roughing gouge question

"Norbert" wrote: (clip) There is a deeper gouge which seems to be designed for this, called a roughing gouge strangely enough. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ By "there is," I guess you mean, "There exists," not, "I have." A roughing gouge is intended for the exact purpose--turning square or irregular pieces into round. There are two things about it that make it good for this job:

1.) Weight. You are doing interrupted cuts, taking off the corners. The weight makes it easier to keep the gouge from bouncing. 2.) It has a long cutting edge, so you can rotate the tool to bring up a new part of the edge which hasn't been dulled yet.

They work well, and can even be used for a lot of other tasks, but are not necessary. I do a lot of roughing with a skew, because I think the practice is good for me. I think it is working, because I don't get as many catches as I used to.

Hi Norbert

Leo Lightman took all the wind out of my sails, just like he says they are meant for each other, massive tool compared to others, long bevel, that is from side to side on the gouge, so you don,t have to sharpen as often, and when presented on a skewed angle able to leave a very good finish. Tang on the tool is usually considered weak, however if you let the bevel do its job, there is little leverage on the tool, and you will be surprised at how quickly and easily you will be able to round up those square sticks.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Heh, heh.

I'm with Leo & Leo on this one.

Been savin' that one up.

Robert

A roughing gouge is ground with a constant angle making it possible to use the same hold angle while rolling the gouge into a cut for depth or running the rest cutting down hill, both of which work well for knocking the corners off. If you have one that has the "U" shape, you have your straight chisel on either side of the gouge for a smooth sand-free surface as well.

Shows one in use doing both, and a "pommel" cut as well.

The advice here so far is good. I have a big roughing gouge and I use it all the time to round spindle turnings, it never seems to catch and can quickly get the part rounded. On green wood you can be standing knee deep in shavings faster than you can believe possible. A word of warning, these gouges are not intended for bowls, the tang (steel part that goes into the handle) is too thin for what is needed on a bowl. I have heard that the roughing gouge can bust at the tang if you get a catch on a bowl. Brad

If you use the gouge properly, there's no catch. Convex is convex, regardless the diameter. Not to mention it's tough to stress the tang with a 10:1 mechanical advantage on the rest. NO "pommel" cut angles!

You use the tool as you would when rounding over an end on a spindle turning - from face grain peel through end grain sever, bevel registering throughout. With the constant bevel angle, and the size of the gouge, it's almost impossible to tip the tool once the cut is in progress. A fingernail - variable angle - grind is prone to tipping and catching.

Attempting to use one inside results in overhangs that are extremely risky and the gouge is really too big for small clearances. It'll smooth a face, but hollowing is best left to smaller stuff.

You might take a look at this before you decide to use your roughing gouge on a bowl:

this

or this:

Although checking the sites of the manufacturers referenced above does not tell you that you shouldn't, the people that sell the gouges seem to be emphatic that you don't. I did notice they highlighted the warning, too. BTW, Packard tools (for the most part) are branded Crowns.

Turning the outside should be fine. Turning endgrain with a flat nosed grind is much more exciting than I like.

YMMV, use at your own risk, etc.

Robert

They're also the ones who remind you not to use your lawn mower as a hedge trimmer. Presumably because some folks don't do much thinking.

Why someone would say such a thing is curious, because these were the only gouges available for hundreds of years before advances in metal milling made the cylindrical gouge - cheaper to make - the "bowl" gouge. For longer reaches, they were made "long and strong," but the pattern was the same - equal thickness material and equal angle grind. You'd have to undercut the groove in a cylindrical gouge to get back to the advantage of equal thickness, of course.

Thank's for all the feedback, feel like I poked a wasp's nest. I'm not going to use it for bowls, eh! Guess I'll have to seriously consider getting one now. SWMBO is going to tear my face off, but she'll gat over it when she sees the wonders I perform with it.

You won't regret it. Get a large one rather than smaller.

I sharpen mine with a blunter bevel (40-45 degrees) per Leonard Lee's book. I think this helps it withstand the wham bam of roughing large blanks.

Just a quick update. I got a Henry Taylor 1 1/2 inch roughing gouge from Lee valley and it is a rhinosaurus of a tool. Glad I got it, makes a big difference, but it makes my other turning tools feel like tiny lightweights.

Norbert