[Full Guide] Bowl Gouge: A Traditional Woodturning Tool

As one of the woodturning tools, the bowl gouge is essential for making bowls, cups, and other curved-shape wood products. It can make the curvature of the processed products more rounded and smoother. Especially, it can further fit the surface of the product according to its depth, providing more creative space for woodworkers.

In this post, we will show what a bowl gouge is and how to use a bowl gouge correctly for both woodworking beginners and professionals.

What is a Bowl Gouge?

A bowl gouge is a traditional woodturning tool specially designed for shaping and hollowing out bowls and other large, curved wooden products on a lathe. Firstly, it removes the outer layer of the wood blank to achieve close to the curvature of the wooden bowl. Then, it sands finely the rough material and curve-shapes the inner concave part of the wooden bowl to make the thickness of each part uniform. Next, do a finer sanding of the external curved shape, improving the smoothness of the curves and reducing the amount of later sanding.

In contrast to spindle gouges, which are lighter with a shallower flute, bowl gouges are more robust, with a deeper flute that can remove great amounts of material. They are made from high-speed steel (HSS) to maintain a sharp edge, thus providing great strength and durability, particularly for heavy-duty woodturning work.

Parts of a Bowl Gouge

The bowl gouge has roughly the same design, and it can be simply divided into three parts: a wooden handle, a shank, and a cutting edge.

• Handle: It is traditionally made from hardwood or high-density composite material, maintaining the bowl gouge’s overall strength over long periods of handheld use. Different handles have different streamlines, but their core purpose is to make the operator feel smooth and handy during operation.
• Shank: The shank is usually made of HSS material, making it stronger to support turning at different angles and depths. It features a deep U-shape or a V-shape flute, which allows the bowl gouge to hold more wood chips in use. That makes you more comfortable when processing deeper and larger wood products.
• Cutting edge: It is the most important component in woodturning. The angle of the cutting edge generally ranges from 35°to 70°. Those with a large angle are more suitable for roughing on larger materials; while those with a small angle are more ideal for fine finishing after the shape has been formed.

How to Use a Bowl Gouge for Woodturning?

Using a bowl gouge smoothly requires you to understand its structure, practice proper techniques, and know how to approach safe cuts. We will show you the detailed steps to use a bowl gouge correctly and effectively.

Preparations before turning

1. Fix the material stably on the lathe to avoid wobbling or vibration during turning.
   
2. Verify that the material has no internal impurities or visible wood knots.
   
3. Make sure that the cutting edge is sharp.
   
4. Know clearly the hardness of the material and the dimensions of the wood blank, in order to adjust the lathe rotating speed for roughing and finishing.

Turning the outer surface

1. Hold the handle with one hand, and use the other to fix and guide the bowl gouge on the tool rest.
   
2. The bevel (the angled surface behind the cutting edge) should parallel the wood surface. This is called “riding the bevel.”
   
3. Since the bowl’s outer wall has a smaller amount of turning compared to the bottom of the bowl, begin by moving the cutting edge from the top to the bottom at an even speed. 
   
4. Keep the tilting angle of the gouge as stable as possible. You can minimize the vibration by leaning the handle against your body.

Turning the inner surface

1. Slowly move the bowl gouge to remove layers, each pass removes another layer, one after another.
   
2. Adjust the bevel angle according to the thickness of the bowl’s inner wall.
   
3. In the final stage, use a smaller angle to reduce the amount of cutting in a single pass.

Bonus Tips for Using a Bowl Gouge

Pay attention to the angle at which the flute cuts into the material. Too small an angle (the flute points downward) will make the turning process inefficient. Too large an angle (the flute points upward) may engage too much wood and cause a “catch”. During the turning process, you should adjust the angle of the flute according to the state of the material.

Buffer the backlash with the help of external force. Because you need to turn a curved surface with a bowl gouge, sometimes the depth of the turning workpiece is even greater than it is, and the force that comes back to your hand will be even greater.

Turning from the top to the bottom. When using a woodturning bowl gouge, turn the outside surface from the top to the bottom. While turning the inner surface, start from the center to the bottom. This way of turning not only reduces the reaction force but also minimizes the probability of material tearing.

Sharpen and maintain a bowl gouge. The durability of traditional woodturning bowl gouges made from HSS is slightly lower. Therefore, you need to regularly check and maintain the sharpness of the cutting edge. When maintaining the sharpness, it’s important to follow the initial bevel, as a change may affect the subsequent turning results.

Final Thoughts

Bowl gouges are excellent for turning bowls and arcs because of their deep U-shaped flutes, but they also need to be used in conjunction with other types of woodturning tools, such as roughing gouge, spindle gouge, and round scraper, in order to maximize their advantages.

In addition, our FindBuyTool provides high-quality carbide woodturning tools with carbide cutters. Those cutters are replaceable and can be rotated to a new, sharp edge or swapped out when all edges become dull. They are more durable and have longer replacement intervals, thus eliminating the need for frequent resharpening.

FAQ About Bowl Gouge

1. What is a bowl gouge?

A bowl gouge is a traditional woodturning tool specially designed for shaping and hollowing out bowls and other large, curved wooden products on a lathe. It can make the curvature of the processed products more rounded and smoother.

2. What's the difference between a spindle gouge and a bowl gouge?

The bowl gouge and spindle gouge have a resemblance appearance, but they have different uses, construction and application. The major fundamental difference between the bowl gouge and spindle gouge is the depth of the flute. The bowl gouge has a deeper one and the spindle gouge has a shallower one.

3. What size bowl gouge should I get?

A bowl gouge with a size of 1/2'' or 5/8'' is a ideal for an all-purpose bowl woodturning.