Handwork in Wood

by William Noyes

The gouge is a form of chisel, the blade of which is concave, and hence the edge curved. When the bevel is on the outside, the common form, it is called an outside bevel gouge or simply a "gouge," Fig. 80; if the bevel is on the inside, it is called an inside bevel, or inside ground, or scribing-gouge, or paring-gouge, Fig. 81.³

Footnote 3: Another confusing nomenclature (Goss) gives the name "inside gouges" to those with the cutting edge on the inside, and "outside gouges" to those with the cutting edge on the outside.

Fig. 80. Firmer-Gouge Outside Bevel.

Fig. 81. Inside bevel Gouge.

Carving tools are, properly speaking, all chisels, and are of different shapes for facility in carving.

For ordinary gouging, Fig. 82, the blade is gripped firmly by the left hand with the knuckles up, so that a strong control can be exerted over it. The gouge is manipulated in much the same way as the chisel, and like the chisel it is used longitudinally, laterally, and transversely.

Fig. 82. Gouging.

In working with the grain, by twisting the blade on its axis as it moves forward, delicate paring cuts may be made. This is particularly necessary in working cross-grained wood, and is a good illustration of the advantage of the sliding cut.