Sharpening gouges

Thanks Darrel for the help.This is the best place to get quick help when we get in trouble. Jerry

Hello Jerry,

Here are a few of my thoughts on bevel angles for spindle and bowl gouges...

Spindle Gouges

Used primarily for between centres turning, spindle gouges are a great tool for detail work like turning beads and coves. A good starting point is a

35-degree bevel. Some turners vary the bevel angle between 30 and 35 degrees, to suit particular situations. These are typically ground with a standard fingernail shape, although some turners (myself included) prefer Irish grinds on spindle gouges. The swept back wings offer excellent visibility when turning fine details and the shape allows you to get into very tight areas, without touching adjacent design elements.

Production spindle gouges are available from some manufacturers that offer increased metal under the flute, which allows you to work a greater distance off the tool rest without vibrations. These production spindle tools are usually ground with double bevels, to shorten the long bevel that would otherwise be present on the tool.

Spindle gouges can also be used to a limited extent to hollow very small projects like goblets and boxes as well. When used in this way, the gouge is typically ground with a 45-degree front bevel angle. Since spindle gouges lack a lot of mass under the flute, they are only suitable for very small, shallow hollowing projects. Spindle gouges should never be used to hollow the inside of a bowl, since they lack the mass and rigidity necessary to resist the forces generated when the tool hangs off the tool rest to hollow the bowl.

Spindle gouges are typically available in various sizes including, 1/4',

3/8", and 1?2" in round bar stock and 1/2" and 5/8" in forged stock. Micro versions are also available in 1/4" and 3/16" sizes, or even smaller from some manufacturers. I really like the small micro turning tools and I use them frequently in my studio for fine detail work. Remember, if using micro tools, keep your tool rest support close to the work piece, to minimize tool overhang and chatter.

Bowl Gouges

Used primarily for faceplate work and turning bowls, bowl gouges are one of the most ubiquitous tools in a modern woodturner's studio. Useful for not only bowl work, but bowl gouges can also be used for many spindle-turning tasks. There are two basic ways to grind a bowl gouge, flat across and fingernail shape. The fingernail shape has two popular styles, traditional and Irish.

Which style is best for you depends on many things, including your personal preferences, your skill level and the horsepower of your lathe. I use the Irish style of grind the most in my studio, but I will on rare occasions, use a flat ground bowl gouge. For example, the interior belly cut on a Hawaiian Calabash style bowl. The decision on which grind or profile is best for a particular project, is determined by the specific project's shape, subject timber, depth, soundness of wood and skill of the turner to name a few.

Bowl gouges are available in numerous sizes including 1/4", 3/8", 1/2",

5/8", 3/4" and 1" to name a few. The larger sizes are great for roughing out and doing the bulk of the initial shaping work. The mid size gouges are great for refining the design and the smaller gouges work well for adding fine detail. The 1/4" bowl gouge is a particularly elegant tool that is capable of producing amazingly smooth surfaces.

I've often been asked what bevel angle you should use for turning bowls. This really depends on the size, shape and depth of the bowl you want to turn. In reality, you need several different bowl gouges, each with a different front bevel angle to turn various sizes and shapes of bowls. Another factor that determines what bevel angle you need is how you turn your bowls.

I prefer to make a single sweep on the interior, from the rim to the bottom (side grain bowls). This requires a bevel angle that will allow me to complete my entire sweep before the shaft of the gouge touches the bowl rim. Once the shaft of the gouge touches the rim, you lose your bevel contact and the cut is interrupted.

If you prefer to hollow the interior of your bowl in several steps, then you have more options, since you can use two different gouges, each with a different front bevel angle to complete the interior sweep. The important thing here is that you want your bevel to maintain contact throughout the entire cut on the bowl. Having said that, you still need some kind of a starting point if you're just getting into bowls.

Half Round Bowls: These are a popular style of bowl with many woodturners. The wall of a half round bowl will restrict the gouge movement to some extent, but as long as the depth does not exceed the radius of the bowl, a

45-degree front bevel will usually allow you to maintain contact throughout the cut.

Shallow Open Style Bowls: I really enjoy turning shallow open bowls either with, or without an Ogee style of rim. Because the bowl is short and very open, the wall of the bowl usually does not restrict the gouge movement and you can use various front bevel angles to complete the interior. A good starting bevel angle for these types of bowls is 30 degrees, but many other angles could also be used as well.

Deep and Tall Bowls: The walls on these types of bowls are quite tall, with a small bottom and this greatly restricts the movement of the gouge inside the bowl when hollowing. Since this style of bowl has a depth that is greater than the radius, you have to use front bevel around 60, or even 65 degrees to maintain full contact throughout the cut.

Semi-Closed Bowls: These types of bowls feature a rim opening that curves slightly inward, making the opening in the bowl smaller than the largest diameter of the bowl wall. This type of bowl typically has a depth that exceeds the radius, with a bowl wall that will restrict your gouge movement. A front bevel angle of 55 degrees or so, should allow for full bevel contact when making your interior cuts.

Recommendations: Ok, that's a lot to digest. If you're looking for a happy medium and you only have a few gouges, what do you do? I would grind one at

40 degrees, one at 45 degrees and keep one ground at 50, or 55 degrees. That will cover most of the styles of bowls you're likely to want to turn. If you decide to turn a bowl where these front bevels won't allow full contact throughout the cut, simply regrind one to a steeper or blunter angle to accommodate your design. Another option would be to buy another gouge and grind it to either 50 degrees, or 60 degrees if you like turning tall and deep bowls.

Good luck to you and best wishes in all of your woodturning endeavours!

There are several on YouTube... I use Brandan Stemp's channel often....

Deb