Vocabulary - "Fingernail" and "Swept Back"

Re: Vocabulary - "Fingernail" and "Swept Back"

Dennis in Southern Oregon

Don, in menu shown at the top of the entry page, click on “odds and ends” and then on “tool grinds”. That should give you a start.

Vocab...

Clifton C

Most of the gouges I see are ground with what most call a fingernail grind, swept back or not. I think of it as just meaning the end is rounded instead of straight across like a traditional bowl gouge or a spindle roughing gouge. But I am curious as to others take on this.

Articles on Gouges *LINK*

Doc Green

I believe the term "fingernail grind" is applied only to spindle (detail) gouges while the term "swept back wings" is usually used for bowl gouges. One grind for a bowl gouge, for example, has the bevel running straight across the flute - the wings are not swept back at all.

When a fingernail grind is viewed from the top, the end looks like a lady's fingernail. None of the bevel will be visible. On the other hand, a bowl gouge with swept back wings may have the bevel wrapping up and around the shank so that much of the bevel is visible when viewed from the top.

You could argue that a fingernail grind actually has swept-back wings . . . but don't. That will only confuse the issue more than it is already.

I have a series of articles on gouges that may be of help. A fingernail grind is mentioned in Part 1 and in Part 4. Here is a link to Part 1:

http://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/gouges1.html

You can see a listing of all the articles by clicking on the articles index on the home page.


Home Page

Re: Articles on Gouges

john lucas

I think Doc nailed it. I look at what I call the fingernail grind as the view from the top. V gouges will have a more pointy fingernail look and U gouges have the most rounded fingernail look. Swept back grinds refers primarily to bowl gouges with the wings swept back. Some do it a little and some like one of mine are really exaggerated swept back. The swept back design is preferred for people who like to use a pull cut and it is also good for shear scraping. Gouges that don't have a swept back wing are used in push cuts.

Re: Articles on Gouges

Clifton C

I think the manufacturers are partly to blame for some of the confusion. Maybe they just need a description de joure. I've always thought of "fingernail" as describing a detail gouge or spindle gouge but since I followed some of Docs links (and got sidetracked) I find that most manufacturers are describing swept back as fingernail. Even the UK Toolpost has this description, "Fingernail/Celtic/O'Donnell Grind" describing one bowl gouge.

Don, to your last paragraph, if you ask ten turners... I hope you have a couple of days...

Doc, As always...

GaryG in MD

... your articles are spot on.

I like this series so much, I'm planning to highlight it in our club newsletter. ...GG