bowl bottom gouge grind

[Wes Ramsey]

I didn't want to hijack Allan's post, but his got me to thinking about turning one of my Thompson 3/8" gouges into a bottoming gouge. I picked up two recently - a U and a V gouge. I'm thinking the U would be ideal for a bottoming gouge, but I have no idea what such a grind looks like or how to achieve it. Can y'all share some tips, angles, pics, etc to get me on the right track?

[Grant Wilkinson]

I'm far from expert, but my 5/8" Thompson U is ground to a traditional grind at somewhere around 65 to 70 degrees. I grind away the heel at no particular angle.

[Thom Sturgill]

Gouges used to come with the 'traditional' grind and now seem to all come with some variation of the fingernail grind. Traditional grind is somewhat like the grind on a Spindle roughing gouge. Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncWJQHdlJg

[robert baccus]

A straight across grind at 70-75 deg is ideal for me. I don't like "heel" grind because I want all the flute against the bowl bottom I can get. Very easy to grind and use. You definitely want a U flute as opposed to a V flute for this grind.

[Wes Ramsey]

Thanks guys. I've got an old Benjamin's Best bowl gouge I will practice grinding on before I attempt such a mod on my Thompson U gouge.

[robert baccus]

You might consider using the BB for your permanent bottom feeder. You really use these a small amount of time. Edge holding ability here is probably wasted.