MM,
The same cut on face grain the tool is turned 90 degrees when the wood turns 90 degrees.
Actually, if you stop and think, it's presented precisely as it is presented to the wood in spindle orientation, and cuts/planes the wood the same way as a result. The difference between a modest arc of contact or a straight contact moving along the curved edge is insignificant.
You start near the (open) end when the wood's completely rough, just as you do with the grain running long, swing in and through, then back up and whittle again. Same as long grain. Double bennie with starting out at the end is that irregularities removed there balance the blank faster. The initial arc establishes an instant downhill which is extended and possibly deepened with each backstep until the surface becomes relatively regular. At that point, just as with spindle work, the initial swing transitions to push along the rest and along the new surface, refining it as you go.
As to safety
When teaching, it's well to mention that cutting above center on convex surfaces is the first best way to avoid getting
below the wood. A catch can't happen with air over the tool. Minor irregularities in the surface, or trying to deepen too fast are rewarded by having the wood push the tool out and away. The fact of the bevel being ground at a single angle all the way across means it can't catch sideways, as happens when people try to cut flute up with such grinds and let the gouge roll. Safety also wants the overhand grip, because the active part of the flute is better controlled than if the fingers are under it, especially in regard to pitch. Since the gouge is being controlled over the fulcrum, full mechanical advantage is maintained at the far end of the handle. Carvers will recognize the principle of pushing back with the off hand while using a gouge. Here, the rest provides an even more stable resistance, and since the piece moves we don't have to.
The geometry of a bowl exterior also adds to the safety in a way beyond simply cutting above center. When the tool skews to pare rather than just shear, the sharp corner is not only above center, it's also trailing in the smaller diameter.
Bowl gouge "better?" Subjective. A safe alternative which removes waste rapidly, leaving a regular surface as the natural product of proper use is pretty powerful competition. Unlike some detractors, I know how to use either properly, and I even learned to rough with scrapers long ago. But I like what the kids at school called (after the History teacher showed them a Gidget movie) "the Big Kahuna."
