[Robby]

Hi folks, I'm new here and figured I would show my newbie "ness" by asking where I might find a chart showing sizes of gouges, v's, and others so that I know what others are using when they say "5/8 #6 gouge". I have a decent collection of tools for being new to this hobby, but have no ideal on thier sizes. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Robby

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Robby this link should help some.
http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart...ategory_id=228

Dave

[Robby]

Thanks Dave,
That is exactly what I was looking for. After this little search on sizes, I now understad why some people will mark their tools.

Robby

[AlArchie]

Robby that is a good indication of the FLEXCUT sweeps, and may be a fair representation of generally accepted sweeps radii. But when shopping different brands you may find the sweep numbers don't necessarily coorespond to any one standard. I know I've found some differences in sweep numbers in tools I've purchased and used.

If you order from a catalog or on line, check the actual sweep charts in the catalog. I think if you check the Henry Taylor profiles in the Woodcarvers Supply catalog, you will find them to have a slightly tighter radius than their Lamp brand or their new Mastercarver brand. Not that it would make a whole lot of difference, but if you are a stickler for that kind of stuff, it might not hurt to check the actual sweep profile before you buy just by sweep number number.

Al

[RussL.]

Woodcraft's latest catalogs now show each individual Pfeil cut profile, both sweep and size of the cut next to each tool listing.

These are, or course, the Swiss profiles as opposed to the Sheffield list which I believe the Henry Taylor ones at Woodcarver's Supply are.

If you can't come up with something send me a private email and I'll try to find a few minutes to scan the pages from a Woodcraft catalog here at work and email them to you as an attached .pdf file.

All the best

RussL.

[Robby]

Thanks for the offer Russ, I have a copy of the Woodcraft catalog around here somewhere. I haven't looked at the thing in awhile since I have one of their stores within 15-20min drive. I started a santa face out of a magazine article, the author was using a certain size gouge and the photo was not full scale. I just didn't want to start out this new carving on the wrong foot. The hardest part for me is getting started, once I have the basic shape going, I'm usually good to go.

Robby

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Robby, I think you'll find that as you progress in your carving/whittling hobby, you will soon find out that the sizes and sweeps cease being as important as you originally thought. Methinks that the size/sweep thing will become either a rough guide or more likely totally ignored. You will just develop a feel for what is required to accomplish your goal. It's amazing what can be accomplished with simply a knife (not that I want to be restricted to the situation). I have some very intricate Chinese pierced carvings that were done with only a knife and a small chisel.