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Name That Gouge

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I was given 3 gouges which I'm not sure are spindle or bowl gouges. I was hoping someone can identify them for me from the attached pics. Thanks!

In the first photo the top gouge is a 3/8 Benjamin Best spindle gouge. I don't know what the bottom tool is - bowl or spindle?
IMG_1706b.jpg

In the next 2 pics, the top is a 5/8 BB roughing gouge, I don't know if the bottom 2 are spindle or bowl gouges?
IMG_1708b.jpg

IMG_1709b.jpg
 

john lucas

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I believe they are spindle gouges. The photos aren't real sharp so it's hard to know for sure. The difference in spindle gouges and bowl gouges is the depth of the flute. A bowl gouge has a very deep flute.
 
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that is what I thought (that they are spindle gouges), they do not have the deep flute that my bowl gouge has. But I only have one bowl gouge (a 1/2" fingernail profile from Robert Sorby) but I wasn't sure exactly what a standard profile looked like (from your answers I guess I can deduce that the normal profile bowl gouge has the deep flute but not the long wings). The bevel on these gouges is much longer than on the 3/8" spindle gouge I have from Benjamin Best. Is there a rule of thumb when I would use one vs the other? i.e. in the first picture there are two 3/8" spindle gouges with different angles on the bevel. Thanks
 
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They may be forged gouges. Look for uniform thickness of metal to tell the tale. That kind of gouge peels very well, but with its broad section, doesn't poke worth a squat. To get it to cut across the grain you almost have to swing it in rather than poke it in. Once it's slicing, it's a thing of beauty.

It is my preferred tool for finishing bowls, inside or out, because it is all but self-controlling when ground across the uniform width with a uniform bevel angle. Shorter bevel for high sharpness angle work like the variety of grain presentations you get on a crossgrain bowl, and longer for paring along the grain.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/12_1024.jpg Wet.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Forged-in-Use.jpg Dry.

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/MichaelMouse/?action=view&current=CherryPeelOut.flv Out.

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/MichaelMouse/?action=view&current=CherryPeelIn.flv In.

Since the gouge is used with perhaps 15 degrees of tilt from horizontal, it gets great support from the toolrest, and since it has a lot of the curve on the wood, it's almost possible to take a hand off - either hand - and still make a cut. Never a problem with interference from the bed of the lathe or the post on the rest, either!

All places save the very edges of the gouge being equal in curvature and bevel angle, it's one continuous sweet spot. I use big ones for rougher work, where I don't have to sharpen often, and smaller for finishing, where I almost always touch up the edge prior to cutting.

Other names include "Continental" or "European" pattern.
 
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I'm not getting posts up today. Glad I looked before going back to the basement.

I prefer, as I said, to have shorter bevels and to cut with higher sharpness angles in the mixed grain you encounter with a facegrain bowl. For long grain work, longer bevels are great. I keep a couple on hand.

This shows an outside cut with a big forged gouge, where I'm actually a bit too broad. You can see on the far left of the concavity made by the gouge that I'm actually scraping and lifting just a touch. I must have been in a hurry that day. Still, as you can see the final quality of the cut is pretty good. Even the natural edges are lifting rather than splintering. I wouldn't be that greedy inside. One shallow pass would be all I'd need to fair and smooth the curve.
 

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Thanks Mike,

I just tried my 3/8 spindle gouge to finish off the bottom of a bowl in a donut chuck and it came out very smooth, peelings came off like thin dental floss. I cant wait to try it on the sides of my next bowl, maybe it will get me that smooth finish I've been unable toachieve with my bowl gouge or scrapers. I'm confused though becaue I thought I read somewhere no never use a spindle gouge on "faceplate" work?

I really got to finish making that Longworth Chuck I started last week !!!
 
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Be smart. Work at slow speed and keep your toolrest up close. When you're cutting, you don't need a lot of tool force. If you're getting it, look at the orientation and sharpness again.

Names are nice, but as long as you know how to use the tool in hand, in this case with the edge parallel to the surface, you're as safe as the belt and suspenders types.
 
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Thanks Mike,

I just tried my 3/8 spindle gouge to finish off the bottom of a bowl in a donut chuck and it came out very smooth, peelings came off like thin dental floss. I cant wait to try it on the sides of my next bowl, maybe it will get me that smooth finish I've been unable toachieve with my bowl gouge or scrapers. I'm confused though becaue I thought I read somewhere no never use a spindle gouge on "faceplate" work?

I have used a spindle gouge as you describe above. I would not use one on the side of a bowl. Specific situations may allow the use. There is a reason the bowl gouge is much heavier than a spindle gouge. The heft allows the turner to work over the rest with much less vibration. Previous advice was given to keep the rest close. This is why.

John
 
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There is a reason the bowl gouge is much heavier than a spindle gouge. The heft allows the turner to work over the rest with much less vibration. Previous advice was given to keep the rest close. This is why.

You probably want to rethink this. Gouges are longer, and usually greater in section, to allow greater unsupported reach over the rest. If you can get the rest close, that's moot. No need to reach much on a broad opening, though some people just have a phobia about moving the rest.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Straight.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Curve.jpg

As to vibration. Your guiding hand is not firm, but allows the gouge, especially if you've given away a lot of mechanical advantage by overreaching, to move along against the direction of rotation. That's why you want to rest close and keep your mechanical advantage. It can also encounter a difference in density or direction (two places every rotation!) of grain which might cause the tool to bounce back from the direction of the cut. That's what the other hand is for, holding the tool firmly to the rest. Since wood is the inevitable loser in wood versus steel, it will move and "vibrate" before it can do much to even a quarter inch of forged carbon. The name of the game is to use just enough force to remove the shavings, but not so much that it pushes the wood around.

A "catch" is another matter. That's why the section is greater.
 
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