I probably should know this, but I don't, so here goes.  Assume that I am out "yard-saling", and I come across a gouge.  How do I tell if it is a spindle gouge or a bowl gouge?  Are the differences in the flutes, the grind, the shape of the point or business end?  Does the gouge start out as a generic gouge, and then gets assigned it's identity based on the grind?  Maybe more to the point, to save everyone typing their fingers off, is there an accepted resource, such as a book or DVD, that would give me this information?  I don't have a specific gouge in mind that I am trying to identify, this is just for general information for now.  Thanks.

Bowl gouges are thicker/heavier. The flute is deeper and the "U" shape is usually not as wide across the opening. 

 

Grinds can vary greatly depending on the previous owner.

 

http://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/gouges1.html

Edited October 18, 20187 yr by lew

https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.woodturner.org/resource/resmgr/fundamentals/guidetogouges.pdf

Here is a article showing grinds and types of gouges.

TOOL GRINDS

Thanks @lew and @Gerald.  I'm a little late in getting back to this, things have been hectic lately.  I think I might print off some pages from the referenced you guys provided me with, and put them in a folder for later reference.  Thanks again.

17 minutes ago, PostalTom said:

Thanks @lew and @Gerald.  I'm a little late in getting back to this, things have been hectic lately.  I think I might print off some pages from the referenced you guys provided me with, and put them in a folder for later reference.  Thanks again.

Glad to help. Let me know if I can do anything else.