a spindle or bowl gouge on end grain.

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

John Lucas

>I'll agree with Ron. I use a roughing gouge to almost completely finish my mirror handles. By using the different surfaces I get everything from a rough cut to a skew cut. When I have my handle almost fully shaped I swith to the skew. This saves the edge of the skew for really important work. I can sharpen the rough out gouge much faster than any other tool I own.

I would not use it to rough bowls however. I turn all my boxes with nothing but the bowl gouge however.

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>What size blanks? It seems that the larger and longer the blank, the more efficient the saw becomes. Up to 1 1/2", I also usually just start with the roughing gouge. For larger blanks, especially with expensive wood, the off-cuts can sometimes be put to use as well.

Are you turning green or seasoned wood? The additional abuse that the corners of seasoned wood puts on the gouge, the tool rest, the lathe, and me, also convinces me to use a saw.

What species? Again, the tougher the wood, the more I find it advantageous to start with the saw instead of the gouge.

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

Tony Reynolds

>Hi William,

I suppose if it were big enough and I wanted to save the cut offs for something then maybe it would make sense. I'm talking about KD cherry, mahogany, maple, Walnut, etc. I wouldn't be using green wood on spindles except maybe for some chair parts. The diameter doesn't really matter if I'm sizing my square stock to match my finished stock. Now if I'm starting with 6" square stuff to make a 2" spindle then the saw makes sense, but what a waste of material, and I know that's not what you mean. My point is the roughing gouge will always be faster if your lathe is big enough to handle the job.

Tony

Re: Why a roughing gouge at all?

pete

>i have mainly been doing spindle work... (wooden lures and tool handles) ..4x4 to 1x1 work.. i want fast rounding without presawing. not enough time for that..

i broke down and bought a crown 1-1/4 on sale at woodcraft this afternoon..

i liked the feel and it was 50$ less than the sorby..

thanks for the advice