'A Hello' and 'The quest for depth - bigger bowl gouge?'

[Maurizio]

Hello all!

New to the forum, although I've been lurking for a while. I've recently bought a NOS Record CL2 lathe from a local gent, and I'm pretty over the moon with it - it's even got the manual and sign-off from the Sheffield factory! It's my first wood lathe (I've done some metal work in the past, although never owned one) and it came with a small (as in half size) set of old Marple carbon steel turning gouges.

I've been very happy turning mallets, coffee tampers, and my first bowls but have run into a problem. I'm turning a deep cylinder that tapers towards the mouth and my tool rest (cast iron, tapered) wont fit very far inside the shape before the bottom hits the rim of the project, to raise it anymore would force the tool resting edge into the upper quarter of the inside, not where I want to be cutting.


Potential solutions that I've come across and would like some experienced help with:

1. I'm using a 1/4" bowl gouge (measured across the flute) with a short (4") length, this flexes a fair bit if held at the maximum length (reduced by frequent sharpening and very light passes) and cant overhand very far. Is a bigger bowl gouge a solution?

2. A box rest, such as those offered by Sorby. Effectively a flat narrow plate that can be inserted deeper into the project to support the tool. Or even a steel pole rest?

3. Anything else?

I've used all my savings to buy the lathe, so expect another post featuring the solution followed by 'cheapest alternative' :lol:

 

[dynax]

no cheap solution, but you could try a hollowing tool, https://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/tools ... -tools/c15, there might be other stockists with better prices, but i was there today as local and have a huge range,

 

[CHJ]

Try The Boring Bar technique with a stiff scraper.

 

[Maurizio]

Thanks Mike,

So does that mean I just need to get used to overhanging the tool a lot? Because the section protruding from the handle on my gouge is only 10cm long it feels like an extreme overhang when I'm at the end of it!

 

[Maurizio]

Thanks for the link Chas,

Seems like it'll be cheaper to put together a carbide tipped scraper than buy an appropriate length/thickness of HSS. Either that or I could just use a length of tool steel, cheap but soft without the heat treatment. Have you any experience with different options?

 

[CHJ]

Thanks for the link Chas,

Seems like it'll be cheaper to put together a carbide tipped scraper than buy an appropriate length/thickness of HSS. Either that or I could just use a length of tool steel, cheap but soft without the heat treatment. Have you any experience with different options?

A length of 1/2" mild steel bar and a carbide tip is an easy solution, way back in 2008 . I made one up had to use Ci1 tips at the time as the only ones readily available but there are numerous other sources these days.


A search of the turning section threads will turn up numerous threads on the subject such as this one

 

[Paul Hannaby]

1. I'm using a 1/4" bowl gouge (measured across the flute) with a short (4") length, this flexes a fair bit if held at the maximum length (reduced by frequent sharpening and very light passes) and cant overhand very far. Is a bigger bowl gouge a solution?

2. A box rest, such as those offered by Sorby. Effectively a flat narrow plate that can be inserted deeper into the project to support the tool. Or even a steel pole rest?

The maximum overhang for a gouge is 1/3 of the overall length of the tool (including handle) so if you have 4" overhang, the handle needs to be 8" or more. This ratio applies to a gouge used with the bevel controlling the cut. If you are using the gouge like a scraper, the overhang shouldn't be more than 1/5 of the overall length.

 

[Maurizio]

Chas - indeed, I had read many such posts, I was just unsure if that was the right direction to head in given my dilemma. I have now ordered some steel bar and a cutter - huzzah! I may have gone a bit big on the cutter, we shall see.. Also, your tool handle is very interesting, are there any benefits? I've seen a similar handle recently, by the chap who sells some carbide scrapers under: UK Woodcrafts and Carbide Chisels.

Paul - thanks for the reminder, as a beginner it's a bit easy to get carried away with getting the most out of my limited tool range, rather than stopping to think if I should. I might turn larger handles for my current tools..

 

[CHJ]

... Also, your tool handle is very interesting, are there any benefits? I've seen a similar handle recently, by the chap who sells some carbide scrapers under: UK Woodcrafts and Carbide Chisels...

As I use it in boring mode quite often I find the ribbed handle aids a good grip whilst still being able to apply a light hold.

On the overhang front, using Pauls guide to ratio as a minimum, the longer the handle (as long as it's manageable with your lathe) the lighter your hand body loads are to counteract any downward forces at the tip. Just make sure any tool steel shafts are securely embedded in the handle (75-100mm) and you have an anti splitting ferule fitted

 

[dynax]

just shows that you can't beat experience, very new to turning, still a lot to learn,