Poll - what angle do you have on your favorite bowl gouge?

[Roger Chandler]

I am surprised at only 2 responses to this question. Perhaps a lot of turners do not know what their gouge angle is, or have never thought about why they have the angle they do, or why it works well for them.

[Peter Fabricius]

Two favorites, Roger
Both are 1/2", a Thompson 55 degrees with about 1/2" wings, the other is a DWay and is a 55 degree bottom feeder.
I sure like the new steel and the CBN 180 wheel.
Grinding with the Wolverine jig and the Varigrind set as per Doug a Thompson directions for the swept back grind. The traditional grind is done on the platform and just rotated to get the straight across grind.
Good luck with yours,
Peter F.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks Peter!

[Wally Dickerman]

I have several gouges. My most often used is a Hamlet 1/2 in 2060 ground at 45 deg. My 14 in and 3/8 in (all UK sizes) are also ground at 45 deg. My 5/8 Thompson gouge is ground at 55 deg. They all have a modified side grind

I find that 45 deg is very user friendly for almost all cuts. I use my 1/4 in gouge a lot as a detail gouge.

When the bowl gouge first came on the market in around 1980 they all came ground straight across and were ground at 45 deg. For several years that's the way everybody used them. I can remember in a Fine Woodworking article in about 1985 a picture of a fingernail grind. I, along with just about everybody else quickly changed to the more usable grind. A little later the Ellsworth side grind became popular.

[Roger Chandler]

I have several gouges. My most often used is a Hamlet 1/2 in 2060 ground at 45 deg. My 14 in and 3/8 in (all UK sizes) are also ground at 45 deg. My 5/8 Thompson gouge is ground at 55 deg. They all have a modified side grind

I find that 45 deg is very user friendly for almost all cuts. I use my 1/4 in gouge a lot as a detail gouge.

When the bowl gouge first came on the market in around 1980 they all came ground straight across and were ground at 45 deg. For several years that's the way everybody used them. I can remember in a Fine Woodworking article in about 1985 a picture of a fingernail grind. I, along with just about everybody else quickly changed to the more usable grind. A little later the Ellsworth side grind became popular.

Thank you Wally.......that is precisely the info I am looking for. I have just turned one of my 3/4" gouges [U flute] into a bottom feeder with a 60 degree bevel......most of my 5/8" and 1/2" gouges are at 47 degree with some sweep on the wings, but I have wondered if the 45 degree might be just a bit better, but I am only off by 2 degrees, and I am not sure any noticeable difference could be discerned.

I also saw Stuart Batty as our featured demo at last years Virginia symposium advocate a 40/40 bevel [he does it free hand] and he says "float the bevel" and not "ride the bevel." I was also pondering the possible advantage of that 40 degree vs. the common 45 degree.

Someone with your experience would likely be able to explain the benefit if there is any?

[Wally Dickerman]

Roger, no, 2 deg makes no difference. There is no "best" grind. Gouge grinds are mainly a personal preference thing and depends on how you use the gouge. Handle high, low, pull cut, push cut, etc. ... Yes, Batty uses 40 deg. Last I heard Ellsworth and Jordan use 60 deg. Do some experimenting and find what works best for you.

[Reed Gray]

Well, for my favorite gouges, I use a 45/45 bevel and sweep. I found the 40/40 that Stuart uses to be too pointy for my tastes. These (I have them in several sizes) are best for the outside and down the inside walls. I use 60 and 70 degree bevels on my transition and BOB (bottom of bowl) gouges, and several variations of flute shapes from half circle to fluteless. I don't really have any use for swept back wings as I do all of my roughing and shear scraping with scrapers. 60 degree bevels are kind of a 'does every thing fairly well' type of tool. Some times the more specialized tools work better.

robo hippy

[Dennis Ford]

My two most used bowl gouges are about 45 deg bevel and swept back about as far as the tool diameter in a convex profile when viewed from the side. I have one that is 40 deg or a little less; it is swept back more than the tool diameter and a couple of bowl gouges with 65 deg or so bevel angles with "conventional" grinds (swept back much less than the tool diameter). I use the first two for roughing, shear scraping and most finish cuts; the others for special cuts.