Spindle gouge conundrum

[Turning Bitter]

Gooday, I'm new to this forum so let me know if this thread is in the right/wrong place.

I've been turning about 3 years - mostly bowls and doing a lot of the work with a long Ellsworth type gouge.

I've recently started trying to turn some goblets and I'm wondering what tools others use particularly on the transition from the bowl to the stem and the stem itself.

I'm considering getting a spindle gouge to try and get a really good finish. Could someone/s tell the plus minuses of traditional versus continental v german style?

Thanks

[Pat]

Hamlet tools have a simplified explanation of the differences and uses of the various breeds of spindle gouge.

https://hamletcrafttools.co.uk/spindle-gouge.html

Personally, I use the traditional gouge for most spindles, but with most things, distinctions blur due to training, region and other influences.

[Fumbler]

Welcome to the forum, and sorry can't help, just thought I'd welcome you.

[Pat]

[QUOTE=Fumbler;2111518]Welcome to the forum, and sorry can't help, just thought I'd welcome you.[/QUOTE
Fumbler, we are all here to learn and teach.

I am lucky to have had and have good teachers, that I am comfortable in the basics to help others.

[Optimark]

Sort of depends on what you call a good finish. A good finish off the gouge, could mean it is smooth and virtually ridge free, or it could mean a smooth ridge free finish and the bevel has polished the timber to a point you sometimes don’t even need to sand the work.

I was pretty much in the same situation as you and wondered and kept on hearing about German spindle gouges as being the ants’ pants, but they weren’t available locally and cost an arm and a leg if bought from overseas.

Earlier this year, before Amazon stopped Australians from buying much of their interesting stuff from overseas and channelling their Australian customers to buy only through their AU portal, I picked up this three gouge kit for $104 AUD landed. Essentially, this is identical to what many people call “The German style of spindle gouges”. Whether or not they are German style, continental style or whatever style, they are certainly different and in some instances a real pleasure to use.

https://www.amazon.com/Hurricane-Turning-Tools-Woodturning-Spindle/dp/B008DH91Y8
(https://www.amazon.com/Hurricane-Turning-Tools-Woodturning-Spindle/dp/B008DH91Y8)
You can buy one of these spindle gouges through the AU portal, but at a cost of nearly $100 AUD for one; I wouldn’t bother. Hurricane gouges are a lower end product that are very good value for money, I now have seven of their gouges, so I have some experience with them as a whole.

Now to answer your question in more detail. My experience with the German style of spindle gouge, that is, my Hurricane three gouge set as above; they are really nice to use. The smallest one is really small, about 5.5mm measured on the bar. I haven’t used it too much, but when I have, it has worked very well.

The middle one, about 9.5mm measured on the bar, is the one I use the most. It seems to have the right combination of ease of use, speed of removal of material as well as letting one do continuous left and right work to make a smooth looking cove as easy as can be.

The biggest one, about 12.6mm measured on the bar, gets used on bigger spindle work.

These gouges are slower and more stable to use for spindle work, they are certainly more user friendly. A few people in my workshop who wished to just use a wood lathe once in their life, used the middle sized of this set and came away quite happy as they were all (three people) able to do some spindle work without catches and actually shape something from the get go.

Being slightly more flatter than my other spindle gouges, they are certainly less prone to chatter as one extends the gouge into an ever deepening cove on a size for size gouge basis.

If you are in Romsey Victoria, then a quick trip down to Timbecon, which is on your side of Melbourne, could be beneficial. They have some handled Crown spindle gouges for a good price this month, these look terribly close to what my Hurricane gouges look like.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/october-sale/turning-up-innovation-at-timbecon/spindle-gouges-m2-hss
(https://www.timbecon.com.au/october-sale/turning-up-innovation-at-timbecon/spindle-gouges-m2-hss)
In short, my German style are easier to handle, slower to use, certainly more predictable. I am comparing them to Crown and P&N (Suttons) spindle gouges. The Hurricane are the slowest, the P&N are middle speed and the Crown are quite quick. The P&N (Australian and no longer available) are more closely related to my Hurricane gouges.

Mick.