Over the last few days the long grind topic has raised it's ugly head again. I am not professing to be a expert, but thought I would put together how I treat my spindle/bowl gouges with there long winged grind.
IMO too much emphasis is put on the angle of this, the angle of that. If you are a professional turner with 20 years or more under his belt, you may be able to tell the difference of a few degrees on a gouge tip, but as a hobby turner I defy any to get a better cut with their tip, my tip, or anyone else's, as long as they are sharp.
My sharpening rig is similar to the Oneway Wolverine, but only in as much it has a short arm into which a jig fits to enable me to swing a gouge round to achieve a consistent long grind on the wings. The actual jig that holds the tool is a copy of the Hamlet jig which I made in wood and steel, and as such has a fixed leg, so no adjustment. Only my spindle and bowl gouges are sharpened in this jig. All other chisels are shaped/sharpened on a adjustable flat table.
I decided on the Hamlet design to keep it as simple as possible with no adjustment to bother with. The only adjustment is on the extension arm once all is set up. Hamlet operating instructions.
I have tried to explain how I initially shape a new gouge, but have trouble understanding myself, so how others manage I don't know. :roll:
So remembering a video I had seen have shopped around and found it again. Hope this will give all an idea of how to shape a long grind spindle/bowl gouge, but treat it all with a bit of tongue in cheek. Long Grind Video's
If you notice he fixes the leg at approx. 45 deg. And it stays there through the whole procedure. SO WHY MAKE IT MOVEABLE? IMO it only helps to confuse things. Also if you feel the need to have a separate jig for spindle and bowl gouges, just make 2, one with the leg at 45 deg. for the bowl gouge, and another at a different angle for the spindle gouge. Personally all I do is move the lower rest arm in closer to the wheel when sharpening a spindle gouge, and have worked with these grinds for a few years now.
I agree that if you have differing angles on separate chisels you would need the movable leg, but if you initially grind with the one angle for all, and just move the lower rest arm in or out to change the nose angle, you won’t need the extra adjustment.
My Hamlet/Ellsworth copy -
IMO too much emphasis is put on the angle of this, the angle of that. If you are a professional turner with 20 years or more under his belt, you may be able to tell the difference of a few degrees on a gouge tip, but as a hobby turner I defy any to get a better cut with their tip, my tip, or anyone else's, as long as they are sharp.
My sharpening rig is similar to the Oneway Wolverine, but only in as much it has a short arm into which a jig fits to enable me to swing a gouge round to achieve a consistent long grind on the wings. The actual jig that holds the tool is a copy of the Hamlet jig which I made in wood and steel, and as such has a fixed leg, so no adjustment. Only my spindle and bowl gouges are sharpened in this jig. All other chisels are shaped/sharpened on a adjustable flat table.
I decided on the Hamlet design to keep it as simple as possible with no adjustment to bother with. The only adjustment is on the extension arm once all is set up. Hamlet operating instructions.
I have tried to explain how I initially shape a new gouge, but have trouble understanding myself, so how others manage I don't know. :roll:
So remembering a video I had seen have shopped around and found it again. Hope this will give all an idea of how to shape a long grind spindle/bowl gouge, but treat it all with a bit of tongue in cheek. Long Grind Video's
If you notice he fixes the leg at approx. 45 deg. And it stays there through the whole procedure. SO WHY MAKE IT MOVEABLE? IMO it only helps to confuse things. Also if you feel the need to have a separate jig for spindle and bowl gouges, just make 2, one with the leg at 45 deg. for the bowl gouge, and another at a different angle for the spindle gouge. Personally all I do is move the lower rest arm in closer to the wheel when sharpening a spindle gouge, and have worked with these grinds for a few years now.
I agree that if you have differing angles on separate chisels you would need the movable leg, but if you initially grind with the one angle for all, and just move the lower rest arm in or out to change the nose angle, you won’t need the extra adjustment.
My Hamlet/Ellsworth copy -
