I recently bought my first Thompson gouges -- a 1/2" V bowl gouge and a 3/8" spindle gouge. I also bought Thompson handles for both, but my brain wasn't fully engaged when I ordered, and I bought a 16" handle for the 3/8" spindle gouge. It quickly became obvious that a 16" handle on a 3/8" spindle gouge just won't work - too much handle, not enough tool - so I'm going to get a 12" handle for the spindle gouge.
I can't return the handle as it's been laser engraved (beautifully, I might add!), so I need to find a good use for a 16" handle for a 3/8" shank, and Doug* Thompson recommended getting a 3/8" V bowl gouge for the 16" handle.
Which brings me to my question...
How many of you have and use a 3/8" bowl gouge? What sort of projects is a gouge that size best suited for?
I'm not really sure I need one that small, but I'm also a relative newbie to bowl turning and so far have only use my 1/2" Sorby and 1/2" Thompson bowl gouges, both of which seem generally adequate. I would guess that a smaller gouge is for turning smaller bowls, but I really prefer working in the 10-16" diameter range (but maybe that's because I haven't had the right tool...)
* Oops... Doug, not John...