I'm a tool collector according to Susan, an experimental woodworker according to me, so I have a lot of different tools. Of course, with a generous family, one regular, one Hallmark holiday and a birthday every year, I figure I might as well experiment as get underwear.
Take a closer look at the shavings in the first frame. They're still from the roughing gouge, but now from a round surface, where I can lay the bevel on the wood for guidance. Note that they have smooth edges on both sides of the chip, indicating that the fibers are being severed rather than torn. With birch, perhaps even more than other woods, it's important to cut smoothly, so as not to tear out on the upside of the grain. The surface shown in the second frame includes that zone at the top. Note the minimum tearing. Surface is a 100/120 or better off the roughing.
Two methods of refining the surface in the next two frames include the forged (flat) spindle gouge and the "right" tool for the job, a bowl gouge. The shavings from the flat gouge have one feathered side, where the shaving is torn, versus cut. The position of the tool is such, however, that the leading edge of the shaving is the feathered one, the final point of contact, at the deepest part, is neatly severed. This gives finer ridging on the surface, though, if you look closely, it's certainly not a quantum leap. The delight is that with the gouge firmly on the toolrest, and the leading edge fully horizontal, you can't get a catch, and the same holds true for the gouge when used the same way on a concave cut. To me, this is the single best tool to have and to learn to use properly for bowl work. It reduces frustration on several levels by being almost catch proof and making a smooth cut which needs little pressure, leading to less chatter and a fair curve with greater reliability.
The bowl gouge, here used with the long ear cutting as a skew (or as the roughing gouge), is another possibility. Difficulties include the need to press the bevel a bit more into the work, evidenced by the burnishing, and working with the nose up and ready to catch in a careless moment. I'm blessed by the old iron toolrest, with two surfaces to ride, so I drag the corners back to get the smoothest cut at that angle. I'm not sure how well my angles would work with cylindrical rests. It does, however, produce a nice surface with such thin shavings. You can bypass the coarsest grits pretty easily. The 150 in use here is more than coarse enough. Next >