I recently bought a big 3/4" bottom feeder bowl gouge (bare bar with no handle or bolster) from Ashley Harwood. I installed it on a 22" Hosaluk handle with the adapter and WOW... out of the box without any honing, it really turns the inside corner of a shallow and deep bowl nicely. No tool marks in my bowls now and a sweet looking bottom surface that doesn't need sanding. Yes it was expensive but I'm very impressed with it. It's one of my favorite lathe tools now.
That reminds me about learning to do the "twist", and we're not talking about dancing along with Chubby Checker here! This is a way of rotating the gouge on it's longitudinal axis while the cut is executed at a point on the wing, but proceeds along the full length of the wing. This, while negotiating a transitional curve....
-----odie-----
That friend is likely Tom Wirsing, studio platter turner extraordinaire! His platters are absolutely breathtaking. Oh, and he was AAW pres for a time. He wrote an article for American Woodturner a while back about metallurgy - it’s right there in the archives to review. His history is very self-taught as he clearly shares during his demos and why he uses 10v tools - particularly his copious scrapers of varying profiles. I am fortunate to have a private recording of a 2021 club demo and he mentions his “history in metallurgy” and I believe, as I can, that his views are quite biased to his context. No, not gonna share the demo as permissions were only for limited club documentation use. We have two metallurgist PhD’s in our club who really made some excellent points with Tom in discussion - they are very hands on in the field and pioneers. Despite being a physicist, his lack of metallurgy hands-on experience and only limited home study showed that his “dislike” of M42 was, again in my view, quite Swiss cheesey. I’m grateful that he did not slam or attack M42 tool manufacturers or very successful turners who use those M42 tools far more and much more rigorously than him. Remember, that while Woodturners who sell tools are Woodturners, they aren’t making their nest egg off of demos and magazine articles - they need to sell tools with good margins. We, the consumer, are often the suckers when it comes to new tools. Ask 10 Woodturners what steel is best and you’ll get no less than 15 answers. Each tool steel has its pros and cons. For me picking a camp is as multifaceted as that gouge photo.
Thanks. The BOB gouge almost looks like a spindle roughing gouge with those thick sides. Beefy.
John has the best videos about Hunter tools, and lots more. I always recommend him when someone wants to know how to use the Hunter Tools
I am trying to be resourceful, and if you were looking to start with two of these cutters what would you suggest?
I meant to add thank you.
I might add to what John said that the Viceroy is great for hollowforms up to about 5 or 6 inches.
