Bowl turning question - scraper or gouge?

Best bet is to learn to use a gouge more effectively. I know, not much help, sorry. Scrapers tend to tear out so getting a clean cut is harder. Try doing a shear scrape rather than a regular scrape, that may help.

Use a freshly sharpened tool.

Run the lathe as fast as safely possible, and cut very very slowly.

When sanding, wipe the area with tear out with paste wax, then sand.

Thanx Kevin - will work on it!

Vic

all Kevin said. Hold scraper at about 45 deg to 60 deg angle with the leading edge (near center of bowl) raised up off the rest. make sure it's razor sharp.

with gouge, make a smooth sweeping cut from bottom to top, very sharp gouge. You can invert the gouge and use as a shear scraper and clean up tear out, but if you are not really really careful, you will get a catch that you will remember for a long time because you are not rubbing the bevel or anything.

Bottom to top - you mean center to rim?

When I hollow the bowl I always work toward the center, scooping more each time. So you are saying that the smoothing cuts be made in the reverse direction?

Trying to get my head around this.

Thanx!

Vic

Vic, as everyone else has said, "The gouge needs to be sharp." That does not mean you need to be able to shave with it or that the little microbes go "eak, eak" when you breathe on it. But it needs to feel sharp when you run your finger across it.

I have found using the gouge inverted to a 120degree angle and making light scrapes with it, will clean a lot of the tear out up. Then there is always shellac, thin CA glue, wax (which I have not used, or even thought of - will have to give it a try) or MinWax Woodhardner to stablize the grain, IF the tearout is really bad or the wood is punky. Baring that, get your gouge work down and practice taking really light cuts to finish.

Also, you may have tons of claro lying around, but I am cheap (married a "down-easter Scot) and have found that pine 1x's, glued up into a stack, with the grain alternating direction (each 90degrees to the one below it) makes a real good, and cheap practice piece.

Deb

LOL! I understand. I do the same with the pine but every now and then I want to try something pretty so I'll buy a chunk of claro and turn away. I still have lots of pine blanks that I'll be working on. I'll have to try that scraping with the gouge.

As to sharp - my regular wood chisels I can shave with, literally, but the turning tools aren't that bad. I'm getting the feel of being able to tell when I've lost the edge on a tool and am pushing harder for the same cut. I'm also getting pretty good at touching them up on the grinder and a quick hone and back to work. I'm getting better with the "feel" of the gouge on the work but that's where I need to work on a lighter touch. I'm still clutching the gouge expecting a catch that will rip it from my poor tired fingers. :) Need to lighten up a bit but remain firm. Working on it.

Thanx for the guidance!

Vic

Me, I always say you need to cut with supported wood. The "rule" is down hill. The problem is, down hill is sometimes "up"

Think about how the grain is presented to the tool, if the wood you are cutting is supported by the wood about to be cut, you are cutting on supported wood.

Which means, on the inside, cutting from the rim to the center.

I'm betting your problem is you are falling off the bevel of the gouge, when you reach the bottom of the bowl. This is NOT unusual

If you have PBS-Create watch tonight's (8PM Eastern and Pacific) of Woodturning Workshop. (repeat Friday at 2AM). Stuart Batty mentions needing a steeper gouge for the bottom

Back to the original question. The answer is YES, which ever works for you. I know serious production turners that only use scrappers and can turn out a bowl faster then you want to think about. I also know production turners that turn out a bowl without ever touching anything but a bowl gouge. But then I also know turners that use only Hook chisels and are just as fast.

what Ralph says is correct, however, I find that a shearing cut from the bottom to the edge is a good way to smooth out ripples and tear out - this is not a ride the bevel cut, the U of the gouge faces the wood, the bottom edge (fingernail grind) is shear scraping, and you are using VERY light pressure.

soren berger does a great demo with a HUGE roughing gouge on the outside of some random piece of wood - he holds it with one finger and lays a long continuous ribbon of wood onto whomever he wants sitting in the front row of the audience. The point he is making is that it is control, not brute force that does the work.

BTW, there is a REASON sharpening jigs are so popular with bowl turners. If you do not have one, Woodcraft has their slow speed 8" grinder on sale and a "Wolverine" style jig coupled with that pays for itself rather quickly.

I hand sharpened for a few years, thinking I could do a job that was "good enough." The truth is, I did not do a bad job at all. Then I got the grinder and jig and wondered why I had waited soooo long.

Just a thought.

Deb

So would this be what is sometimes described in the books as a "pull" cut?

Bought a Delta variable speed grinder and the Ellsworth jig from captain Eddie. Also adapted a few jigs I had around. That part I have covered - technique I am learning! :)

Vic,

When you are going to use your bowl gouge to scrape with, sharpen it on a 100 or 120 grit wheel, but do NOT hone it. When used as a scraper, the burr does the actual cutting.

geez - I don't know - maybe - it is a scraping cut, like using a straight edge to shave and with a sharp tool you should get little wispy shavings floating off the tool - it is really a finishing cut that is useful to clean up ripples and tear out - I use that cut more on the outside though, it's easier to get the right angles - if you were nearby, I'd just show you

Not what I call a pull cut......

I am a relative novice at turning. I have somewhat mastered the scraper and sanding block. Maple end grain is ugly. But what I have found to tame it is a goose neck card scraper. I can take off inch long by .002" shavings. If it is really bad I sand with 36 grit sandpaper at slow speed and use the card scraper to remove the grooves left by the sandpaper. I seem to have no problem with the spalted maple. The other solution is segmented turning.

Ray

Someone once told me that if you learn to ski on your own you'll end up practicing your mistakes. I think the same applies to wood turning.

The real answer to learning to turn using the various tools is to take a course from someone knows what they are doing. I was very fortunate to have the late Joe Basha of Pasadena as my mentor. He was patient, always emphasizing safety and there was no rushing into something. We listened. we learned, we practiced and all the time that wonderfull guy was there to help - even outside the class hours. No one went right into Level 11. You had to do level 1 with him first - and I learned why after doing level 11 (which I waited three years for). It was a progression and I'm still learning.

In the end the tutoring from Joe paid off. It was worth every cent.

BTW - Plenty of good videos on You Tube on turning/sharpening etc/how to - etc. Take a look.

Keith P. Corner Brook