2-14 Clearing Bowl Interior
As you might imagine, interior cuts are very similar to other cuts. We need to position the tool rest close to the cut surface and adjust the height so the cutting edge of the gouge is on the center line. With interior cuts on side-grain mounted bowls, we must move from the rim down to […]
2-13 Shaping Bowl Exterior
We discussed supported grain direction, and we will be practicing with side-grain mounted blanks. This means we will be making cutting passes from the base of the bowl up to the rim or in a “supported grain direction.” See the Supported Grain Direction lesson. After we have the bowl blank cylinder ready, we need to […]
2-12 Roughing A Cylinder
Edge or End Cut A piece of wood that is rough and not yet trued up is best balanced on the lathe first. Even a blank trimmed up on a bandsaw will have some irregularities. When you are first starting, I highly recommend using the faceplate to mount your bowl blanks to the lathe. The […]
2-11 Starting A Cut
As we mentioned earlier, the gouge is not a shovel and is not intended to “gouge” anything. We only use the bowl gouge to slice or shave wood. So how do we start a cut? The best practice to develop is to remember the flute. If you can see down inside the flute, you have […]
2-10 Roughing Vs. Finishing Cuts
What is the difference between a roughing and a finishing cut? Well, a couple of things, but one main goal, is the quality of the final surface. When we make roughing cuts, we remove material to get down to the desired shape. Roughing cuts can be made quicker and with less precision than finishing cuts. […]
2-09 Supported and Unsupported Grain Cuts
The concept of supported and unsupported cuts is the source, usually unknowingly, of much frustration when we start turning. If you’ve turned a bowl and the surface was nice and smooth, and then you made another rough and sanded in vain for hours, you probably need to understand the supported grain cut better. Not to […]
2-08 Riding the Bevel
If you’ve been around woodturning for more than a few minutes, you’ve heard the term “riding the bevel.” If you’ve been around for a few hours, you’ve probably heard people argue that “it’s rubbing the bevel” or “floating the bevel.” These are all terms for the same technique. Riding the bevel in its most basic […]
2-07 Presenting the Bowl Gouge AHBC
We know how the four cuts work and where to position the tool rest. How do we present the tool correctly? Great question. Sticking a tool into a fast-rotating chunk of wood is intimidating at first. Overcoming this feeling will take time and practice to build up confidence. And there is a method you can […]
2-06 Tool Rest Positioning
The tool rest might seem like this stable element that should stay consistently in the same place, but it’s not. The tool rest needs to be moved and adjusted frequently. Two main positions need to be checked and corrected regularly. The first position is the height of the tool rest. The tool rest must be […]
2-05 Shear-Scraping
Shear-Scraping is the second most used cut with the bowl gouge. Like the scraping cut, the shear-scrape uses a similar approach but with one big difference. Making this cut can and will feel very odd at first. Give it time and practice, and you will see why this technique is so valuable. With the flute […]
2-04 Scraping Cut
The scarping cut scrapes. Unlike the push and pull cuts, we do not use the bevel for support with a scraping pass. Instead, we rotate the bowl gouge so the flute faces the wood surface, and we slightly rotate the tool so the top wing is not touching, but the bottom wing engages the wood. […]
2-03 Pull Cut
The Pull Cut is probably the least used cut. This cut is the exact opposite of the push cut. We still need to use the bevel for support and then engage the cutting edge. As you guessed, we will be pulling the gouge instead of pushing. In this approach, the flute is rotated towards the […]
2-02 Push Cut
By far, the most important and most used bowl gouge cut is the push cut. The push cut will be your go-to option most of the time. However, like the name bowl “gouge,” we need to take a moment to look at the words. A push cut gets its name because, obviously, we will be […]
2-01 The Four Main Bowl Gouge Cuts
There are four main bowl gouge cuts that we need to discuss. The cuts are the push-and-pull cut, the scrape, and the shear-scrape. Introducing these four cuts now is a good idea to set the stage. In the lessons following these four cuts, we will review all the details you need to execute each cut […]
1-17 Exercise One
Without going too much further, I want you to do an exercise. Using a piece of scrap wood, create a bowl blank cylinder about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20cm) in diameter. Mount the blank to your lathe using a secure mechanical mount such as a faceplate, screw mount, or a tenon/mortise in a […]
1-16 How The Bowl Gouge Works
If you approach a bowl gouge for the first time and you know nothing about how it works, what do you think? It’s easy to think it scoops out wood like a shovel. Perhaps you stick the round front nose into the wood and start shoveling. That is an easy misunderstanding that happens all too […]
1-15 “BOWL GOUGE” – Worst Name
I’m guessing someone named this tool the “bowl gouge” because it looks like a traditional woodworking gouge or chisel. And the early iteration, especially the “v” fluted gouge, was probably made very similar to other wood carving tools. In many parts of the world, it is also known as a “bowl chisel.” Both of these […]
1-14 Tool Handle Length
Tool handle length can be a factor, especially when turning large bowls. A longer, beefy handle can be leveraged and braced against your hip for extra stability while roughing and turning large pieces. How long? I’ve seen some that are very long. People love to take things to the extreme. I’ve found that handles about […]
1-13 Tool Steels
High-Speed Steel is the most common steel for traditional turning tools. Usually marked with an “HSS” somewhere on the tool, this steel is the industry standard. When I first heard the term “metallurgist,” I thought that was the term for someone who has allergies from metal exposure. 😉 Sorry if you’re a metallurgist. A metallurgist […]
1-12 Bowl Gouge Sizes
Buying an extensive set of turning tools is tempting when we first start. However, if you intend to turn bowls, you only need a couple of tools. I can even argue that a single 1/2″ bowl gouge is all you need. The 1/2″ bowl gouge is the medium-sized “all-purpose” gouge good for shaping and finishing […]
