Thread: What do you use ?

I still fall well and truly into the "beginner" category.

I seem to spend most of my time between my 3/4" roughing and 1/2" bowl gouges. Often just using the one tool throughout the shaping process.

Recently I've been reading all I can find on carbide tipped tools (trying to reduce and simplify my sharpening needs). Also looking at various universal handle/tool holding systems but it seems some are not all that universal.

If it all gets too hard I may just spring for a Woodchuck Pen Pro especially with acrylics in mind.

I use a 3/4 roughing on my timber to start and finish with scew as a scraper ( yep smack my bum).
On acrylics I use the pen pro all the way through. Hane never considered a bowl gauge at all.

I use 1&1/4" (32mm)roughing gouge on all my pens!!! sorry- I used to use smaller roughing gouge but changed over a long time ago, also the Skew for certain angles etc. Amos

My "goto" tool is a 1/2" Sorby Spindlemaster, but I also a 1/2" bowl gouge and a 1/2" skew.

I have made my own version of the Ci1 Easy Rougher and use that for quite a bit of roughing out. The one in the middle with the R4 radius, don't use the others all that much.

Hey There,

I do all my pens with a 3/4 Roughing Gouge to get to shape and then a 1" Skew, in the traditional style to finish, and depending on some materials, sometimes as a Scraper , not very often though,

HazzaB

i used a 3/8 slash 10mm chinese 30 y/o odd profiled (was not forged right) , odd spindle gouge i put a fingernail grind on for the longest time, i still love it, a hand me down, then i bought a 3/4 hamlet roughing gouge and found it good for material removal,on both woods and acrylics, finishing with the same 3/8 as above. After that i bought a pen pro from Bruce, been using it since, although lately my pens have been very infrequent and projects delayed due to poor health, i expect things to improve, new toys, more drive, less procrastination, more care.

Neal.

Hi Parris,
Why not save yourself a bit of Dosh, & make 1 out of a, say a shortened 12mm. Spindle Gouge. They work a treat.
I prefer a P&N Roughing Gouge, but of course they don't make a Small One, but at least it is Milled?? out of 1 piece of round steel, & not a flat bit of 6 / 8mm. bent over.
To my way of thinking, they don't have any weight in them.

Just my thoughts.

Well, it seems that like me, most of you generally use a larger gouge / tool + a Pen-Pro. Oh well, I guess I'll see how I go with the 1/2" roughing gouge. If it's no good for pen work, I can use it for other small stuff. Hey Thompy (Neil) didn't know you have been crook, and wondered why you weren't on the forums. Hope your on the mend now mate. Cheers.

I'm on the big roughing gouge front too. Sometimes I will use a skew as a scraper but that's something that I can usually cover with the roughing gouge too

I think mine's about 1" but I really haven't paid much attention to it.

Since I bought the Pen Pro I use nothing else. Just an R2 blade in it and it flies through the timber and always leaves a smooth finish.

Pretty well do the whole thing with a 3/4 roughie. start in the middle and then move to the wings as a scraper to get it flat at the end.
Sometimes get to use the skew on them.

To prove a point after someone told me all you can use was "tiny chisels", their words not mine. So I pulled out a 2" hand forged gouge that was a $2 buy from a junk shop. It was over kill but i proved a point. I sit when I make my pens so I will use 1/2" skew and gouge as the smallest, but favor a shortened handled 1" skew and 3/4" gouge.

1/2", 3/8" & 1/4" bowl gouges depending on the mood.

Pete

ive only ever used a 1/2" roughing gouge, its suprising to see what others are using