OK, so I picked up a small carving gouge at a local pawn the other day. I brought it home, sharpened it up, replaced the uncomfortable plastic handle with a nice walnut one, and decided to try it out on something.

I got the idea of using it to do texture on turnings. I believe I remember someone talking about this at one of the meetings. I tried doing the whole outside of a small junk bowl. Too much. I then tried doing some bands. Much better. I would like to know if anyone has advise on the best way to do transition from the turned surface to the carved. Any advise on band size and placement would be appreciated as well.

I have found that it seems to look better on plain wood, without a lot of grain or color. I also have to be careful to keep the direction of the "chips" running in the same direction and about the same size.

Just a cheap Great Neck gouge. Sharpens up well, hard to say how well it holds an edge as I have nothing to compare it to right now. Stays sharp long enough to get the job done.


Here is a band I did on the side of a failed hollow form.

Looks like a good start. Funny how I was thinking of doing the same thing the night before. You could bring it into the meeting just for fun.