Been trying to make friends with my new Glenn Lucas "bottom feeder" but I'm getting a lot of bounce or else it tends to go too deep. Realize I need to practise with it but anyone have any tips or know of a good video?
thanks
Trevor
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Been trying to make friends with my new Glenn Lucas "bottom feeder" but I'm getting a lot of bounce or else it tends to go too deep. Realize I need to practise with it but anyone have any tips or know of a good video?
thanks
Trevor
digging in is definitely due to coming off the bevel, bounce is a problem I often encounter too when using it more like a fingernail grind gouge coming at the cut at a 46 degree flute angle. If you watch Glenn's videos he is using the straight ground gouge nearly horizontally but still cutting to the right of the tip with the cut ending right at the tip. Glens' videos (especially the bowl video) cover this well but keeping the 'bounce' out is still a challenge for me.
Trevor,
If it bounces you move back to where it did not bounce and cut your way out of the bounce. Do not press too hard, the bevel should follow the edge not press into the wood.
Set your depth of cut that you want and keep it consistent. If you loose the depth of cut, immediately move back and pick up the depth of cut again. Keep swinging the handle so the bevel can follow the cutting edge. You steer the depth of cut with your right hand on the end of the tool handle.
Good luck, let us know how you are doing.
Peter F.
When I get bounce it's because I'm pressing the bevel too hard against the wood and/or moving the gouge too fast. As Peter says, when you feel bounce you need to back up to where there is no bounce and try again. If you have bounce and try to start the cut in the bounce, you'll just make matters worse. Something else that has helped me is to go slower. As soon as I feel it starting to bounce, I stop moving the tool completely and let the wood come to the tool. Just sit there for a few seconds and let the wood come to the gouge. All of a sudden you'll feel the bounce is gone which means you're back to a smooth surface. Now you can proceed slowly and the gouge will cut the bounce away. Your left hand should press the tool down firmly on the toolrest.
Hold the flute at about the 12:00 or 1:00 position, sometimes I'll go 2:00 at most. The gouge cuts with the left side of the flute in a shearing cut. The right side of the flute is doing what I call a "pre-cut". The right side is getting some of the wood out of the way so the left side doesn't have to remove so much wood.
All very helpful responses. I'll play with it next weekend and let you know how I make out.
thanks
Trevor
Go to 19:50 in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6oJlbU6zs
and watch for about a minute. It is an excellent explanation. Never rub the bevel, glide along it or ride it gently. Between that and using a very sharp tool, good things will happen.
Well, I show one in use here, but not a lot of detail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0qkpDBcgfg
If you are going too deep, that is most likely from not pivoting your body/pulling the handle more towards you as you progress with the cut. You have been used to a more standard bevel, like 45 degrees or so, and are used to that tool angle coming off the wood. The bottom feeders have a more blunt angle, so the tool is more square to the wood. Try making cuts where you start at a 1/16 inch wide shaving, and pivot till you have nothing, gently taking small scoops. As you get used to the handle angle, it is easier to maintain a more consistent cut.
As for the bounce, well, most of the time for me, that is more of a problem when I am making a heavy cut across a flat bottom of a bowl or platter. Trying to cut too fast is one part of the problem. The circle is smaller, so you can't feed the cut as fast as you do on the rim. Really important to learn to 'feel' the cut. Also, pushing on the bevel too hard. You can run into this one on the outside of the bowl as well where it starts to bounce. 'Hold the tool as you would a bird. Too tight and you kill it. Too loose and it flies away.' This is the touchy/feeley part of turning that you will hear so much about. The other part of this problem is grain orientation. When you are cutting down the sides of the bowl, you are cutting down through the fiber. When you are cutting straight across the bottom, you are cutting more into the fiber. This means that for 1/4 of the rotation, you are cutting with the grain, then 1/4 against the grain, the 1/4 with, and 1/4 against. This means that twice for each rotation, you are pretty much head butting the end grain. This is where you will find the tear out. Easy pressure, and slow push into the wood. A high shear angle really helps. For my bottom feeders, I always roll them to about 45 degrees. Since most of them are 1/2 circle flute shapes, I get the same shear angle. I do prefer the fluteless gouges from Doug Thompson for the highest shear angle. I have another clip up on You Tube about them.
robo hippy
I invented my idea of a bottom feeder 20 years ago and have shaped several for friends. The only secret is to have a square tip beveled to 75 deg. on a 1/2" spindle or bowl gouge . You do ride this bevel and it doesn't bounce. I often use it for a finish cut on other shapes. Done correctly you cannot make one grab. Do sharpen/hone this one to a scarey edge.
My favorite profile for bottom finishing.Quote:
Originally Posted by robert baccus
Had a chance to put some time in with the bottom feeder today and just wanted to thank everyone for their input. All of your suggestions helped enormously but the single biggest improvement came from simply slowing down the cut and taking more care. Still need practise but much better now.
trevor