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ID'ing a Shopsmith gouge - 555033

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:53 pm
by davidplatt
I just bought a set of six Shopsmith lathe tools in an eBay auction. Five are the standard set (#555026 through #555030). The sixth is a gouge, #555033, which is no longer listed in Shopsmith's online catalog. It doesn't show up on Google with anything interesting.

It's intermediate in size between the other two (#555027 and #555028), with somewhat taller flutes. The bevel is ground at 45 degrees, and the face is raked back at about the same angle. It has a tang, like the others, rather than an unbroken shaft.

Does anyone have one of these #555033 gouges, and know whether it's intended as a bowl gouge, or as a spindle/roughing gouge like those in the standard Shopsmith chisel set?

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:31 am
by beeg
WHAT is the shape of the tip? Is it stright across? A pic wood help.

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:44 am
by SDSSmith
I have one and believe it is a 5/8" roughing/spindle gouge. Back in the late '80's SS offered a 7 piece lathe chisel set to "complete your basic collection". I suspect that the 555033 was part of that set as it included a 5/8" gouge. The set had an item number of BA-0348 in the 1989 Fall Catalog.

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:12 am
by davidplatt
Rob - bingo! Thank you. With your hint, I remembered (as I should have, before!) that I have a few old Shopsmith catalogs in the pile of stuff I received from my Greenie's former owner when I bought it some years ago. Upon blowing off the dust, I found #555033 listed as a 5/8" gouge in the 1984 catalog. I see the 7-piece add-on set BA-0348 in the 1986 catalog as well.

It's interesting... back in that era, SS doesn't seem to have been offering a bowl gouge for faceplate turning... just the spindle and roughing gouges, and side-cutting chisels for faceplate scraping.