# Bowl Turning and Re-Turning



## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

I have put a tutorial for bowl turning and re-turning in the sticky section. I hope that it will be of help to all. Thanks.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Thanks for taking the time to do this for us Bernie :thank_you2:

It is appreciated more than you know.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm not sure how to thank you Bernie, that is just what I needed to some day give you a run for your money! I've already learnt several things that I wasn't aware of. After going to all this time and trouble Bernie, I hate to ask more from you (but I will), could you post pics. of your chisels together with the grind angles, I'm thinking that this may be the area that's causing my problems. Thanks again Bernie I'm certain that I shan't be the only one studying this sticky.


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Harry no problem. Here are the 3 gouges I use 99% of the time. I don't use scrapers or any other tools when doing bowls. I just don't think they are necessary. In the picture of the 3 the top one with the swept back wings is the one I use most of the time. This one you can use what Bill Grumbine calls a vertical shear cut. If you have a sharp gouge the wood coming off will be as fine as angel hair and the surface just amazing. The middle one of the three & third pics is the one I use for my final cuts. I have it sharpened and use it to take the final two or three light cuts. If I have endgrain tearout I put mineral oil on those rough spots before I use this gouge. The other one I just bought from Doug Thompson and it is one of the special metals one the has been tempered then frozen and then tempered again. I think they call it Kryogenics. Not sure of the spelling but they say the edge lasts six times longer than HSS. I gave it a go and roughed out 5 bowls before sharpening. Anyway Harry those are the tools I use for bowls. Hope this helps Harry. 


One thing I will say to all turners who want to do bowls is to attend one of Bill Grumbines demo's. If you can't one DVD I would recommend and I still go back to it to see certain things is "Turned Bowls Made Easy by Bill Grumbine." He shows you the 4 basic cuts you need for turning bowls. I have no affiliation with him just a very satisfied student/customer. Here is the webpage. Main Page


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Sincere thanks Bernie for that additional info. Your grind angle appears to be between 45 & 60* whereas mine are 30*, does this sound like it could be part of my problem?


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

harrysin said:


> Sincere thanks Bernie for that additional info. Your grind angle appears to be between 45 & 60* whereas mine are 30*, does this sound like it could be part of my problem?



Harry my spindle gouges are 30* bevel angle. I think that could be your problem. The gouge that you show looks to be a spindle gouge and not a bowl gouge which wouldn't be good for turning bowls. You would probably have a lot of catches and it would be hard to ride the bevel inside a bowl. I would like to see a end view of your gouge. That would help a lot. Here is what the end of my gouges look like. My gouges are about 55* and sure makes it easier to ride the bevel. The first is a U shaped bowl gouge and the other is bowl gouge is V shaped. V shaped gouges will let you hog a lot of wood while the U shaped is more of a finesse gouge. The last one is a P & N Bowl gouge with a conventional grind and I believe is made is Aussie land. I use this one for my last and final cuts. It has about 55* to 60* bevel. Hope this helps Harry and any help I can be of just ask.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Bernie, you are so right, I just found the cover that the gouge came in and it does indeed say 3/8" SPINDLE GOUGE! Tomorrow I shall regrind my 1/2" gouge to 55* and as soon as time permits I shall try another bowl, hopefully using far less sandpaper than on the last one. I'm sure that these questions and answers are helping many other would be turners Bernie.


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Glad to be of help Harry. Let me know if I can help any time.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

HELP, please Bernie, I've attempted to re-grind my 5/8" gouge from 30* to 55*, I got close on the normal grinder then onto the Tormek. I set the jig on #4 with a 3" protrusion and this is what I have, something that does not resemble yours! Any advice will be appreciated. How short can a gouge be before it's a bin job?


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Harry -

I don't have a Tormek, just a grinding wheel and a small jig I bought from Nova. But these two videos might help you a little bit.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodvision/?lid=1339217302

and 

Podcast #37: Turning Tools — Sharpen Your Skills with Sharp Tools — Woodworking Online

When I re-worked my little 1/4" spindle gouge, I did it pretty much freehand because I didn't have the Nova jig yet. Ugly and not exactly a single facet in the grind but it did work. Putting it back was easier because I had the jig by then.


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

harrysin said:


> HELP, please Bernie, I've attempted to re-grind my 5/8" gouge from 30* to 55*, I got close on the normal grinder then onto the Tormek. I set the jig on #4 with a 3" protrusion and this is what I have, something that does not resemble yours! Any advice will be appreciated. How short can a gouge be before it's a bin job?



Harry my Tormek says the protrusion should be 2 1/2" or 65 mm. Also if you are depending if you are wanting a conventional or swept back will depend on how far you are rolling it on it side. I go from parallel to parallel. I also use the TTS 100 to set my bar so I use hole A, jig setting 4 and protrusion 65 mm. Hope this helps. I don't throw my tools in the bin till I don't have any flute left.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Ah Bernie, the TTS100, I had completely forgotten that I purchased one months after the machine which came with the WM-200, a pain in the but. I'm not quite sure how I arrived at the 3", as you have said, 65mm which is so easy to set with the TTS100 is the correct figure. I had another go at grinding the 5/8" gouge and whilst still not a perfectly even bevel all round, it's very close and I hope in the next few days to attempt another bowl. Once again Bernie, thanks for your help, I think that I now know what Maurice meant when he asked if I was riding the bevel on the gouge, am I right in thinking that the bevel should be parallel to the wood?


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Harry -

Sounds like you are getting close to a real breakthrough (the good kind, not the kind that shatters the workpiece)! 

I just picked up a copy of Rowley's book "Woodturning: A Foundation Course". He has a pretty good description of how gouge, skew and scrapers are supposed to work when properly sharpened. He doesn't get into how to use a Tormek for the sharpening, just uses a grinding wheel and basic jigs.

FYI, on the book, there are two editions, the 2nd edition has color illustrations and somewhat updated text. Not sure how it works in Australia but I was able to request a copy through my local library (inter-library loan) and I had that for about a week before buying my own copy. Inter-library loan is free (in the US anyway) and has been a great way to preview a book before purchase.


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

harrysin said:


> Ah Bernie, the TTS100, I had completely forgotten that I purchased one months after the machine which came with the WM-200, a pain in the but. I'm not quite sure how I arrived at the 3", as you have said, 65mm which is so easy to set with the TTS100 is the correct figure. I had another go at grinding the 5/8" gouge and whilst still not a perfectly even bevel all round, it's very close and I hope in the next few days to attempt another bowl. Once again Bernie, thanks for your help, I think that I now know what Maurice meant when he asked if I was riding the bevel on the gouge, am I right in thinking that the bevel should be parallel to the wood?



Harry sounds like you are on your way. Glad I could help. When Maurice said ride the bevel he meant the bevel in the front of the gouge should be in contact with the wood. The bevel should be riding on or in contact with the wood as you are cutting. Glad to see you are gaining.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Thanks again guys, as for books, at my age I want to be "doing things" rather than sitting reading, in any case, long gone are the days when I could read a complex technical article once and have a 75% comprehension, nowadays it's more like 7.5%! The next few days will see if I really have learnt something.


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## chippypah (Dec 24, 2007)

Great work Bernie, really good write up.
Cheers
Pete


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Thanks again Pete.


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