sizing of gouges

[Mike Cochran]

I'm fairly new to using gouges. When trying to carve a project from WI the directions specify certain sized gouges but when looking in catalogs the profile for different sized gouges look almost the same. Assuming there is a uniform sizing syatem, how is it figured?

[Mike L Hasler]

Hey Mike, welcome to the forum. I'll suggest get ahold of a woodcrafter cat'g, they show all the sizes and configs, way to complicated to try to explain, also a few books on woodcarving have all the profiles and sizes. Good luck, when I started with gouges, I bought a cheap set, found one out of it that I used most and really spent more time sharping it than carving with it, but it did give me a start as to which profile and size I liked best, then just expanded from there.

[chuckt]

One other thing to be aware of though - not all manufacturers follow the same numbering standards. The Woodcraft catalog will show the profiles for the Pfiel (Swiss Made) gouges. At one point I believe they also showed the Henry Taylor profiles when they carried them. There is another numbering system called the Sheffield system which is slightly different. Not sure but the Flexcuts may be different again.

When you see gouges numbered there are usually 2 numbers separated by a slash - like 9/12. The first number is the profile (when viewed on end like the letter U). The deeper the profile the higher the number. The shallower the profile (flatter) the lower the number. The second number is the width in millimeters. Or they'll be given dimentions in fractions of an inch.

So a number 1 gouge is usually flat. A number 3 will have a slight U shape. A number 9 is usually a 1/2 circle. A number 11 is truly U shaped with a 1/2 circle at the bottom and vertical side walls and is usually referred to as a veiner. A number 12 is usually a V tool. With various specialty gouges (fishtail, long bent and short bent, etc.) having other numbers higher. Again - this is the Pfiel numbering system. Others using the Sheffield system will vary from what I've described.

Hope this helps!
ChuckT

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

And, even it two companies use the same system, a specific sweep from one will differ from the same sweep from another. It won't be off by much, but can be different. I.E. one companies #5 Sheffield may be the same as another companies #6 Sheffield. I guess what I'm saying is the sweeps are not exact and are best used as a rough guide.

[mdallensr]

I've shopped on line and found the photo or line drawing of a gouge is often a one-size-fits-all image and may not be close to the actual sweep. Woodcraft has a good screen for Pfeils on their website, and several authors,such as Chris Pye, include a few pages of the actual sweeps and sizes in their books. In the Pfeil series, there's a big difference between a #7 and a #9, so I've added a couple of #8's to fill that gap. Mike