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Tools for starting out

David Wrate

David Wrate

Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
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Location
Victoria, BC
I just got my Rikon 70-220VSR set up last night and am keen to try it out.
It came with some tools, specifically:
Henry Taylor 1" spindle gouge
Henry Taylor 3/4" parting tool
Henry Taylor 3/4" skew chisel
Henry Taylor 3/8" spindle or bowl gouge (not sure how to tell the difference...)
Robert Sorby 3/4" round scraper
Henry Taylor 1/4" spindle or bowl gouge (again not sure how to tell the difference)
Henry Taylor 1/4" v-groove chisel. (this has a square shank and terminates in a perfect V shape)
I'm looking to try some spindle work and eventually try my hand at a bowls but I'm not sure if I have the right tooling.

I can post pics if that helps.
 
David Wrate said:
can post pics if that helps.
Click to expand...
. If you are still uncertain do.

Great idea starting with spindles. You will need a spindle gouge and parting tool.
To go from square to round an SRG - spindle roughing gouge is quite useful. But a bowl gouge can be used too and save buying a toll you may not use a lot.

I always sharpen new tools before I use them. They rarely arrive with a sharp edge and often need a different profile to be useful.

You may find it useful to look through a handout I use in a demo Indo on gouge basics.
Has an overview of gouges.

I’ll post 2 of the slides here that show pictures of the basic gouge types.
294ADAA6-EB50-446C-BEA8-D35B585B2F43.jpeg354E8E8F-A543-4B08-9E02-58AD42C6B7D3.jpeg
 
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Here are the three tools I'm not sure about.
The top is 3/8" wide. I think this is a bowl gouge but would like confirmation.
The middle is 3/4" wide. I think this is a scraper but the round back confuses me. Apparently this is a Sorby Spindlemaster.
View: https://youtu.be/6z91wl5fySI

The bottom is 1/4" wide. No idea what this is. Apparently this one is a combination beading and parting tool.
IMG_8693.jpg

IMG_8694.jpg
 
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I would agree on
The beading parting tool. And the spindle master

On the gouge. It may be a detail gouge.
Gouges made from round bars include - bowl, detail, and spindle.

The spindle gouge - the top 1/3 or 1/2 of the bar is ground away then the shallow flute
The detail and bowl gouge both have the flute ground in the top of the bar.

The detail gouge will have a shallow flute with about half the thickness of the bar below 5he flute.
The bowl gouge will have a deep flute
 
Greg Carles said:
On that first pic, the second tool looks to be a round nose scraper but the grind is more of an oval nose ( I think it should be round and not oval shaped)
Click to expand...
That's the Sorby Spindlemaster they talk about in the prior 2 posts (and the Youtube video) I have a similar tool from Thompson, called a fluteless gouge.. although at a rather different grind...
 
I did have a set of the Sorby Spindle Masters, and don't like them. They were Sorby's attempt to replicate an Allen Batty tool that he used, and according to Allen, "They got it all wrong." As near as I can tell, they are way too thin. The tool Allen used was half round bar stock, so much thicker. I use the fluteless gouge from Doug mostly as a BOB (bottom of bowl) tool, and keep a 70 degree bevel on it. You can sharpen it to 30 or so degrees and it can work very similar to a skew, and/or be used for beads and coves. I did do a video just on the fluteless gouge. A tool I use regularly.

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I did have a set of the Sorby Spindle Masters, and don't like them. They were Sorby's attempt to replicate an Allen Batty tool that he used, and according to Allen, "They got it all wrong." As near as I can tell, they are way too thin. The tool Allen used was half round bar stock, so much thicker. I use the fluteless gouge from Doug mostly as a BOB (bottom of bowl) tool, and keep a 70 degree bevel on it. You can sharpen it to 30 or so degrees and it can work very similar to a skew, and/or be used for beads and coves. I did do a video just on the fluteless gouge. A tool I use regularly.

robo hippy
Click to expand...
I agree about the Sorby - I have the 1/2" tool. I could never get it to cut ... seemed like the polished bevel was rounded over (microscopically) at the cutting edge. I would have to hone that top flat for a year to get an edge. I resorted to grinding the bevel to get it to cut but is still a flimsy tool. I use it a lot for getting into tight "V" cuts on ornament finials and such.
I also bought a similar tool later (20 yrs. ago) that was thicker and a big improvement over the Spindlemaster. It was the 1/2" Sorenson "Spindlemaker" by Hamlet. Don't know if it is available anymore - bought it from CSUSA for $27. :)
 
Oh, the 'skewchigouge' is a similar tool. It was made from round bar stock with a profile ground down on the end. Don't think it sold well....

robo hippy
 
I used a Crown Tools 3/8" PM Ellsworth gouge for like 75% of everything I did. I also had a Robert Sorby hollowing tool for the inside of bowls and hollow-forms that I used in certain situations. Between those two tools I was able to accomplish a ton of work.
 
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