gouge for rouging large bowls

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

John Stegall

I just watched a video by Gwinnett County Woodturners. A flat topped tool rest (custom made) is very useful For a deep hollow vessel. I think it might help with your over hang. 5/8 is as large as I have and I doubt a larger one would help me. See if you can borrow one before purchasing another. Turning clubs are great for this

1/2" and 5/8" Thompson V

Dick Coers

1/2" and 5/8" V bowl gouges for me. Both in Hannes Tool Handles, both with Hannes grind. A 3/8" would seem too light for my work. I have the lathe size to support heavy roughing.

My "go to" bowl gouge for most of.......

JamieDonaldson

......my turning is a 5/8" with Ellsworth style side grind. I seldom turn anything over 12," but do have a 3/4" Thompson deep flute gouge for roughing the big gnarly blanks, held in an original Hosaluk handle filled with lead shot to dampen vibration.

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

John K Jordan

Cameron,

I mostly use a 3/8" Thompson gouge and occasionally a 1/2". It is probably a matter of personal preference and tool control skills. You can do huge work with a 3/8" gouge. I'd have to check my notes but I THINK Chris Ramsey told us his most-used gouge for his cowboy hats was a 3/8", ground freehand like the photo below(I took a poor cell phone photo). The cutting bevel is only about 1/6" wide and the shape gives a lot of flexibility for getting into a variety of spots.

Also, I think it was Glenn Lucas at the TAW symposium who showed how and why he doesn't worry about getting the tool rest to the bottom of the bowl. If you can catch his demo some time it might be interesting, or maybe he as a video. I grind one with a different angle for finish cuts on the bottom.

Re: My "go to" bowl gouge for most of.......

rch

Half-inch is plenty big enough. I have a 5/8 gouge which almost never gets touched. A friend who is a bowl production turner never uses a gouge larger than 1/2".

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

john lucas

I'm going to be a little different. I don't rough a lot of bowls so I'm certainly not an expert which is why I am changing to this recommendation. I'm pretty good with a bowl gouge and have a 5/8" just for roughing big bowls. I had to do that for a particular job turning Oak about a year ago and I played with several different tools to see what was the least wearing on me. I used that bowl gouge, a flat EZ wood tool, and a Hunter Hercules. I found the Hunter Hercules put the least pressure on my bad shoulder. Once the bowl gets round I am still probably better with the bowl gouge. So what I'm talking about is the really rough thunk thunk you get in the very initial stages of roughing. The Hercules never needs sharpening and works well on the inside as well as the outside. The EZ wood tool worked well on the outside but not as well on the inside. The bowl gouge of course was good for both but I still felt for the roughing phase the Hercules was just easier on me.

Max over-hang

Ralph Lindberg

Something no one mentioned is the max amount of tool hanging off the tool rest

For most of us mortals a rule of thumb is 4x the diameter of the gouge

So for 3/8 gouge the max overhang would be 1-1/2 inches

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

don stephan

There are two ways to measure the diameter of a bowl gouge. If I understand correctly Europeans measure the distance between the inside edges of the flutes, and Americans the diameter of the bar. So the same bowl gouge would be a 3/8" European and a 1/2" American. When ordering a bowl gouge made in England from an American catalog, I always have to talk to customer support to see how the measurement in the catalog is made, before I order.

If you aren't already, the right end of the tool rest can be pointed into the bowl so the overhang is less.

Don, your measuring comment is ......

JamieDonaldson

....dead on, and I was wondering if prior comments were based on using the same standards of measurement. The 3/8" diameter tool shaft is a very small tool, not safe to be extended very far over a tool rest.

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

Brad Vietje

Don brings up a good point, but I thought it was the other way 'round: that the American standard (for bowl gouges) was the width of the flute, and the UK standard was the diameter of the stock (?) Do I have that bass-ackwards?

I have a 1/2" Ellsworth bowl gouge that is milled from 5/8" stock -- or, at least, I thought I did! My 3/8" Pro-PM is 1/2" in diameter. No?

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Newbury, VT

Yes Brad, you are bass -ackwards!

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

robo hippy

Well, being really different, I use scrapers for all of my roughing... Look up robo hippy on You Tube, I have a bunch of bowl turning videos up. Gouges do work, but are slower for me. I do use a 5/8 Thompson V, or U, or a D Way 5/8, and use a 45/45 grind, which is done on a platform, not in a jig. Having curved bowl rests helps in that you don't have to move your tool rest and banjo as often, and it is easier to keep the tool rest closer to the work so you don't get as much chatter. I do prefer bigger tools, and I have a 3 hp Robust lathe, but can still stall it with a 1 inch wide scraper. You can push harder to remove thicker shavings, but it is more comfortable with heavier tools if you have the horse power. I don't use the swept back gouges at all any more. Like I said, I am really different....

robo hippy

Jamie is correct

Re: Jamie is correct

Bill Blasic

I use a Thompson 5/8" V for most everything I do.

Re: 1/2" and 5/8" Thompson V

ebd

Personally, I prefer the U shaped gouge. It works better for me so I would suggest trying both V and U first to see which you like better.

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

George Balock

Everyone's advice is right on. Not that I'm trying to spend your money, but the one thing that no one mentioned is coring. All of my big logs yield three or four bowls. A lot less shavings to clean up that way.

Regarding bowl gouges, I have four, from 1/4" to 5/8" (American measurement). The 1/4" only gets used for final cuts and the 5/8 is used for roughing the biggest blanks. My go to is the 1/2".

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

Jorge

Cam eron,

It all depends in the wood at hand, if you have a blank prep in a band saw, a 1/2" can do the job. If you are starting wit a particular blank, all out of balance and with many protrusions, maybe your best bet is the biggest scrapper, as Robbo suggests, or with a 1 1/4" rough spindle gouge made by Doug Thompson

If it is a large end not so bumpy, I go with a 3/4" Thompson bowl gouge for the initial shaping, once the work is reasonably balanced, I switch to a 5/8" (All my tools are Thompson's) That is for the outside, for the inside, if it is a very large bowl my choice is the 5/8" Bill Grumbine V Bowl Gouge also made by Thompson. If you are to have only one gouge, this is the one to have.

For smaller bowls the 1/2" does the job. Special situations, like the lip is done with a 3/8" and I do the tenon with (gasp) a skew! Who said skews are not for bowls?

Yes I have a lot of tools, first just to experience what each one does, and then because there is always a piece of wood that calls for a particular tool of the arsenal.

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

Joe Fleming

Brad, the Ellsworth gouge is made by an English company.

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

Joe Fleming

I use several gouges for roughing. Which gouge is based on how far over the toolrest the gouge needs to reach. A 1/2" bar is good to about 3"+ and not much more before you get vibration. A 5/8" bar is good to 4-5" before vibration sets in. I have a 1" thick Sorby for really deep bowl turning over the toolrest. Of course steel type, flute shape, grind on the tool, and length of steel-plus-handle all contribute to the equation. Joe

Re: gouge for rouging large bowls

Hugh Widdup

A spindle roughing gouge ?????? I believe that is a NO NO on bowls

A spindle roughing gouge

Jorge

You are right,

yes, it is a no-no if it is one of the old model spindle roughing gouge with a puny flat tang, what I am talking here is a next gen tool, an 1 1/4" srg with a 3/4" round tang which will not bend or brake.

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