I need help with the Bowl Gouge

[Dennis Ford]

You are doing OK, that bowl looks pretty good except for the dispenser opening (it may be too small). The Thompson gouge is a good gouge and it comes with a good grind (for an experienced turner). A more blunt grind will give more consistent results for a beginner IMO. Making the grind more blunt will make the tool less aggressive which should allow you to focus on the process instead of being focused on NOT getting a catch. Once you get some experience, you can gradually change the grind back to the way it came.

[Reed Gray]

You discovered one problem with realizing that more open forms are a lot easier to do than more closed (steep walls) forms are.

Another point, when turning, you will get far fewer catches if the gouge flutes are rolled on the side away from the wood that you are cutting. Having them straight up and down, especially if you hold your tools level rather than dropped handle, makes the wings prone to catching. On the inside, roll the flutes to about 1:30 to 3 o'clock, and on the outside, roll them to 9 to 10:30.

Of course, one can never have too many toys, and I would suggest two gouges for bowl turning. One with a 60 degree bevel, and one with about a 40 to 45 degree bevel. The 60 degree one is for going through the transition, and across the bottom. The 45 degree one will go down the walls. On the outside, either will work.

robo hippy

[Ron Radliff]

If your local club has a mentoring program, take them up on it. That way you can watch how it's done, ask questions, then have the mentor watch you and correct any mistakes on the spot.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I'd second Reed/Robo's advice. Doug grinds his gouges to do a great job on the inner walls, but you need a steeper angle to transition from the wall to the bottom and then to go across the bottom. I found all this out the same way you are - by orbiting bowls. Now, I have a 45° for the inner walls and a 60° to 65° traditional grind for the transition and bottom. It's easy to keep bevel support with the steeper grind.

[Jeff Myroup]

Brian,

Along with everything that has been said about tool presentation, I think you need to work on shallower forms. Once my beginners have some basic tool control, I start them on plates and then move deeper. Practice on some shallow bowls with gentle sweeping curves. It will also help if you can find a mentor in your club to help you along. Good luck and keep practicing. Remember, you don't always need to create something.

[Ron Radliff]

Here's a video about completing a roughed out bowl. He shows proper tool presentation along with cutouts of the bowl to show the transition zone and also a large mock up of a gouge tip. Maybe something in there will help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty5e9...re=uploademail

[Prashun Patel]

I just watched one You Tube video and realized that I may be starting with too deep a bowl. I may need to do something with a gentler arc and no steep transition at the bottom corner, letting the tool determine the curve until I get some success with it.

Bingo. This was a very big aha moment for me. Think shallow platters at first.

[Brian Kent]

Another successful practice session tonight. I knew this one (sycamore firewood) would self destruct because the wood has lots of cracks. So I just saw how far I could take it before it blew.

I practiced shallow sweeping with as little wood removed as possible with each pass. I ended up not blowing the bowl. I'll add some shellac to help hold it together - it is not good enough for an epoxy treatment - and set it out for nuts like me.