"Arch" wrote in message
...

And another thing. How many years does it take Ms. Average Turner to
wear down her frequently sharpened gouge to a useless length? Let's say
the gouge actually touches spinning wood for 3 hours a day for a 5 day
week for 40 weeks a year. Seems to me it would take many years to wear
down an 8 in. flute. No?


I'd say so. Now I also believe it's cheaper to sharpen for the final pass
than use the grits of paper that a sharp gouge saves, so maybe I sharpen too
much? I'll bet there's less than a penny worth of steel in a full 16" bowl
from start to finish, even if you get one of the name gouges.