Importance of quality tools ....

[Lee Koepke]

Can NOT be said enough. After all the glowing reviews, and a very helpful tool artisan .... I find out what a bowl gouge is SUPPOSED to feel like. I talked to Doug Thompson around noon on Friday, placed my order .. then he called me back to finish our conversation and he said its already in the box ---- Monday afternoon I have a box on my doorstep!!!

web 2011 Walnut Bowl 004.jpg

To put in perspective what i WAS using, my original BB sitting next to the 1/2 V

web 2011 Walnut Bowl 007.jpg

And because I HAD to .. I finish turned a walnut rough bowl .... and truly for the first time I was able to cut from the rim all the way to the bottom in one smooth continuous cut. WOW.

web 2011 Walnut Bowl 002.jpg2011 Walnut web Bowl 011.jpgweb 2011 Walnut Bowl 012.jpg

Thanks Doug for the beautiful steel!!!!!

[John M. Smith]

Nice looking tool. And bowl. Hope to put mt hands on some of his tools at the symposium next month. Stealth gloat that I'll be going

[John Hart]

I had the same experience. Very nice. Congratulations Lee.

[Jon Nuckles]

Doug's customer support is also great. My 5/8-V gouge snapped after about 6 months of use (apparently a defect occasionally shows up in the metal Doug buys to make his tools). I called Doug and explained what happened. Before I even asked, he said he would put a new one in the mail to replace it. A couple of days later it was sitting in my mailbox. Good thing for me, as I use it for 95% of my turning. I am a very happy customer of Thompson Lathe Tools.

[Tim Thiebaut]

Oh man I want some of these myself!! And ok I have to say this...one reason you may have had trouble cutting to the bottom of a bowl is because your old gouge is about an inch long!! LOL..looks like you got a lot of use out of that though! On a serious note though, I want to get a set of thompsons one of these days, as soon as I can.

[Reed Gray]

I talked to Doug on Friday night or Saturday, can't remember, about his fluteless gouge. It got here today. Works great on spindles as well, but lots of experimentation to do yet. Got to get it inside a bowl.

robo hippy

[Doug Thompson]

Lee,
Good job, it's so simple when everything falls together... the operator has a lot to do with it.

Robo, we're getting old... I can't remember either. Use it like a bowl gouge on a finish cut and a very small cutting bevel

[John Keeton]

Lee, you are a lucky man!! I love my Thompsons - particularly my new 5/8" V, affectionately named "the HOG!" Great tools! That is not to take away from the functionality of the BB tools - I think they have a real place for beginning turners. One can invest in 2 or 3, and learn to sharpen, learn what works for them, and generally get used to what they need individually in a tool - very important part of the process. But, as soon as one can, a move up is certainly in order. Aside from a few of the original HF set which I still use (parting tool, square scraper, SRG, and large spindle gouge) just about everything else I have is Thompson.

John Smith, I too want to look at Doug's tools at AAW (Congrats on the stealth gloat!), but I am a little concerned about visiting Doug's booth - my resistance is low!

[Lee Koepke]

I cant complain about my BB tools, they did what I expected them to do, learn a little bit and learn to sharpen a bit ... as you can see, I sharpened the bowl gouge to the last inch of its life ... a few more months and it wont even fit in my wolverine set up !!!!

Tim, I got to tell you ... not only is this a good tool, but its priced comparable to the other gouges on the market, and its nice to TALK to someone at the other end .... save your pennies!!!

[Baxter Smith]

Nice tool! I can see one in my future. My 5/8 V is short enough now so I have had to flatten the top of the round shaft a bit to get a grip with the varigrind jig. Do you think they would allow one (or two) in a carryon bag coming back from St. Paul?

[Jim Burr]

Gratz Lee!! There is a 5/8 in my future..that will be 4 Thompsons in the rack. Keep 'em sharp!

[Reed Gray]

Baxter,
I doubt they would allow them in carry on. Heard of one turner coming back from Hawaii, and they wouldn't let them carry on wood handle blanks.

robo hippy

[Lee Koepke]

Baxter,
I doubt they would allow them in carry on. Heard of one turner coming back from Hawaii, and they wouldn't let them carry on wood handle blanks.

robo hippy

you'd have a hard telling TSA that the only way this tool works if your target is spinning at 1200+ RPMs

[Tim Thiebaut]

I
Tim, I got to tell you ... not only is this a good tool, but its priced comparable to the other gouges on the market, and its nice to TALK to someone at the other end .... save your pennies!!!

I am trying Lee....but this dang thing called a vortex keeps wispering in my ear about all the things I still NEED and keeps taking all my pennies....Monster rig...thompson tools...Nova OT...Drill Wizard...another chuck...another chuck...another chuck... band saw etc...etc...LOL

[Doug Thompson]

Woodturning is expensive if you let it... buy one bowl gouge and turn a bowl but turn a hundred then buy a spindle/detail gouge and turn a hundred spindles/boxes/ pepper mills etc etc etc