bowl gouges

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babyblues

babyblues

Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
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658
Location
Portland, ME, USA.
Hey guys,

I'm looking into getting a bowl gouge because...well, I want to make bowls. lol My question is: What bowl gouge would you recommend? There are a dozen or so of them out there, but I don't want to spend $150 when I could have spent $60 for the same thing with a different label.

What size, grind, flute, etc.
 
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Jason,
When you are looking for a gouge some things that you need to consider is how big a bowl are you planing on, how close can you get the tool rest to the inside of the bowl, type of wood, end grain vs along the grain.
The longer the reach and the wilder the grain will require a thicker shaft on the gouge. I have a cheep set that came with my lathe and when I was turning a oak crotch I got a catch and bent my gouge to about a 60 degree angle. Have since gotten a tool with a little carbide circle on the end and I am waiting for a couple of Thompson gouges to arrive. The long and the short of it when turning larger pieces of wood (bigger than pens) catches are a greater possibility especially while learning. Also, you didn't mention it but a chuck is a very useful tool. Good luck.
God Bless,
Eric
 
Thompson tools. Awesome stuff. But you have to get your own handles. I haven't done enough bowls to answer your other questions, sorry.

GK
 
There is a lot of stress on the shafts of bowl gouges. I have a set of Marples minis. In use (which is now rare for these), the shafts bend. You can turn small items with large tools, but very difficult visa versa. Go big and quality, you will never look back.
 
Hello Jason
I have been turning bowls for 40 years. I have and still make good money doing it as a living as well as selling my wood. DO NOT BUY CHEAP[xx(][xx(][xx(] You will be very very disapointed. As the others have said it will bend and even worse yet I have talked with beging bowl turners that have had them break and then you have a flying knife that will stick you in a bad way.
Originally posted by babyblues

Hey guys,

I'm looking into getting a bowl gouge because...well, I want to make bowls. lol My question is: What bowl gouge would you recommend? There are a dozen or so of them out there, but I don't want to spend $150 when I could have spent $60 for the same thing with a different label.

What size, grind, flute, etc.
Click to expand...
 
Jason, I agree with Wolfdancer and get the best you can afford. If you are on a limited budget, look for the ones with the most "meat" or metal below and around the U or V shaped flute. That will help you when you are having to reach a few inches past your tool-rest, like when working on the inside of the bowl. Also, I would recommend trying an "Irish" grind on your bowl gouges. This will greatly reduce the chance of catches which can be dangerous. BTW an Irish grind is similar to an "Ellsworth ? sp" grind except it is flat instead of curved across the top of the gouge, which I find easier to sharpen.
 
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