Thread: What are these tools and gouges?

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4 is a Robert Sorby "Spindle Master" in the original fingernail grind. The later versions have a shorter "fingernail" shape. Home - Robert Sorby Ltd

It is used like a skew, but has many of the advantages of a continental roughing gouge & a spindle gouge. I love mine as they can leave a superb finish "off the tool" when making spin tops from radiata pine and other difficult woods.

Hopefully the highly polished convex site of the spindle master hasn't been tampered with. If it has then I'm afraid it has lost its major benefit. Download the instructions at the above link as it shows the correct method to sharpen them.

I use something very much like #1 as a parting tool and it is prone to overheating if plunged straight in. It's not safely used that way either, it should be used to cut at least a cut-and-a-half wide to give side clearance, preventing jams.

#3 looks like a skewchigouge (Yes, there is such a beast!) that has been... repurposed.

No 1 is ground as a scraper and has the look of a shop-made tool. I think most experienced turners have a few tools made for a specific purpose or possibly an experiment. The bluing is not such a big issue with high speed steel as is with older tool steels but that is assuming the bar is HSS. I doubt this would have been used as a parting tool. It would take too big a cut for me. I guess you could make a scraping part cut, but I much prefer a peeling cut when parting.
The stumpy roughing gouge may have been made that way. I have seen some low-priced sets that are very short, but have not seen a roughing gouge like that. I would have expected a lot more patina on a worn gouge.

Originally Posted by rogerwilco

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#6 appears to be a P&N bowl gouge, or possibly a detail gouge - difficult to say from a top view only.

One thing for sure is that the majority of them are high quality tools.

Thanks Mobyturns, Skew ChiDAMN!!, and Bruceward51 ya legends.



#1 is 3/8 inch and ground like this. Believe it's called a bedan tool, for "beading, parting, and plunge cuts in bowls".
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#2 is 1/2 inch Skew.

#3 Here's a photo of the underside to help with ID. Strange tool.
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#4 Spindle master looks like it's going to be very useful. Looks like can do the same as a skew chisel but easier to handle. And also cove and bead work.
Thanks Mobyturns! The polished underside appears okay. I've had a quick spin with this one, and suspect I'll be using it a lot.
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#5 3/8" Spindle Gouge. Here's the grind, just to be sure.
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#6. 1/2" Bowl gouge. I think. Here's the grind.
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#7 3/4" stumpy. Is it a roughing gouge? I had a quick spin with this, and it seemed to work as such.
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I don't intend to turn end grain blanks or bowls and so forth. Not yet anyway. My plans are do small spindle work, furniture pulls, and things like that. So I'll probably want to add a 1/4" spindle gouge, a slim parting tool, and depending on the utility of tool #7, a decent roughing gouge.

Also, I'd be forever thankful if someone could just tell me the 'best' option for sharpening. I'm know there's about 253 different approaches... Having spent years figuring it out for plane irons and chisels, I'm not up for stuffing about. Inclined to spend money on a jig that works. Here's my sharpening setup.

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That's a 200mm x 40mm x 180g CBN wheel on a full speed grinder with the Tormek Bench Grind Mounting set. I've got the big SVD-100 tool rest, and I'm okay at getting decent freehand grind on simple tools. I use the square edge jig when I can. Probably the SVG-186 gouge jig, and turning setting tool is everything I'd need? Am I right?

A skewchigouge (my tentative ID for #3) normally has a rounded nose, much like a round-nose scraper.

It looks to me like someone decided they liked the way the spindle master (#4) worked and decided to make a version that could reach into tight spaces the spindle master wouldn't reach easily.

This could've been a regrind on a skewchigouge (although that's not the original Crown handle if it is) or a totally new grind on a suitable steel rod. They did a good job of it, if the latter.

It's not a profile I'd be inclined to add to my tool rack, but I am curious as to how well it'd work.

#7 appears to be a continental roughing gouge, a flater version of a spindle roughing gouge. It should be ground with a slightly swept back face & bevel.

Sharpening . . . Can of worms opened!

My take, given your Tormek & CBN gear, get the new gouge jig (SVD-186R) and the jig for skews (SVS-50), get good with them, then decide on anything else.

I've only been turning for nearly 20 years, so the old and bold will try to shoot me down and espouse their views on hand sharpening or other jigs

Let the fun begin!

Back in my day we used to hand sharpen on river stones. Of course, we had to flatten the river stones by hand afore we could use 'em...

Yep. I think that's right. I'll just get the SVD-186R. I only have 1 skew chisel and I reckon I can learn to freehand that one.
Fingernail grind, forget about it.

Originally Posted by rogerwilco

Yep. I think that's right. I'll just get the SVD-186R. I only have 1 skew chisel and I reckon I can learn to freehand that one.
Fingernail grind, forget about it.

Have a look at the HeliGrind jig if you decide you like a fingernail grind on the spindle gouges.

I have the original which performs very well, so I would be interested to test the claimed improvements with the Sherwood offering. I might even purchase the flat chisel jig myself just to try it. Having the Tormek Woodturners Kit sort of makes it a curiosity thing.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/sherwood...t-kit-complete

I know so little about turning, I thought fingernail wasn't optional!
I'm slightly overwhelmed by all the different things... turning is a whole different sub-genre of wood working.
But I'll get there in time, just like I did with other things!

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

I have the original which performs very well, so I would be interested to test the claimed improvements with the Sherwood offering. I might even purchase the flat chisel jig myself just to try it. Having the Tormek Woodturners Kit sort of makes it a curiosity thing.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/sherwood...t-kit-complete

I also have (or did have) the original HeliGrind jig, which I stopped using a long time ago. Not sure where it is now, but if I do still have it may fit on the Tormek bar. I'll have a look to see if I can find it. I don't like the grind it does on bowl gouges and don't do enough spindle gouge turning to make it worth keeping just for that, so perhaps happy to part with it to someone who could make good use of it. I'm referring to the part circled in this photo...

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