Spindle or roughing gouge

[Tim Brandt]

Hi everyone im still new to turning but i see you tube of turners using a gouge other than a roughing gouge. Can someone point to the differences

Tim

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Tim, what kind of turning are the various you tubers doing?
A spindle roughing gouge is only to be used for spindle work.
If rounding a bowl blank most people use a bowl gouge.
Although both names contain the word "gouge" there are significant differences.

 

[robo hippy]

The "spindle roughing gouge" also the Continental style roughing gouges were designed for spindle turning, and were the earliest versions and were hand forged as in heated and pounded into shape. The SRG is usually a half round shape, and the continental style is ) shaped. They have a short tang on the end so there was less wasted metal. The standard bowl gouge is milled to shape from round rod, then the flute is cut into it, and there are almost as many variations as there are turners. A bowl gouge can be used to rough down spindles. While a SRG can be used safely on bowls, it is generally not a good idea since a bowl gouge will survive a catch where the SRG will break. Some do like the continental style on bowls though they are the minority.

robo hippy

 

[Tim Brandt]

Tim, what kind of turning are the various you tubers doing?
A spindle roughing gouge is only to be used for spindle work.
If rounding a bowl blank most people use a bowl gouge.
Although both names contain the word "gouge" there are significant differences.

Tim, what kind of turning are the various you tubers doing?
A spindle roughing gouge is only to be used for spindle work.
If rounding a bowl blank most people use a bowl gouge.
Although both names contain the word "gouge" there are significant differences.

Some of these were roughing green wood for tea lights some were using on square stock which I thought was odd too. Thanks

 

[Dean Center]

Run, Toto, run! You are going to see really unsafe and low quality techniques on YouTube, and at this point, you won't know which is which. Tennessee seems to have more good turners per square inch than any other state. Find one of them and spend a couple hours in their shop. You will learn how to be safe, and make more progress in your own turning in those 2 hours than you will in 6 months of watching YouTube.

How do I find one of these people, you wonder? In case one of the dozen or more who frequent this forum don't come to your rescue, get in contact with your closest woodturning club, which can be found on the AAW website (woodturner.org). Maybe Nashville, or Clarksville.

 

[John K Jordan]

While a SRG can be used safely on bowls, it is generally not a good idea since a bowl gouge will survive a catch where the SRG will break. Some do like the continental style on bowls though they are the minority.

I've been in two different classrooms where the remains of a broken SRG was left embedded in the wall or ceiling and a teaching opportunity.
I have one continental style wide gouge and wish I had another. Wonderful for shaping some spindle blanks. For bowls, a bowl gouge with a small profile, or better, a Hunter Hercules tool is my pick.

Tennessee seems to have more good turners per square inch than any other state. F

If that's true, it might be because there is more good turning wood per square inch in this part of the country. There are lots of turning clubs and I know a number of sensational turners.

@Tim Brandt
It looks like Portland, TN is a long walk from here. I've never been there or even heard of it, but I've only lived here since the '70s. The closest I've been was scuba diving in Dale Hollow Lake in the middle of the winter.

If you ever find yourself headed towards Knoxville way give a shout. You can certainly come to my shop (I've developed a skew-teaching method that always works and have some experience with other things) and/or I can twist some arms and connect you with a real woodturer or two.

And John Lucas is closer, near Cookeville - he's one of the best and most creative and has a fantastic shop. We can take up a collection and pay his fee.
Wait, like the others, he might not charge anything. My fee is a good story or a good joke.

And if you contact some clubs closest to you, they may be able to point you to some member who lives closer to you. I know several people who carpool to clubs a bit to far to drive comfortably. Some of us are members of more than one club. A club provides a chance to watch demonstrations, sometimes by fantastic turners, meet people, share resources, learn about classes, and locate mentors.

JKJ

 

[Nate Hawkes]

Not what you were asking, but I use a big skew for roughing cylinders to round. Using a peel cut with the rest high up on the wood seems to be a lot less vibration for me. I do own a spindle roughing gouge I just don’t use it very often. Alan Lacer’s “uber skews” are my go to tools for box making.