Gouges

[Bale]

I usually regard myself as adequately equipped and skilled when working in wood, but I need to hollow out a soundbox for a musical instrument and don't know where to start. If you imagine a small honeydew melon cut in half lengthwise and hollowed out to leave a bowl with walls 5-10mm thick, that just about describes the size and shape. Can anyone advise on the gouge size(s) needed and provide any tips on using them successfully?

Thanks in anticipation.

Pete

 

[bugbear]

Most musical instruments I know of either fabricate a coopered box (e.g. a lute)
or use an existing hollow item (several instruments based on gourds e.g. sitar).

I don't know (or didn't...) of an instrument with a hollowed-out-of-solid
chamber.

What are you making?

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

To do deep hollowing, you will need a bent gouge.

Have a look at this video of Peter Follansbee demonstrating some deep hollowing techniques - http://www.pbs.org/video/2365554475/ especially for the gouge work at about 17 minutes in.

I think the gouge he mostly uses is a Pfeil one - Classic Hand tools sell a wide range - https://www.classichandtools.com/acatalog/Long_Bent_Gouges___Parting_Tools.html

Depending on the scale, a small carving adze could be useful for preliminary excavation. CHT sell those too.

 

[ED65]

Alpine horns are made from the solid, but they sure don't use gouges to remove the bulk of the waste.

It is certainly possible to do this using just hand tools, but I think you'd want to use a hook knife or something like a scorp before the gouges were brought into play.

Is the wood you'll be using fully seasoned?

 

[Bale]

For starters I'm having a go at a strumstick. Homemade ones are usually built like a flat top guitar, but I was in Hobgoblin yesterday and saw a S/H McNally instrument which had a soundbox carved from solid and thought it might be interesting to have a go at doing it that way. I have also seen old photos online of a man carving a bouzouki. I'm aware of bowl-back building techniques, and will probably have a go one day, but for now a carved instrument would be an interesting diversion. I have found some medieval instruments too which could be interesting ( i.e. gittern) and it's always good to acquire a new skill. You never know when it might actually come in useful :wink: .

edit: wood will be fully seasoned, and, for instance, could be roughed out with a forstner bit in a pillar drill.

Pete

 

[bugbear]

Wow - looks like you need to be pretty hipster to play those...

(from http://www.strumstick.com/)

BugBear

 

[Bale]

Aw hell! I'd hoped they'd be sufficiently obscure as to not invite too much ridicule. Thankfully, I don't look like the dudes in the picture, but as I pretty much resemble Mark Morton (but older and without the facial hair)



I'm probably going to look pretty ridiculous anyway, now I come to think of it.

Pete

 

[Wildman]

something like this easy enough to make out of an old file.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mora-164-wood ... Sw9mFWG6IP
or this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Curve ... Sw5dNWivSw

 

[whiskywill]

I don't know (or didn't...) of an instrument with a hollowed-out-of-solid
chamber.

What are you making?

Charangos are often made from a hollowed out chunk of wood as an alternative to an armadillo shell. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chara ... csFMX_o%3D

 

[whiskywill]

Can anyone advise on the gouge size(s) needed and provide any tips on using them successfully?

A scorp would be useful.

 

[profchris]

This is definitely doing it the hard way!

There's a strong likelihood of cracking where you have short grain, at tail and neck end. I'd guess turners of bowls face the same problem, so it might be worth investigating what they think of as a minimum thickness. 5mm seems scarily thin, as movement with humidity changes (much greater across the grain) increases the chance of cracking. 10 mm might be safer, and then you could use it to beat off the critics of your playing

I believe the traditional method of making a strumstick is to start with a 2 x 2 the full length of the instrument, saw up the sides at around 2mm for the body length and remove the interior as waste. Then you splay the sides, attaching the tail end, and slap a back and top on. Neck carving is done when this is complete.

Luthiers who make carved backs and tops, like violins and bluegrass mandolins, use thumb planes for the final thicknessing, but tend to drill out the bulk first. They all complain how hard the planing is on their hands.

 

[mouppe]

My largest gouge is a #7 sweep 40mm Pfeil. I've done chair seats with this and it should be ok for your needs. I would use an adze to take out the preliminary waste though.

 

[custard]

My largest gouge is a #7 sweep 40mm Pfeil. I've done chair seats with this and it should be ok for your needs. I would use an adze to take out the preliminary waste though.

I'd be interested in seeing your chairs, in particular (assuming they're not windsor style) how you went about jointing legs to a solid, shaped seat. You do high quality work and I'm sure your chairs are up at that same level.

Don't want to hi-jack this thread, but if you get the time do post a photo.

 

[mouppe]

My largest gouge is a #7 sweep 40mm Pfeil. I've done chair seats with this and it should be ok for your needs. I would use an adze to take out the preliminary waste though.

I'd be interested in seeing your chairs, in particular (assuming they're not windsor style) how you went about jointing legs to a solid, shaped seat. You do high quality work and I'm sure your chairs are up at that same level.

Don't want to hi-jack this thread, but if you get the time do post a photo.

Thanks and sorry, I'm afraid they are all windsor-style! Typically, you drill the holes in windsors before the seat sculpting is done so you have a flat reference surface to work off.

 

[custard]

My largest gouge is a #7 sweep 40mm Pfeil. I've done chair seats with this and it should be ok for your needs. I would use an adze to take out the preliminary waste though.

I'd be interested in seeing your chairs, in particular (assuming they're not windsor style) how you went about jointing legs to a solid, shaped seat. You do high quality work and I'm sure your chairs are up at that same level.

Don't want to hi-jack this thread, but if you get the time do post a photo.

Thanks and sorry, I'm afraid they are all windsor-style! Typically, you drill the holes in windsors before the seat sculpting is done so you have a flat reference surface to work off.

Okay, worth asking. I've made plenty of windsor chairs, and plenty of jointed chairs, but I've never made a jointed chair with a solid wood seat and that's something I'd like try, so I'm gathering examples of how makers have dealt with the leg to seat joints.

 

[mouppe]

Okay, worth asking. I've made plenty of windsor chairs, and plenty of jointed chairs, but I've never made a jointed chair with a solid wood seat and that's something I'd like try, so I'm gathering examples of how makers have dealt with the leg to seat joints.[/quote]

Maloof made some chairs along the lines you are considering and had a special joint for the leg to seat.