The Bowl Gouge....

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Tug Fork Bob

>OK, these are not very big--the piece of oak firewood was only about 5 in dia. ---the goblet is about 6 in tall. They were my first wood turnings about 3 years ago & both were made from the same piece of wood because I didn't know what effect orientation of the blank would have. They were turned on my 1928 metal-turning lathe with a 9" max dia. capacity. The tool rest was a toolholder clamped upside down on the compound cross slide. I bought a 3-pc. carbon steel turning set for $10 or so--1" skew, 3/4" spindle gouge, and 1/8" parting tool. As I recall it was quite an adventure--I was completely ignorant about wood turning and ended up hollowing both pieces by poking the point of the skew in and scraping off little chunks, then sanding, then sanding, then sanding,etc.

Anyway thats what got me hooked on turning and thanks to all the good advice on this forum I now use a bowl gouge instead and am slightly less ignorant than I was then.

(I have to admit they don't even fit MY definition of presentable, but I have always been glad that I kept them)

Bob

Sorry Wally

Doug Leite

>That shows that I'm catching up with you guys too quickly.

Doug

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Bob Hackett

>I`m betting Dave Lory could.

I get alot of flack from some of the other instructors whenever I put a scraper in a student`s hand.Most of them have been turning half as long as I have.

There are certain woods and situations that only a scraper can handle.Most people are surprised to see the surface quality of a cut is better with a scraper than with a gouge on things like figured red maple or catalpa.

Now for another challenge involving the bowl gouge.

How is it that most everyone I see doing hollow forms hollows with a scraper instead of a bowl gouge.Anyone who has ever seen Jacques Vesery hollow with a 1/4" bowl gouge will tell you it takes longer to clear the chips than it does to hollow the form.I`ve seen Jacques get a better than 10 foot long continous chip roughly 1/2" in width while hollowing his endgrain pieces.How come he`s the only one I know who does it this way?It obviously is hands down the quickest way to hollow.

Mainely,Bob

Re: just a couple of years ago

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Okay Russ, "old guy" in terms of long time turning.

My first hollowing tool was a boring bar made of 3/4-inch square steel, with a 3/16-inch cutter soldered into a hole in the bar. A leaf spring from an old car made a great heavy duty scraper. I made a heavy duty "long and strong" scraper from an 18 inch long 1/2 x 1/2-inch tempered steel bar, inserted into a long handle. Tucked under my arm it made a great hollowing tool. I still use one like it for some hollow form hollowing.

Wally

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Bob, I agree that there is a place for scrapers. I use a variety of them, all ground the way I want them for a certain job.

I've watched Versery turn with that small gouge inside of a hollow form. Ground way back on one side. I think that he may have gotten the idea from Stuart Mortimer in the UK.

Wally

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Dick Hines

>Wally, Jerry Whitehurst in Va Beach very seldem, like never, uses a bowl gouge. He does all his bowl work with a scraper.

He does some big odd shaped stuff too.

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Dick Hines

>Some of Jerry's work is posted om WWW.virginiawoodturners.org.

Go to the demonistrations.

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Keith Tompkins

>Hi Wally, a friend of mine studied with Stuart for a week, hollows the same way.....he then taught me the technique, which is now a staple in my turning. fast, too.

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

TheHeretic

>For the time being I would be one of those who simply cant get the bowl gouge to work right for me so I use a scraper. I havent done many bowls but all have had 95% of the work done via scraper. I just seem to be able to remove stock faster that way.

It is interesting to note that the bowl gouge has only been around for about 25-30 years. guess there have been major steps in my lifetime, and I aint that old.

Dean

Columbus OH

Re: The Bowl Gouge....

Fog Tanner

>While my first bowl was only 10x4, it was turned entirely without a bowl gouge. I had ground my 1/2" bowl gouge with the Ellsworth grind, but didn't know how to use that grind. I threw it aside, where it stayed for several months until I got Dave's video, and used my 1/2" shallow gouge and a scraper. The outside was totally with the shallow gouge and the inside was with the shallow gouge and a little use of the scraper.

I still use a shallow gouge for doing the outside of the bowl, having replaced using the 1/2" shallow gouge with a 9/16". The outside is still done totally with the shallow gouge saving the bowl gouge for the inside. In a handson with Raffin, he advocated using the shallow gouge for the outside saving the expensive steel for where you needed it.

Re: Please make a note to demo that in Indy. Thks.

Al Crandall

>

Re: Please make a note to demo that in Indy. Thks.

Keith Tompkins

>Hi Al. consider it done! It's one of my favorite techniques!! It will be good to meet you!