On Feb 25, 12:44 pm, "robo hippy" wrote:
Talking about how long the edge of a gouge lasts, and the varieties of
steels to use got me thinking along another line. I learned that for
bowl turning, the gouge was the only tool necessary. Somewhere along
the line, I got to thinking about the turners out there who use
scrapers for all phases of their bowl turning. Being the curious type,
with a need to experiment (I haven't done anything to the point where
I do it the same way every time), I started using scrapers on bowls.
Even using them in a shear cutting mode, I can't get as good of a cut
as I can with a gouge, but for all the shaping and roughing cuts, I
think it beats the gouge hands down. For one thing, it is easier for
me to work in a push and pull cut, and in roughing, you don't really
have to worry about grain orientation.

For many reasons, I can never seem to get as smooth of a cut on the
inside of the bowl as I can on the outside. The scraper helps me clean
it up a lot, and is easier to maneuver around the curves in the
bottom.

Comments?

robo hippy

I've got a raft of 5 or 6 bowl gouges, and probably a dozen more at
work, ring tools, rolly munro and the crown heavy duty scrapers. After
a reasonable amount of play I like the gouge best. It leaves the least
amount of damage to sand, and offers maximum control. I guess I've
witnessed too many guys whip out a scraper for cove work on spindles,
I'm jaded against them.
Don't get me wrong, a scraper has it's place, but it seems it's the
last tool of resort in my arsenal.