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"Blank" gouge

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Feb 16, 2021
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A while back, at an estate sale, I purchased a Thompson "travel" set. This consists of a 12" handle, and inside the handle resides four 3/8" gouges. Here is a picture I found on the web that shows the tips of the gouges:
thompson_3.jpg

As you can see, the gouge on the right is blank. I'm looking for ideas of what to do with that. I'm thinking to just grind it on a bias so it would be sort of an oval and use it as a spindle detail gouge, but I'm not sure how well that would work. Anyone grind one of these into something usefull?

David
 
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Well, I would need to see flute shapes to make suggestions. Spindle detail gouges have a very thick body and a shallow flute. Standard bowl gouges don't grind into detail gouges very well. The one on the left looks like a BOB (bottom of bowl) gouge shape, and probably a U or half round flute. The other two, I don't know. Not sure I have seen those grinds before.

robo hippy
 
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Reed - I'm only looking for ideas for the "blank" gouge all the way to the right. It's basically just 3/8" bar stock made with Thompson tool steel. It's a blank canvas looking for someone to make something useful out of it.
 

Tom Gall

TOTW Team
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Hi, David. A few possibilities: round skew - 3-sided point tool - a version of a 'skewchigouge' - grind tip into a very narrow parting tool (for special applications).
 
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I did an article on the travel set and noted that you could make the round blank into 2 tools by putting a grind on both ends (3 point tool and round skew) thus ending up with 5 tools stored in the handle (be careful taking them out of the handle if you do this as you have one sharp tool coming out. A little extra work but an extra tool :)
 
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If these are stored in the handle, what keeps the honed edges from banging together? Just trying to wrap my head around the basic concept!
 
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Well, one of my favorite DT tools is his fluteless gouge. One video dedicated to it, and it is one of my favorite BOB tools when I want to take off very small shavings. Sorby tools had a 'skewchigouge' that they sold for a while, but don't know if they still make it. It was made from round bar stock, and they ground back the top side and left a gouge type profile on the underside. This is pretty much what the fluteless gouge is. I used to have a triangle tool, but never used it. You could make a round skew type tool from it as well.

robo hippy
 
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Thanks everyone. The pyramid/point tool sounds like the one. If I can do two grinds, I'll try a round skew also.

I did an article on the travel set and noted that you could make the round blank into 2 tools by putting a grind on both ends (3 point tool and round skew) thus ending up with 5 tools stored in the handle (be careful taking them out of the handle if you do this as you have one sharp tool coming out. A little extra work but an extra tool :)

Bill - I don't have the set in front of me, but my recollection is that one end of the blank is for grinding to the desired shape and the other end is for fitting into the handle. And the handle end is a slightly smaller diameter. I'll have to check when I get home to see whether both ends will fit into the handle. If so, having two tools in one sounds like a great idea.

If these are stored in the handle, what keeps the honed edges from banging together? Just trying to wrap my head around the basic concept!
Russ - When I first got the set, the gouges did bang around a bit. I put some crumbled kraft paper on the bottom and glued a piece of leather under the cap so that everything is now snug and protected.
 
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Just curious if Thompson still makes this item?
I emailed Doug Thompson about this set when I got it because I couldn't find any reference to it anywhere. He said, "The travel packs are not currently listed on my website. That is something I typically bring to shows..."

He seems to be very accommodating, so if you called and asked, he might put it together for you. He also sells all the pieces separately- handle and gouges.
 
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I vote for the skewchigouge. Crown makes one these days - you can find a photo of it at Packard, and sharpening instructions are available online, too. It's a pretty useful and versatile tool.
 
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I ground the larger end down enough on a belt sander to fit in the handle as it doesn't affect what design you put on that end. As far as banging the edges together it is a non factor as I have seen no damage and the tips go against a thick plastic divider in the handle. I don't know if you can buy one direct from Doug as he usually only sells them at symposia across the country and is very seldom that they do not sell out.
 
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