(Q) Recommendation on width/brand of Bowl Gouge

In that size range, and for a beginner, the 3/8 will be a better choice. My first bowl gouge was a 3/8 Crown, and I've no regrets.

Jim

Greg G. wrote:

Thanks Jim! I thought as much, but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on any "trade secrets". I looked at a Sorby fingernail cut bowl gouge that I really like, but for $30 more, I'm not sure it's "all that". I guess if I really get the urge, I could re-grind the profile on the Crown.

I'm also looking at chucks - there are so many other things I don't have it's hard to know where to start. I'm not ready to spend $200 on a Oneway, but Highland Hardware has a small chuck with auxiliary jaws for about $100 - I've heard nothing either good or bad about it. :-\

Greg G.

Axminster has a new 3" chuck for $160, dang good price for a dang good name. At Craft Supplies USA:

Grunke

Greg, Here, FWIW, is my thinking on the matter. I bought a small utility grade

4-jaw and a small utility grade 3-jaw chuck. These, added to an internal chuck meant to turn watch cases, a couple of screw chucks and a couple face plates will be enough to learn what I am doing and also get a few pieces off the lathe to sell to buy the fancier stuff as I figure out what I need. As of this moment and subject to change without notice I doubt if I will ever get another 4-jaw chuck and it will be a while before I get much use out of the screw chucks / face plates. I DO use the 3-jaw chuck and a #2MT pen mandrel quite a bit.

Recently Woodcrafters had a 30% off sale on many of their Sorby tools. I bought a doodly-whacker thingie for hollowing out things that works pretty well and an oval skew that you can have when you pry my cold, dead, fingers from it.

I think Sorby tools come under the general heading of "Priced way too high ... but worth it." Good steel, good shape, good 'feel'. Sky-high prices ("30% off" meant nearly $30 on the hollower) but I just can't see $90 for a hand-held single point cutting tool. That said, keep an eye out for one on sale ... IMHO it's well worth owning.

Bill

I bought the small chuck from Penn State, trying to conserve $$. Big mistake! I then bought a Oneway Talon chuck. You'd only regret the Talon one time - when you paid for it.

There are other chucks with good reputations in the smaller size that may be just as good. Axminster has a good rep. Try to avoid the ones that use the tommy bars if you can.

Jim

Greg G. wrote:

3/8 for a mini. I'd get a 1/2" detail gouge first, though. Better at hollowing.

M2 will do, powder is nice.

Greg,

Keep in mind that, for bowl gouges, English tools typical list the size as the flute width, where a North American tool typically lists the bar diameter. A Sorby or Crown 3/8" tool has a bar that is 1/2" (or 13 mm). This is the size to get as others have said.

Please remember that you can grind any tool to the profile you like such as the Sorby. Save the $$$ and grind the tool to the Sorby-like fingernail grind.

For a sharpening reference, see the San Diego Woodturner's web page under tips. I have posted a grinding handout there that explains a fingernail grind.

I have used a couple of different kinds of Crown as well as the Sorby bowls gouges. I like the Crown version of the Ellsworth Signature Bowl Gouge the best. It has a very long handle. This helps with control especially in deeper bowls. It also has a more parabolic shape to its flute. If ground correctly this seems to work well (for me anyway) for a variety of cuts on both the inside and the outside of the bowl.

Thanks Joe!

I visited the link you posted. Lots of great info! I hope you/they don't mind, but I downloaded many of your newsletters for offline perusing - even though I live in Atlanta. They look professional and informative. There is a dearth of creative/engineering info in our library system, and I love to read anything current I can get my hands on. I'm filing your link in my ever expanding library of favorites!

Greg G.

Thanks for the info, Ted. I've heard about the Ellsworth grind, and think I have a page filed away somewhere that details grinding your own version on a standard gouge. Depending on the cost of said "Signature" gouge, I may try this.

Greg G.

I notice that the aforementioned chuck tightens with a key rather than tommy bars - is this really preferable, or is it a matter of personal preference. I would assume that, as with a Jacobs chuck, you should tighten several times around the chuck, rather than depending on one tightening in one location.

Greg G.

Thank for the info, Bill.

I saw the Woodcraft Sorby Sale at the local store, but didn't buy anything as I did not have a lathe at that time. I have subsequently gone to their web site, but no mention on whether the sale is still ongoing - and I haven't called to ask. It's so darned far to drive through heavy metro traffic that I'm hesitant to return. It could easily cost me 3 hours of time that I can't afford to lose right now.

Greg G.

Thanks for the info, Jim. I've seen the cheap ~$50 chucks and wasn't very impressed. But $160-200 is a fair expenditure - one that has to be justified to the Chief Domestic Comptroller. ;-) Maybe Santa will be nice this year...

There is a tool dealer up the road that has an old stock Nova that he is selling for $98. I know it's an old design, but it was quite popular years ago.

Greg G.

Thanks again for the info, George.

Greg G.

SNIP ........

======================== The newer design chucks (Super Nova, big Oneways and Axminsters, etc.) use a key of some sort (varies by manufacturer), and this gives a much better mechanical advantage than the tommy bar types. This allows a tighter grip on the workpiece tenon insuring less chance of spontaneous departure of the blank. Not as exciting, but leads to a better end product. It also allows easier mounting of the blanks since you don't need the "third hand" that often occurs with tommy bars. Some production turners prefer the tommy bars since they are faster than the key tighteneing.

Yes, tightening at all points insures a better grip.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

Save your money and buy a Supernova or a Talon. Nova has a new Midi chuck that you should probably look at as well. Don't buy cheap. By buying cheap, you don't always save money. Usually you have to go back a few days/weeks/months later and buy what you should have bought in the first place. A chuck is not a good place to skimp. Even Jet-mini-sized blanks can pack a powerful punch if they come out of the chuck.

Barry

Remind the "Chief Comptroller" of how much a good bass boat costs...........(unless, of course you have one of those expensive things, too)

Barry

IMHO. start and finish in chucks can be summed up in one word: Vicmarc. I got one three or so months ago and wouldn't part with it !

Kip Powers Rogers, AR