Skip to content
Fine Woodworking
Main Menu
Subscribe
GET THE MAGAZINE & MORE
Magazine Cover
  • Save 69% off the cover price
  • Or, get everything with UNLIMITED, including 40+ years of the online archive.
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • Projects & Plans
  • How-To
  • Shop Tips
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Magazine
  • Video Workshops
  • Members
  • Forum
  • Gallery
  • Blogs
  • More
    • Log In
    • Join
    Fine Woodworking Main Menu Subscribe
    Shop Tips

    Hone gouges with a dowel, sandpaper, and a drill

    Here is a simple but effective shopmade tool for honing carving gouges, taking the place of slip stones and other expensive gear

    #266-Jan/Feb 2018 Issue
    Article Image

    Here is a simple but effective shopmade tool for honing carving gouges, taking the place of slip stones and other expensive gear. It’s a dowel with fine sandpaper wrapped around it, chucked in a rotary tool. For smaller gouges I use a 1⁄8-in. dowel about 2-1⁄4 in. long in a Dremel tool, and for larger gouges, I chuck a 1⁄4-in. rod in a die grinder. A drill set on its highest speed would also work. The spinning roll does a beautiful job on the inside edge of gouges, both out-cannel (bevel on the outside) and in-cannel (bevel on the inside). This leaves only the outside edge to hone on normal stones, finishing up with a leather strop.

    The trick lies in how you wrap the sandpaper around the dowel. Cut a strip of wet-or-dry paper wide enough to fit the exposed rod and long enough to make several wraps around it. Tape the sandpaper to the rod as shown and wind it on tightly. Then use a thin piece of tape to bind the paper at the base. That’s it. If the gouge has particularly nasty scratches, I start with 400-grit paper, but more commonly I start with 800 grit and work my way up to 2,500. I keep a cup of water handy and dip the paper to lubricate the process. The spinning sandpaper roll will have a tendency to catch on one side of the gouge. So I stop just short of that side. When the paper dulls, it’s easy to renew: Just make a short tear along the tape at the base and then tear off the used section to expose the fresh paper. Now I no longer avoid tuning up new or old gouges.

    —Kirk Hopkins, Brashear, Texas

    Illustrated by Dan Thornton

    Sign up for eletters today and get the latest techniques and how-to from Fine Woodworking, plus special offers.

    Sign Up

    Get woodworking tips, expert advice and special offers in your inbox

    Sign Up
    ×
    X
    X

    New Feature

    Fine Woodworking Forums

    Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

    Get It All!

    UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.

    Start Your Free Trial

    Subscribe to Fine Woodworking

    Save up to 56%

    Subscribe

    Comments

    1. moleary | Jan 22, 2018 10:21am | #1

      Would you suggest this for concave turning tools as well?

    Log in or create an account to post a comment.

    Sign up Log in

    Up Next

    Featured Workshop

    Shaker candle stand with Christian Beckvoort

    He’s built dozens of round Shaker stands over four decades, so there is no one more qualified than Christian Becksvoort to demonstrate making this classic. In this seven-part video series,…

    Featured Projects & Plans

    Build a Contemporary Sideboard

    Chris Gochnour's sideboard combines usefulness, strength, and beauty in a contemporary case piece

    Related Stories

    • Workshop Tip: Pair of squares simplifies mitered sticking

    • Where to Build

    • Gouges for green woodworking

    • How to sharpen an adze

    Discussion Forum

    Recent Posts and Replies

    • |
    • |
    • |
    • |
    • |
    • |
    View More Create Post

    Member Exclusives

    More Member Exclusives
    • side table with carved details

      Side table with carved details

      The form of David Lamb's table may be simple and Shaker inspired, but the details add an extra level of elegance.

    • Expand your workholding with a spoon mule

      Dawson Moore's spoon mule clamps workpieces low and from the sides, making it perfect for narrow parts, spoon bowls, and other workpieces.

    • Greenwood: What to look for in an adze

      David Fisher explains how to choose, maintain, and use an adze to quickly hog away green wood and form pleasing curves, whether you are carving the inside of a bowl or shaping the crook of a spoon.

    • Spokeshave fundamentals

      Chairmaker Peter Galbert takes you through the different types of spokeshave, how to tune them, where to use each type, and which ones he likes best.

    Highlights

    • Shape Your Skills

      when you sign up for our emails

      Plus tips, advice, and special offers from Fine Woodworking.

      Sign Up
    • Shop Talk Live Podcast

      Shop Talk Live Podcast

      Our biweekly podcast allows editors, authors, and special guests to answer your woodworking questions and connect with the online woodworking community.

    • Woodpecker Sweepstakes

      Woodpeckers Shop Upgrade Giveaway

      Enter now for your chance to win more than $2,000 worth of woodworking equipment from Woodpeckers. Click for full details.

    • Staff Picks Blog

      Our favorite articles and videos

      We have created these special content collections organized to give you a deep dive into a range of topics that matter.

    Sharpening

    View All
    • A reminder that it's time to sharpen

    • How to sharpen an adze

    • lapping plate

      Workshop tip: Marble or granite tile is a low-cost lapping plate

    • Grind and get back to work – fast

    View All

    From the Store

    View More
    • Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking USB

      Buy Now
    • The Why & How of Woodworking

      Buy Now
    • 2020 Fine Woodworking Archive

      Buy Now
    • 52 Boxes in 52 Weeks

      Buy Now
    View More

    Get the latest from Fine Woodworking Magazine

    • #289-May/June 2021

      • Arts and Crafts coffee table with story-book charm
      • Links from Fine Woodworking issue #289
      • Seven tasks for a block plane
    • #288-Mar/Apr 2021

      • Phil Lowe: A craftsman and gentleman
      • Online Extras from FWW Issue #288
      • Phil Lowe: craftsman, teacher, friend
    • #287-Jan/Feb 2021

      • Simple, handsome 17th-century box
      • Online extras from FWW issue #287
      • Editor's letter: Finding sanctuary in the shop
    • #286-Tools & Shops 2021

      • Shoulder plane setup and use
      • Online extras from FWW issue #286
      • From the editor: A shop to call home
    • #285-Nov/Dec 2020

      • Make a dovetailed desktop organizer
      • Online Extras from FWW Issue #285
      • Announcing FWW ambassadors

    UNLIMITED membership - Get access to it all

    Start Free Trial Upgrade Membership

    Fine WoodWorking

    Follow

    Newsletter

    Get woodworking tips, expert advice and special offers in your inbox

    Sign Up

    Membership & Magazine

    • Members
    • Digital Libraries
    • Join Unlimited
    • Magazine Subscription
    • Magazine Renewal
    • Gift a Subscription
    • Customer Support
    • Manage Preferences

    Taunton Network

    • Fine Homebuilding
    • Green Building Advisor
    • Fine Gardening
    • Threads
    • About
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Careers
    • Copyright
    • Terms of Use
    • Accessibility
    • California Privacy Rights

    © 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Get instant access to over 100 digital plans available only to UNLIMITED members. Start your 14-day FREE trial - and get building!

      Main Menu

    • Projects and Plans
    • How-To
    • Shop Tips
    • Tools & Materials
    • Videos
    • Gallery
    • Magazine
    • Video Workshops
    • Members
    • Forum

      Popular Topics

    • Design
    • Small Projects
    • Beds
    • Chairs, Benches And Stools
    • Built-ins
    • Storage And Shelves
    • Cabinets
    • Carving
    • Casework
    • Desks
    • Tables
    • Shop Storage And Furniture
    • Woodturning Projects
    • Workbenches
    • Surface Prep

      More

    • TV
    • Forum
    • Blogs
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
    • Customer Support

      Account

    • Log In
    • Join

      Magazine

    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Digital Libraries
    • Magazine Index
    • Subscribe

      Membership

    • Member Home
    • Start Free Trial
    • Gift Unlimited
    • Log In

      Shop the Store

    • Books
    • DVDs
    • Taunton Workshops

      Events

    • Fine Woodworking Live
    • Fine Woodworking HANDS ON

      Account

    • Log In
    • Sign Up

    Newsletter

    Get woodworking tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

    Sign Up

    Follow

    UNLIMITED

    Become an UNLIMITED member and get it all: searchable online archive of every issue, how-to videos, Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking digital series, print magazine, e-newsletter, and more.

    Start Your Free Trial

    Upgrade Membership