Woodturning Tool Angles: A Bevel Chart for the Grinder

What does a bevel angle actually measure?

A bevel angle is the angle between the ground bevel and the top face or flute of the tool, read at the cutting edge. On a gouge it is measured through the center of the nose, where the bevel rubs during most cuts. On a skew or a parting tool, which carry a bevel on each side, makers usually quote the included angle between the two bevels. Not every source says which convention it uses, and a figure for one face is half the total, so check before comparing two numbers.

A skew chisel adds a second measurement: the angle of the edge across the blade. Jim Echter, writing in American Woodturner, gives a skew angle of 70 degrees, measured from the side of the tool. Tormek sets its straight skew jig at 20 degrees off square, which describes the same edge from the other side. Two sources can agree about the tool and still print numbers that look unrelated.

The spread between makers is wide. Tormek’s handbook for woodturning tools notes that factory bowl gouges leave the maker with edge angles anywhere from 30 to 60 degrees, and factory skews from 25 to 40. A chart is a place to start, not a specification your tool already matches.

The chart: starting angles by tool

The figures below come from published sources rather than from one workshop’s habits. Where two sources differ, both appear. Print the page, keep it beside the grinder, and write your own settings next to each line once a tool cuts the way you want.

Read the table across rather than down. A detail spindle gouge at 30 degrees and a bowl gouge at 60 degrees are not competing answers to one question. They are different tools asked to do different work, and each number is a compromise between a clean cut and a durable, controllable edge.

Why do bowl gouge angles run from 40 to 60 degrees?

A bowl gouge has two jobs that pull in opposite directions. On the outside of a bowl and across end grain, a lower angle slices more cleanly. Mike Mahoney, writing in Fine Woodworking in its November and December 2006 issue, said that he and Stuart Batty found spindle and bowl gouges work best with a bevel of about 40 degrees, and that for most turnings a 50 degree bevel is better than a 70, with 40 better still. The 40/40 grind associated with Batty starts from that same 40 degree bevel.

Inside a deep bowl the problem changes. The bevel has to stay in contact as the curve turns toward the bottom, and a long, thin bevel runs out of room before the tool reaches the center. Tormek’s selection chart lists a 55 degree profile because a larger edge angle helps when turning deep bowls, and a 60 degree profile it calls the Ellsworth shape, with pronounced convex wings. Its standard profile sits at 45 degrees with only lightly swept wings, which it describes as suitable for turners of all skill levels.

Woodturning Online offers the useful counterweight: a couple of degrees either side of 40 makes no practical difference. What matters more is that the bevel stays consistent from the nose around to the wing, which is why how flute, bevel and wing work together is a more important question than the exact number.

Which angle suits a spindle gouge or a skew?

Spindle work asks for reach more than durability. Tormek’s chart gives two spindle gouge profiles: 30 degrees for tight spots, detail work and the finest finish, which it marks for professional level turners, and 45 degrees as the standard profile for all skill levels. A fine bevel slips into the bottom of a narrow cove, but it leaves less steel behind the edge, so it rewards a light cut and more frequent touch ups.

For the skew, Jim Echter’s advice in the American Woodturner article republished by Woodworker’s Journal is a straight edge with a 70 degree skew angle and a bevel between 25 and 30 degrees, which he reaches by making the bevel two to three times as long as the tool shank is thick. Tormek offers 30 and 45 degree skew settings and notes that the 45 is easier to control than the 30. A turner who keeps catching the long point on beads can work at the steeper end for a season, then come back down once the presentation settles.

Roughing gouges, parting tools and scrapers

The spindle-roughing gouge is usually ground straight across at about 45 degrees. Tormek gives that figure for its roughing gouge setup, and Woodturning Online agrees. For this tool the angle matters less than its limits. Joe Larese’s guide to gouges in the October 2011 issue of American Woodturner explains that the tool was renamed the spindle-roughing gouge because turners were using it on bowl blanks, where its small shank snapped under the force of the spinning wood. It belongs on between-center work with the grain parallel to the bed, and nowhere else. Keep that line on the same card as your lathe safety checklist.

Parting tools carry two symmetrical bevels. Woodturning Online gives an included angle between 50 and 70 degrees, with bedan style tools sometimes nearer 45. Grinding both bevels the same keeps the point centered on the blade, so the tool enters the cut square to the work.

Scrapers sit at the far end of the scale. According to Tormek, they normally come from the manufacturer with an edge angle between 70 and 80 degrees, and some turners regrind them to 60 or even 45. A scraper with the steeper factory edge needs more pressure to cut than one ground at a smaller angle. The handbook also records a split in practice: some turners leave the grinding burr in place because it works like a cutting edge, while others hone it off and raise a finer hook by burnishing.

How do you set and repeat an angle at the grinder?

An angle is only useful if you can return to it. On a jig, three things decide it: the jig setting, how far the tool protrudes from the jig, and the distance between the support and the wheel. Tormek’s handbook builds its method on recording those three values, and the same habit works on a bench grinder with a platform or a vee arm. Write them on a strip of tape around the handle.

To check the result, color the bevel with a marker, turn the wheel by hand or make one light pass, then look at where the ink came off. If it disappears only at the heel or only at the edge, the setting does not match the bevel; adjust and test again until the mark goes evenly. An angle gauge, such as Tormek’s AngleMaster, or a card template cut to the target angle settles the number itself.

Mahoney adds a caution about swept wings: the jigs he had seen produced uneven bevels, invariably 16 to 20 degrees more acute on the sides than at the tip. Check the wing as well as the nose. For routine sharpening, Woodturning Online recommends a wheel of 80 to 120 grit and keeps 60 grit or coarser for reshaping. A sharpening workflow you can repeat sets out the habits that keep the edge predictable from one session to the next.

When is it worth changing a factory grind?

Most new tools arrive with a usable shape. The sensible order is to learn the factory grind, record the settings that reproduce it, and change it only when a repeatable problem points to the geometry: a bowl gouge that loses bevel contact before the bottom of a deep form, a spindle gouge that cannot reach the floor of a cove, a skew that keeps catching at its current angle despite careful presentation. Change one thing at a time and test on the same wood, at the same diameter and rest height. Each regrind costs steel, and a number in a chart is a poor reason to spend it.

Questions turners ask about tool angles

Three questions come up most often beside the grinder.

Is there a printable chart of woodturning tool angles?

The table on this page can be printed from any browser. Tormek also publishes its handbook for woodturning tools as a PDF, which pairs each profile with the jig settings that reproduce it. Write your own numbers beside the published ones once a tool works for you.

What angle should a beginner grind on a bowl gouge?

Tormek’s standard bowl gouge profile is 45 degrees with lightly swept wings, which it describes as suitable for all skill levels, while Mahoney prefers about 40. Either is a reasonable start. A steeper 55 to 60 degree grind is usually kept for the inside of deep bowls.

Does a steeper bevel stay sharp longer?

Generally, yes: more steel supports the edge, which is part of why 45 degree settings are described as easier to control and why scrapers leave the factory at 70 to 80 degrees. The trade is cutting quality, since Mahoney found that a more acute bevel cuts more cleanly with less force. Choose the lowest angle you can present consistently.