Does anybody know the thickness of the steel Benedict Koehler's gouging tool is made out from, or any other information about that tool? I know I wrote down the dimensions at some point but I can't seem to find them. Much appreciated.

-Jack

I bet he made it out of an old saw blade. You could pick one up at a yard sale for less than 5 bucks. Try and find one that is made of good steel, an old Disston or something. A cabinet scraper blade would work well, which you can probably get for 10 or 15 bucks. Some of them are already shaped into teardrop shapes, paisley shapes etc.

uillmann is probably correct. I truly like and respect Benedict Koehler, and take nothing away from him. . .but you should acquaint yourself with the life, works, and books of Alexander Weygers, to crib from Wikipedia á Dutch American polymath and artist'. If you are at all interested in making tools, get the re-issued compilation of The Modern Blacksmith, orThe Making of Tools,The Recycling,and Repair of Tools, called The Complete Modern Blacksmith. Last I looked, available through Amazon for about the third of the cost of a good in-cannel gouge. . . . .

Bob

The "gouge"used by Benidict could be made from a firmer chisel, probably a 12mmx 3mm would do. The cutting edge would have to be reground to the round shape of Benidict's model.


RORY

That's an excellent illustration Rory. However, the tool that I think I saw Benedict using was more a 'profiling scraper' type of tool than the rough, shooting block gouge you have so clearly illustrated. The thought that Ben was trying to get across, at least at the demo I saw, was that after roughly getting the gouge to close to the profile you want, then using a finer, scraper type tool to get the exact inner profile, with a relatively smooth surface. Using a re-purposed handsaw blade, or blades, you could arrange several different prototypical profiles for the inside of reed blades by grinding the exact profile you wish. And, of course, using a scraping type action for the final shaping, you will be much closer to a 'burnished' type of inner surface.
'Course, there are so many different ways to skin that poor old feline. . .

Bob

My mistake,I thought Jack was asking about the gouging tool Benidict uses before he uses the cabinet scraper.

RORY

It isn't necessary to have the exact profile of the inner surface desired. If your scraper is a radius, and it is held somewhat vertically as well as perpendicularly to the cane, then you will get very close to an exact profile of the scraper blade. However, the beauty of Benedict's method is that results describing smaller radii may be obtained by pushing the near vertical scraper at an oblique angle relative to direction of the slip.* Theoretically, it allows him to get an infinite number of sweeps with one simple flat tool. I suspect that he developed the technique because of the dusty and cumbersome process of sanding on different sized cylinders, as well as the never-ending cost of abrasive papers. All that is needed is a steady hand and a deft touch. It is almost too elegant.

*Additionally, pushing the scraper held perpendicularly but not vertically will describe larger radii than the profile of the scraper, although the angle needed for the scraping action of this type of edge tool is, in practice, somewhat fixed at a slight angle to produce a cut. Different angles will produce different finishes. In cabinet shop practice, scrapers are filed to a flat edge, and then burnished with a scraper burnisher, which gives the scraper a burr on the corner. The bigger the burr, the more aggressive the cut. The burr lasts only for a while, and then is raised again with the burnisher as needed. I don't know if Benedict omits the burr - but one could ask him! A careful stoning of the edge of the scraper will produce enough of a cut to give a fine finish.

Thanks for the input guys. I was asking about the gouge. I've ground out the scraper from an old hand saw blade and it works great. I seem to remember the gouge being made from thicker stock, but I might try putting that profile on a piece of saw blade to see if it works.

I ordered a bank from Ron Hock (http://www.hocktools.com/default.html great source for good steel), which I think will work.

an seanduine- My mom does a lot of forging and knife making, and I know I've seen that book somewhere around the house. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up.

Twenty-some years ago, Benedict was using a "Two Cherries" brand incannel gouge, somewhere roughly in the neighborhood of 18mm, #6 sweep. I don't know if he still uses it, though.

I could be wrong but I recall hearing that the "gouge" he uses is some sort of Japanese woodwork tool.

One of my favourite series of videos on NPU's The Source is in the reed making section where they get 4 or so of the best reed makers to explain their processes for the camera. Benedict does a whole series of these, and I believe that this is te one where he discusses his gouging tools:
http://source.pipers.ie/Media.aspx?medi ... goryId=135

The 'gouge' is a homemade tool. It is not made from a firmer chisel, but a very similar tool could be made from one. It is similar to some Asian woodworking tool but Benedict does not have an English name for such a tool, and anyhow he doesn't indicate that it's exactly the same thing.

His gouge consists of a blade made from flat stock, ground to a round nose, with a bevel ground on the bottom edge in the manner of an out-cannel gouge. It has a two-piece handle riveted on, as one might find on a kitchen knife.

The scraper, on the other hand, is indeed made from an old handsaw blade.

- Bill

I've held the tool in my hand, and it is indeed homemade and very well suited for its use. What I'm asking is, does anybody know how thick the piece of steel he made it from is? Like I say, the last time I saw Benedict, I measured the thing, but lost the piece of paper before I got a chance to make one.

2mm


RORY

Meant to say "in the manner of an out-cannel gouge." Corrected above (thanks for noticing, Uillman)

Isn't "modern blacksmith" an oxymoron?