# RESHAPING A ROUGHING GOUGE



## Drcal (Apr 22, 2013)

I am a very, very poor sharpener. Therefore, over a year or two of sharpening, my roughing gouge has started to look like a fingernail gouge. Is there a way i can get it straight at the top and get rid of the fingernail grind on the sides?
*OR*
Should I even bother---just leave as is????? and use another roughing gouge?

I have tried to change the shape but really don't know the best approach.

Any wisdom.....

Thanks.
Carmen
Tampa Bay


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## Wildman (Apr 22, 2013)

I use Wolverine v-arm to sharpen all my roughing gouges, before that had a homemade wood v-arm from plans found in Time Life Book.  So have never had problem you are talking about. 

There are plenty of plans for making a v-arm to use on a bench grinder on line, so if that is what you use to sharpen would not be a problem.  Simple work it back into proper shape over time without wasting a lot of steel.


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## The Penguin (Apr 22, 2013)

don't use the v-arm - it pulls back the wings on a roughing gouge giving you a less functional gouge.

instead, use the platform.


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## Drcal (Apr 22, 2013)

I have the Wolverine and I think that's what got me the wings. I really need to reshape the whole thing and I am not sure how to do that.
Carmen


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## Dan Masshardt (Apr 22, 2013)

I have a medium sized roughing gouge that is tapered back like that and I love it for taking material  off a blank fast after rounding it with the regular roughing gouge.  

My thought: if you think the gouge has value as a tool as it currently is, keep it and buy another roughing gouge.  

If you'd never touch it again, then regrind it.  It will probably take awhile though.


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## tdsmart (Apr 22, 2013)

Carmen, I think your gouge is sitting in my basement. I have managed to get the same unfortunate shape using the same jig. I have been stewing over for awhile trying to decide how best to attack it. Using the platform was going to be my next attempt to reshape it, so I too am anxious to learn of other possible methods.


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## HamTurns (Apr 23, 2013)

In order to re-shape the spindle roughing gouge you will need to re-grind the front edge shape by setting your gringer platform to "flat" or 90 degrees to the wheel. Then grind away the "nose", bringing the whole front edge to straight accross.

Then re-set the platform to 45 degrees and re-sharpen the leading edge.

I made a Zirconium (sp?) grinding "plate" that I use in re-shaping tools. It's a lot faster and easier than doing all that grinding on the grinding wheel. I took a 6" faceplate and screwed and glued it to a 12" diameter by 3/4" thick MDF board, then glued and screwed another layer of 3/4" MDF to that. Then I trued it up on the lathe. The Zirconium discs come with an adhesive back, so I just stuck it onto the MDF wheel and went to work grinding. The Zirconium discs are $6-$8.

Tom


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## low_48 (Apr 23, 2013)

The Penguin said:


> don't use the v-arm - it pulls back the wings on a roughing gouge giving you a less functional gouge.
> 
> instead, use the platform.



The v-arm doesn't pull back the wings, the operator does that. The arm just provides a fixed stop and locator for the operator to work with. I've used the v-arm since it first came out and have a very straight grind. It does take some skill and practice. The advantage of the v-arm is that it lets you lift off the gouge to see how the work is progressing, then lets you go back to the exact same position to refine the work. Find a woodturning club that has a mentor. Learning goes so much quicker when you see proper skills at work. I'm also sure that someone out there will get the same pull back grind on the platform.


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## Carl Fisher (Apr 23, 2013)

My question though is it a true roughing gouge that is deep U shape or is it more of a traditional spindle gouge that is already slightly raked to begin with and a shallow arc?  You'd have to take a LOT of material off of a roughing gouge to get those wings swept back.


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## KenV (Apr 23, 2013)

The Penguin said:


> don't use the v-arm - it pulls back the wings on a roughing gouge giving you a less functional gouge.
> 
> instead, use the platform.



Actually  it is the varigrind jig in the arm that give the fingernail grind.


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## Wood Butcher (Apr 23, 2013)

+1 for low_48

WB


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## The Penguin (Apr 23, 2013)

low_48 said:


> The v-arm doesn't pull back the wings, the operator does that. The arm just provides a fixed stop and locator for the operator to work with. I've used the v-arm since it first came out and have a very straight grind. It does take some skill and practice. The advantage of the v-arm is that it lets you lift off the gouge to see how the work is progressing, then lets you go back to the exact same position to refine the work. Find a woodturning club that has a mentor. Learning goes so much quicker when you see proper skills at work. I'm also sure that someone out there will get the same pull back grind on the platform.





KenV said:


> Actually  it is the varigrind jig in the arm that give the fingernail grind.


are we talking about the same type of gouge? the OP hasn't clarified, but this is the type of roughing gouge I'm talking about:

Henry Taylor M2 HSS Spindle Roughing Gouge | Hand Tools | Craft Supplies USA

I have that one or similar (in 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" size). I sharpened it with the v-arm for a while - until I had an opportunity to take a class with Kirk DeHeer (CSUSA guy that's at just about every show). He took one look at my gouge and said - "you've been using the v-arm, haven't you?"

then he proceeded to show me how to use the platform to properly sharpen this gouge. I can't remember the explanation - but the "motion path" of the tool edge in the v-arm is not the same as if you use the platform.

on a true spindle roughing gouge, it grinds the tips/wings further back than the center of the tool.


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## Sylvanite (Apr 24, 2013)

To sharpen a roughing gouge on a grinding wheel, you put the chisel on the platen and use a twisting motion against the wheel.  This maintains the flat profile.

To sharpen a round-nose scraper, you put the chisel on the platen and use a side-to-side swinging motion against the wheel.  This gives you a rounded profile.

To sharpen a spindle gouge or bowl gouge, you use a combination of the two motions to produce a fingernail grind.

To sharpen a skew, you present the tool to the wheel at the correct angle and may move the whole chisel side to side (without changing the presentation angle) if the wheel is not true.

The roughing gouge and scraper are pretty easy to sharpen freehand with the platen set to the appropriate angle.  Consistent results on a skew take a bit more practice.  It's difficult to get a good fingernail grind without some sort of jig.

I hope that helps,
Eric


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## Steve Busey (Apr 24, 2013)

Carmen, search youtube for "sharpen roughing gouge" - there's a bazillion videos that will get you going in the right direction!


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## sbwertz (Apr 24, 2013)

HamTurns said:


> In order to re-shape the spindle roughing gouge you will need to re-grind the front edge shape by setting your gringer platform to "flat" or 90 degrees to the wheel. Then grind away the "nose", bringing the whole front edge to straight accross.
> 
> Then re-set the platform to 45 degrees and re-sharpen the leading edge.
> 
> ...



I square mine off and re-grind it every couple of years.


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## keithkarl2007 (Apr 24, 2013)

What your doing is rolling the gouge too far over on both wings. When sharpening with the V arm you treat the roughing gouge like 2 tools, a standard chisel and a gouge. Roll the tool in the arm just for the very tip of the gouge and for the wings just lightly move it side to side while on the wing. If you look at the end of the tool you will see that it is U-shaped.

U​


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## low_48 (Apr 24, 2013)

So Kirk DeHeer is the expert on how to sharpen roughing gouges? And his technique is the only one that works? The V-arm used CORRECTLY will not force you to grind back the wings. Mine are dead straight across, and I'll post a picture tonight to prove it. You don't keep rotating to get to the end of the roughing gouge, you rotate and slide to the side. I would suggest that I can get a better grind on the v-arm, compared to using the platform because the centerline of the tool stays in one place and can not be pivoted to the side like you could on the platform. Maybe keithkarl explains it better than I.


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## The Penguin (Apr 24, 2013)

I'm not saying he's the expert by far - just that his explanation made sense

I do think I was getting a better grind off the platform when I had a regular aluminum oxide wheel on my grinder. I recently switched to a CBN wheel from D-way which is much wider than the AlO wheel, and would be easier to get that "dead straight" grind across the front of it.

I haven't used that gouge since I got the new wheel, but now I'm anxious to give it a try.


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## Dick Mahany (Apr 24, 2013)

While I like the wolverine jig and arm system very much, I like the simplicity of platform grinding as well.  I use Reed Gray's (aka Robo Hippy) Robo Rest platform for my skews and roughing gouges.  Work perfectly for me.


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## Dan_F (Apr 30, 2013)

A roughing gouge generally has a pretty steep bevel that is flat across the nose. It's probably the easiest tool to sharpen, no special accessory or jig is needed. Using a v arm for this can be dangerous - if set just a little too far away from the wheel, it can suck your tool right into the wheel, which will then either explode, or break the handle of your tool in an instant, much too fast for you to react. 

The easiest and safest way is to just use a flat platform, set it to match the angle of the bevel, present the tool and roll it to the right and left from tip to tip. 

Dan


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