Fig. 1340.
The proper way to hold a gouge is shown in [Fig. 1340], in which the cut taken by the tool is being carried from right to left, the face plate of the lathe being on the left side, so that by holding it in the manner shown the body and arms are as much as possible out of the way of the face plate, which is a great consideration in short work. But if the cut is to be carried from left to right, the relative position of the hands may be changed.
Fig. 1341.
When the work runs very much out of true, or has corners upon it, as in the case of square wood, the forefinger may be placed under the hand rest, and the thumb laid in the trough of the gouge, pressing the latter firmly against the lathe rest to prevent the tool edge from entering the work too far, or, in other words, to regulate the depth of the cut, and prevent its becoming so great as to force the tool from the hands or break it, as is sometimes the case under such circumstances. When the gouge is thus held, its point of rest upon the lathe rest may be used as a fulcrum, the tool handle being moved laterally to feed it to the cut, which is a very easy and safe plan for learners to adopt, until practice gives them confidence. The main point in the use of the gouge is the plane in which the trough shall lie. Suppose, for example, that in [Fig. 1341] is shown a piece of work with three separate gouge cuts being taken along it, that on the right being carried in the direction of the arrow. Now the gouge merely acts as a wedge, and the whole of the pressure placed by the cut on the trough side or face of the gouge is tending to force the gouge in the direction of the arrow, and therefore forward into its cut, and this it does, ripping along the work and often throwing it out of the lathe. To avoid this the gouge is canted, so that when cutting from right to left it lies as shown at b, in which case the pressure of the cut tends rather to force the gouge back from the cut, rendering a slight pressure necessary to feed it forward. The gouge trough should lie nearly horizontal lengthwise, the cutting edge being slightly elevated. The gouge should never (for turning work) be ground in the trough (as the concave side is termed), and should always be oilstoned, the trough being stoned with a slip of stone lying flat along the trough, the back being rotated upon a piece of flat stone, and held with the ground surface flat on the surface of the stone, and so pressed to it as to give most pressure at and near the cutting edge.
Fig. 1342.