Arbortech Ball Gouge
George VondriskaDescription
When it comes to making bowls, you may immediately start thinking about a wood lathe. But what if you want to make a bowl or dish or platter that isn’t round? Or what if it’s not about a bowl at all, but simply doing some carving? That’s where power carving tools can help you out. This is sooooo slick! The whole process is very free form, very organic. You can grab nearly any chunk of wood, start free hand carving, and craft a unique item in no time.
What do I need?
The ball gouge used here runs on an angle grinder. That’s all you need to get carving. Well, let’s add a little imagination to that. Got a firewood pile? That’s a great place to grab stock for your carving project. Power up that angle grinder and let your creative juices flow.
Other options
In addition to Arborthech’s ball gouge, there are other tools you can use for work like this. Need to make a really deep recess, and have the ability to control the final depth? Then you should have a look at the TURBOShaft. Once the carving is done and you need to do a little sanding, you can easily clean things up with the Counter Sander.
For more information
Get more info on Arbortech and their tools by visiting www.abortechtools.com. You can purchase an Arbortech Ball gouge here.
This piece of maple log is just waiting to get turned into a little bowl, but it's not round, so it's not gonna go on the lathe. It's a beautiful piece, it's got some spolting in it. What I did to get this far, is, I flattened the bottom, cut a little half round on each end, to give it a little bit of shape. Next thing, how do we take away everything, that doesn't look like a bowl? That's gonna be done, this carving tool, running on this angle grinder, and this is gonna be a great way to hollow the inside out here and get the shape we want, looking like this. Did I take away everything that doesn't look like a bowl? But that ball gouge did a great job of getting material out of there, boy, in a quick hurry, huh? So, a little more work on my part, little bit of cleanup, and my maple bowl, hand cut with a ball gouge, is gonna be ready for serving fruit or nuts or something.
George, how did you finish the inside of the bowl? I made one of recently recently, a bit smaller diameter and maybe a little deeper than yours, and had an awful time sanding the inside smooth. What tool did you use?
George what was that wood standing vise? That was great!