German spindle gouge: any experience?

[Sevilla]

First of all let me say hello to everybody: this is my first post!
Here my question.  Recently I purchased a "german" spindle gouge by Hamlet. It is a 3/4 inch (bevel), is very shallow and has the sides that end in a nice taper. I believe this is the main difference with the so called "continental" spindle gouges in which the sides are of the same thickness all around.
So today I tried it mainly to make shallow and long coves. It works very well and leaves a surface extremely smooth. I found that the best way to use it is different from the usual spindle gouge: instead of rotating the gouge on its axis (the tool tend to become very unstable when rotated) I follow the curve of the cutting edge thus moving the handle left or right on the same axis or rolling it only slightly and keeping it in contact wit the wood.
Being completely new to this tool I wonder if anybody can share with me its experience with this gouge, whose shape to me makes a lot of sense.

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Sevilla,
           welcome to the forum.
          a picture of the tool would help here.
regards
John BHT

[Derwent Woodturning club]

Hi Sevilla,
I have just had a look at the Hamlet website and found a picture of their German spindle gouge. I am intrigued that they have labelled this as a 'German' spindle gouge, as it looks to be a spindle gouge with a fingernail or long grind profile, which most turners now use.
Regarding use, the swept back sides allow the tool to get into finer detail work, but that does need the tool to be 'rolled' on to its side. You say it becomes unstable when you do that. Not being able to watch your technique, all I can say is you need to keep the bevel in contact with the cut, no matter the orientation of the tool, and that means you have to swing the handle at the same time as rolling it.
Hope that helps,

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Just been on the Hamlet site too. Turns out I have a couple of these "German" gouges. I sharpen them exactly the same way as my spindle gouges, same setting on the jig,the works. I also believe that I use them the same way too.
      I think the reason the tool becomes unstable is because of the size of the cutting area, try taking smaller cuts with it.

[Sevilla]

Hi Sevilla,
I have just had a look at the Hamlet website and found a picture of their German spindle gouge. I am intrigued that they have labelled this as a 'German' spindle gouge, as it looks to be a spindle gouge with a fingernail or long grind profile, which most turners now use.
Regarding use, the swept back sides allow the tool to get into finer detail work, but that does need the tool to be 'rolled' on to its side. You say it becomes unstable when you do that. Not being able to watch your technique, all I can say is you need to keep the bevel in contact with the cut, no matter the orientation of the tool, and that means you have to swing the handle at the same time as rolling it.
Hope that helps,

Well there is a major difference with the "usual" spindle gouge and is the very shallow flute. Being a very old type of tool it is forged from flat stock rather than grounded (?) from round bars like the usual spindle gouges.
I always try to keep the bevel in contact but having such a large cutting surface it tends to catch much more then the gouge from round stock. I have the impression that it cuts almost like a skew.
Thanks for your time.

[Sevilla]

I forgot to say that characteristic of the German and so called continental spindle gouges is that they have the same wall thickness in the entire profile with the german having the tapering edges. Close profile to the roughing gouges but much shallower and with a round fingernail grind.

[Derwent Woodturning club]

Hi Sevilla,
Thanks for explaining the difference between the German and 'new' spindle gouges. The picture on the Hamlet website wasn't so informative. Just proves we can all learn something new from this forum.

I've got a couple of 'continental' spindle gouges in my toolbox from way back when. I will have to try a fingernail grind on one and give it a try, but I see your point about them behaving like a skew, and John's recommendation to take small cuts.

[Martin Lawrence]

Sounds like they are just like a Spindle Roughing Goouse but with a rounded nose, which means they have a tang and must only be used for parallell grain turning.

Cheers Martin

[Paul Hannaby]

I have a similar gouge which I bought as a continental gouge but ended up reshaping to more like what Hamlet call the German gouge. I find the wider edge useful for turning long curves because it can help leave a smoother curve.
With the wider edge, it can be prone to catches but if care is taken to keep the cut ahead of the centre of the edge, as you would do for an ordinary spindle gouge, it is stable.

I don't think it presents the same issues as a spindle roughing gouge because the flute is nowhere near as deep and the wings are ground back so less likely to cause a problem but having said that, I don't think it would be my tool of choice on a bowl anyway.