what grinding angle?

[Phil Pascoe]

I picked up one of these (for a fiver ) but I have no experience of tools of this section.
http://www.ashleyilestoolstore.co.uk/tu ... ndle-gouge
What angle would it normally be ground at? This has been ground at about 70 degrees (I would think for a particular purpose - I know not what :? ) and although it's way too steep for normal use I would think a fingernail grind might be a little vicious. I thought I'd ask before wasting too much steel.

 

[CHJ]

For a spindle gouge you want something in the region of 30-35 deg nose angle with no swept back wings.

post499317.html#p499317

If yours has been ground to a more pointed tool with very swept back wings it has probably been modified to use as a detail gouge instead of using a skew. (Easier and safer to use than a skew if you are not confident)

 

[Paul Hannaby]

It depends on your preference. There are no right or wrong angles but you will find from experience what works best for you. Hopefully this information will help you decide!

The trade off is that a longer bevel (smaller angle) will produce a weaker cutting edge that may be sharper initially but will lose it's edge faster. Harder woods need a shorter bevel (bigger angle) to give a stronger edge that will last longer. Soft woods will be at the 30° end of the range and hard woods at the 60° end of the range. 40° - 50° is a compromise somewhere between the two extremes and generally works as an all rounder.

Personally, I grind my spindle gouges to between 40° and 45° but occasionally up to 50° depending what I'm using them for.

 

[woodpig]

It depends what you want to do but I watched a Cindy Drozda YouTube video on sharpening her spindle gouge and found it works very well, especially the secondary clearance angle and swept back wings. As the top one here but also have a look on YouTube.

http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/Tool_Info.html