Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Bowl gouge angle question
Alan Tolchinsky
>Hi All, I've been playing around with my bowl gouge cutting angle and wondered what angle you have on yours? I've read 65 degrees is good and when I measured mine I was at about 60. Two questions: What angle do you use and how do you measure it? I'm using a little angle guage I got I think from Lee Valley. Thanks Alan in Md.
Re: Bowl gouge angle question
AndiWolfe
>Alan - it will depend on what type of bowl gouge you are using. The Ellsworth grind is usually 55 - 60 degrees or thereabouts. Stuart Batty advocates a 40� angle for a bowl gouge that cuts the sides of the bowls, but 55� for the bottom of the bowl.
Re: Bowl gouge angle question
Arch
>Hi Alan, My TIC answers wih apologies to Andi:
Ques. #1. I don't know.
Question #2. I don't measure.
Unasked for question #3. I don't know anyone who does.
Buy a sine bar and find out what angle _turns you on, measure it and name it the Tolchinsky grind.:)
Turn to Safety, Arch
Re: Bowl gouge angle question
Alan Tolchinsky
>Hey Arch, That sounds a lot like "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" or something like that. :)
Re: Bowl gouge angle question
Alan Tolchinsky
>O.K. Andi thanks. It looks like most people aren't concerned about the angle from the response so far. I'll experiment a bit more and see what feels the best. Alan
Re: Bowl gouge angle question
AndiWolfe
>Hey Arch - I "hear" you, but you know the angle really does matter if you want to save yourself some sanding. I have found that the 40� angle with a push cut gives me a clean surface that requires very little sanding. Using the standard Ellsworth grind on the same surface yields some tearout that requires a lot more sanding.
Re: Bowl gouge angle question
Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.
>Alan, the nose angle on a gouge can be anywhere from 40 deg. to 70 deg. I think that it depends on what you turn and what technique you develop for yourself. Nearly all of my turning is hollow forms and I grind my 1/2-inch gouges at 60 deg. with a modified side grind. I use a 1/4-inch gouge a lot and like it ground at about 45 degrees. It's used for detail work and small stuff.
Wally
Thanks Wally, appreciate your input. Alan
Alan Tolchinsky
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