Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
"Factory" grind
Carole in VA
>I took a new P&N bowl gouge out of the closet today and it made me wonder if anyone ever attempts to use a bowl gouge as it comes from the factory? Looking at this one, it would seem impossible with those sharp points at the intersection of wing and nose. Why do they make them like that? Is it because a grind is such an individual thing that they know the user will reshape it anyway? Just wondering, as usual.
Re: "Factory" grind
John Lucas
>Carol
I have a Henry Taylor that comes ground that way. It looks like a small roughing gouge. This may be hard to describe but I use the straight portion of the wing like a skew. I use the left side for the inside of bowls and the Right side for the outside. I wish I could remember who showed me that. It's really handy some times when I have a curly grain problem. This cut is about 80 to 85 degrees when the bowl is spinning toward the cutting edge. A regular bowl gouge would be cutting anywhere from horizontal to 60 or 70 degrees depending on how you rotate the flute and how the edge was ground.
I use this on my mirrors when I get tearout using the traditional gouge. You do have to watch the top edge to make sure it doesn't contact the wood. Mine are actually ground back a tiny bit to make them a little more forgiving.
This is obviously a specialized use. I would recommend most people to modify the factory grind unless it comes the way you want it to be.
Re: "Factory" grind
Bob Hackett
>Back when the bowl gouge was first introduced as a mass produced tool that was how it was ground and used.
I believe it was Peter childs that first wrote about thier use and back then he called it a "long and strong" gouge.The techniques he wrote back then seem dated and obsolete now given the advances of today.
What keeps the manufacturers grinding them that way now is simple economics.It`s the quickest and easiest way to put a quick edge on the tool and get it out the door.
Mainely,Bob
Re: "Factory" grind
Paul Porter in Phoenix, AZ
>Mike Mahoney and Trent Bosch use that grind as well.
