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ID this gouge

Douglas Ladendorf

Douglas Ladendorf

Joined
Jan 26, 2013
Messages
277
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Location
Pennington, New Jersey
I picked up this gouge from an estate sale recently. It was described as a 1/2" Thompson bowl gouge, but it's not like my other Thompson gouges. To me it looks like a parabolic flute, and has a swept back grind. Maybe D-way? Anyone recognize this?

image-368114522.jpg

image-2674079257.jpg

Doug
 
It is not a Thompson. It clearly is parabolic and does not have the blue grey color that my Thompson gouges have. Could be from any of several other manufacturers.
 
I use a 1/2" thompson gouge @lmost every day. Looks like one to me. The photo doesnt show the color accurately wbich happens often
 
john lucas said:
I use a 1/2" thompson gouge @lmost every day. Looks like one to me. The photo doesnt show the color accurately wbich happens often
Click to expand...

John, I don't have any of the Thompson bowl gouges, only spindle and detail gouges, but his site lists only V-shaped and U-shaped profiles for his bowl gouges. Is one of them actually parabolic?
 
john lucas said:
I use a 1/2" thompson gouge @lmost every day. Looks like one to me. The photo doesnt show the color accurately wbich happens often
Click to expand...

The length of steel behind the flute doesn't match Thompson gouges and also the Thompson gouges have a step in diameter at about the last 2.5". Regarding the color, you are correct that unless the image has been white balanced. Just as significant for accurately displaying colors is whether the monitor has been profiled and calibrated. However, in this case I disagree because we're dealing with very light gray and dark gray... Two different luminance values, but essentially the same color. The image is properly exposed and the color and luminance of the steel seen on the bevel is the same as it is for the rest of the tool.

Actually, none of us can eyeball a flute shape and proclaim it to be parabolic, elliptical, hyperbolic, or none of the above because each of the above covers a wide array of shapes. A little bit of work with a slipstone can quickly change the flute from parabolic to elliptical, etc. The mirror at the McDonald Observatory is parabolic but it would look flat as a scraper on a bowl gouge. Newtonian reflectors used by amateur astronomers are often ground with an elliptical shape because it is easier to grind and the difference between an ellipsoid and a paraboloid at the diameters and focal lengths commonly used and the difference is only a matter of angstroms. Every brand of bowl gouge seems to have a distinctive shape which is about all that can be said with any certainty.

If the tool has been used then the flute shape is no clue. I grind my bowl gouges to suit myself and suspect that is the case for most of our gouges.

There is one trait that this bowl gouge shares with Thompson bowl gouges ... prominent grinding marks in the flute.

Any idea how old the tool might be?
 
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Im away from home right now and i think i agree with Bill. The thompson gouge has a step turned in the shank so that it is exactly 1/2". It extends about 2 1/2 " up the shank. I was the one that recommended Doug do that when he first showed me the tools. I did that so they would fit more handles.
Reguarding the flute shape. Its pretty tough to tell the parabolic from the V in a photo without having them side by side. I tried to show that one time in a discussion and was frustrated by my attemps. I could see it because i knew what to look for but others complained that they looked the same. Some one once did castings of the flute shapes and cut off the ends so you dont see the grind and then you could see it fairly plain. You cant look at the grind because the angle you have arm on the wolverine or other jig can affect how that looks as well as the flute shape.
 
Well, it does resemble a Oneway gouge... I have one from years ago, and it is parabolic, and still may have a year or three left in it. They made long ones, and the double pointed ones too. Can't remember, but it was a harder steel, pre Thompson, D Way, and maybe even Glaser.

robo hippy
 
An educated guess, a pre d-way Sweazey gouge.
I could not tell from the pic, but mine has a pretty significant chamfer on the end near the hole.
It looks like mine.
 
No chamfer or hole. I have no other info or age but Oneway sounds right. It seems like a quality gouge and I'm looking forward to working with it. The even-sided grind almost looks like a platform grind, which I have never done but willing to give it a shot. Hope to try it out this weekend.
 
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