Tag: Robert Sorby Fingernail Bowl Gouge

What Type of Woodturning Bowl Gouge Should I Buy?

Facebook Member Looking for
Bowl Gouge Purchase Advice

Someone in our woodturning facebook group  was asking about what type of bowl gouge he should buy, he was a new turner and was getting some conflicting information. Since I already spent an agonizing year or more trying to figure out what to purchase I thought I would write a dissertation on what type of woodturning gouge to buy.

Yes, I did it again. Just starting babbling on and on ….really, I was just trying to help. Anyway, thought if anyone stumbled on the topic in the woodturningbasics.com blog, they might benefit from it so I reposted the facebook post here.
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Hey Mike …I’ll be glad to give ya my 2 cents worth 🙂

Actually a really good question but has 100 answers or more! I would like to do a blog post on my experience with tools, but I’ll share what happened to me.

I’m assuming you’re pretty new to turning wood.

When I first started the only way for me to do it was with a harbor freight lathe and the expensive (60 bucks) set of harbor freight turning tools.

I’ll stick to the tools.

The harbor freight (HF) tools were really junk. A terrible way for me to start. I turned a little candle holder and a small bowl. I had no idea that in my set of tools there wasn’t a bowl gouge! Somehow I turned a bowl with the woodturning tools that came in the set, probably used the scraper the most and I used the spindle gouges on the bowl ….A BIG NO NO you can get hurt really bad doing that.

Let me back up and say, if money isn’t an issue. Get D-way woodturning tools from www.d-waytools.com Dave is the owner, good guy and will help you.

Carbide Turning Tools
Are The Best For Beginners

Then get a set of carbide turning tools like the Easy Wood Tools  get a square scraper and a round scraper and a detailer. You get many uses from a carbide tip and when it gets dull just screw on a new carbide insert.

Square Edge Scraper
Round Edge Scraper
Cheaper Round Edge Scraper
Carbide Detailer

Carbide Insert Woodturning Tool
Easy Wood Tools Pro Easy Rougher Carbide Lathe Turning Tool 3200 New

These tools are almost foolproof and you don’t spend time sharpening woodturning tools, you just change the carbide tip. I made my own carbide tool and found myself using it on a piece that I was unsure of when using a turning gouge. In other words, when things got tough ….I switched to the carbide woodturning tools.

Start With a Cheap Set
Of HSS Woodturning Tools

But if money is an issue, get a HF set of turning tools or a Set of Benjamins Best from PSI. I know everyone makes fun of them, but read some of the reviews, some of these guys won’t buy anything else ….so it might be worth a try if you have a tight budget….a nice way of saying, “you’re broke”. The cheap price allows you to have a set of woodturning tools. More importantly is that you can use these cheap tools to learn how to properly sharpen your woodturning turning tools.

Sharpening Your Woodturning Tools

You can try freehand sharpening your bowl gouge and other woodturning tools  if you want, but sooner or latter you will want to get a Oneway Wolverine Grinding Jig, you’ll need these two pieces:

Vari grinding jig
Wolverine grinding jig

oneway wolverine woodturing tool sharpening jig
Best way to sharpen your woodturing tools, gouges and chisels is the oneway wolverine sharpening jib

Woodturning Tools I Would Start With

Now, after some practice on your cheap turning tools, when you get a Sorby or Dway turning tool, you won’t grind away half of the tool metal or more to learn how to sharpen. Like I said before, if money isn’t an issue …go with to expensive tool and learn everything with it, I’m sure your total experience will be more pleasant, but your expensive tool will be gone in no time unless you are a natural at sharpening woodturning tools!

If I had a little money, to start I would get a:
–1″ Sorby round nose scraper
–Sorby 1/2″ bowl gouge
–Sorby thin kerf parting tool
–Sorby roughing gouge

My first choice would be D-way tools, second choice would be Sorby

I mentioned PSI, Penn State Industries before they have a set that includes everything to get you started, its on the cheap side …the metal is HSS, but still will need to be sharpened frequently so it is good for practicing. These are the specs for this kit. https://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCSIXW.html

If a high quality large, HSS steel turning tool set has been on your wishlist, now is the time to buy. Includes a Spindle Gouge (1/2″ Dia, 22-3/8″ length), Diamond Parting Tool (3/16″ dia, 16-3/4″ length), Round Nose Scraper (3/4″ dia, 17″ length), Bowl Gouge (3/4″ dia, 16-3/4″ length), Roughing Gouge (7/8″ dia, 19″ length)and Oval Skew Chisel (1″ dia, 18-3/8″ length)

cheap woodturning tools from psiHope that helps ….I say this for you or anyone getting started. Rmember you need to learn how to sharpen your tools, dull tools are dangerous. So… why not get a set of cheap tools, get a sharpening jig, practice sharpening until you know you can put an edge on your tools and then buy the good stuff.

If I had the money to buy the good stuff, that’s what I would do. I would not take my advice and would have purchased a 200 dollar bowl gouge and then probably spend the next 3 to 6 months grinding it away to nothing ….I never listen to anyone, you would think after all these years I would 🙂

But…..

Remember, I didn’t have any money…so I didn’t waste good tool steel LOL

No Wood Turning ….Gets Me Mad!!!

No Wood Turning ….
Gets Me Mad!!!

I don’t know about you, if you turn wood or consider yourself as a woodturner, do you …do you just want to go out and start turning bowls, tool handles, candle sticks, lamps, baseball bats or under the seat “personal protection device”? And if a day goes by and you’re not turning wood…..Do you get angry at yourself for not getting into the shop???

Woodturning Passion?

I do. That is, I get mad if I miss a day of doing some woodturning. I guess it’s my addictive, compulsive personality. When I fall in love with something, I want it all the time. Probably a bad character trait, but maybe it’s the difinition of “passion”!

I’ve become addicted to the hobby of woodturning. I guess you could say I’m addicted to turning wood. I was a little apprehensive at first, you need a lathe, lathe accessories and some turning tools and off you go. Putting everything together took some time and I purchased probably some of the cheapest stuff out there, harbor freight lathe, harbor freight woodturning gouges and a lot of DIY type tools. Not the best but my setup could turn a branch or log and I made a wood bowl!

I was addicted after that first bowl!

Somebody said, “that new woodturners are always so impatient“. That was me. I tried and tried to make my projects look like a piece of art, or just a nice looking bowl. But most didn’t turn out. I watched videos on new tools, new woodturning techniques and I practiced…. and I practiced.

I’m a better woodturner
after I’ve practiced.

But I still need more practice, I love learning new wood turning techniques. I love making your own tools. And I now really enjoy trying out real, professional or high quality wood turning tools like the new Sorby 1/2″ Bowl Gouge.

I was like a kid at Christmas, I just couldn’t wait to try that Sorby Bowl Gouge and when I as I used it, I was just as excited. I also picked up a quart of Food Safe Salad Bowl Finish by General from the new Woodcraft store in Buffalo Grove, IL …..can’t wait to try that out. I have a couple of blanks ready to finish so maybe I’ll be able to finish with my new bowl gouge and try the Salad Bowl Finish …..will keep you posted on how that goes.

general food safe salad bowl finish
Food Safe Salad Bowl Finish By General

I tell you all this because I wanted to share the fact that I really try not to let a day go by without doing some woodturning. Sometimes a week will go by because I’m to sick to go out, but …..I watch videos or read about woodturning.

And….. a whole day has gone by, it’s too late to do anything except to type a few words, to diclose the fact that I did not turn anything today and I was really “disappointed or upset” that I didn’t get to lathe today!

Another Day Gone….No Woodturning!

I actually wrote this yesterday and sadly another day has gone by without any turning due to a bad reaction to some new medicine I was taking …..sometimes, life just sucks! I literally thought I was gonna die, started shaking, hard time breathing, hallucinations, couldn’t walk ….should have woke up my wife but it was 3 am and I wrote her a note in case I didn’t make it through the night. But I did …that’s my life, hope you don’t mind me sharing the good and bad of it ….along with some good woodturning tricks, tips and thoughts!

As they say, there’s always tomorrow (sometimes) 🙂 But I was pretty scared last night so I share this word of God with you Psalm 103:15 “As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.” The older I get the more inevitable it is that life is really short. God says our life is like the grass and flowers of the field, here for a couple of days, weeks….beautiful and healthy and then gone. So are we. Question you need to ask yourself is are you ready?


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