# Incanal Gouge



## superdav721

How do you sharpen your incanal gouges?


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## stefang

Hi Dave. I have a round tapered diamond Sharpener/file with handle that should do the trick. Whatever you use, it would have to be round. That's what I use on carving gouges with inside bevels.


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## superdav721

I like the tapered idea for gouges of different sizes.


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## JoeLyddon

I'm learning a lot from
*Mary May's Carving School...*

I haven't heard of the term "incanal"... I know of Straight, curved, and V gouges… incanal… ???

I like her site… I think you would too…


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## DIYaholic

As I'm new to wood working, please forgive me if I'm wrong. But, wouldn't it be done just the opposite of how an *out*canal gouge would be sharpened??? Lol.


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## JoeLyddon

*tooth*canal ?? LOL

*out*canal… good one! LOL


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## Kentuk55

Panama canal super?? I'm lost again…........ok, still


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## lumberjoe

I know you guys were joking, but you are actually correct! An In cannal gouge is the opposite of an out cannal gouge. It has the bevel on the inside, so your cutting edge is on the outside. I have no idea how I would sharpen one with any kind of consistency though.


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## superdav721

Mikes suggestion is good. A tapered round sharpener.
And you guys are nuts.
That may be why I like it here.


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## Oldtool

Dave,

Has to be done with a dowel wrapped with sandpaper, or a ceramic rod. Has to be round of course, and abrasive enough to remove tool steel. Once sharpened to about 90% or 95% of fully sharp, honing on a round strop should keep it sharp.
Personally, I use and am very satisfied with wet / dry sandpaper.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=31153&site=ROCKLER

Hope this helps.


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## superdav721

Oldtool that helps as well. Its just getting it to that "no effort to cut edge." Thank you for your fine suggestion.
Incanal gouge for you guys that don't know.


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## DanKrager

The tips above are good for the sharpening part, but I didn't see anything about the final strop. Leather on a dowel is good for some but I'm very particular about rounding at the cutting edge. Leather tends to round because it is relatively soft. A very quick and respectable cylindrical bevel hone can be made with a dowel of the correct diameter charged with a honing compound like the green chromium sticks and chucked in a slow shaft, lathe, drill press, or something like that. 
Incanal gouges are used on convex surfaces, outcanal on concave surfaces. 
DanK


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## superdav721

Dan thank you, a harder strop makes sense.
Joe you are a funny guy.


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## mchuray

Boy those look great!. What brand & where did yoiu get them? DMT looks to have some diamond tapered cones that should get the job done. I really like there products for everything, but the final edge. Then it is crocus cloth glued to whever shape I need and a strop for the final mirror edge.
Mark


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## superdav721

Mark I am sorry to say I just found them on the internet as an example to show the bevel.
What is this crocus cloth you speak of.


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## boxcarmarty

Dave, When you get it figured out, I'll send mine over to be sharpened…..


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## superdav721

you got it Marty


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## Planeman40

Here is my 2 cents . . .

As to the sharpening of incannel and outcannel gouges, I have a tapered stone I picked up years ago that does both. But just a few days ago I upgraded to a diamond device from Rockler (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=31266&site=ROCKLER) that really does the job NICELY! Its not cheap though.

Also, I need some leather strops for incannel and outcannel gouges. I have purchased some tooling leather from Tandy Leather and a surplus 240 RPM shaded pole gearmotor ($5.00 plus shipping (http://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?catname=electric&keyword=GIAR). I plan to make a rotating leather strop with various curves and recesses that will fit all of my carving gouges and chisels. I want it to run relatively slowly so no heat will be generated to harm the edge. It will be a short while before I get around to it though. Gotta finish up another project first.

Planeman


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## wetrot

Also called a "scribing gouge" - For most it is defiantly not a must have tool. 1.Slip stone in the canal, what ever is needed - course, then fine - gouge locked to chest facing upwards use up and down strokes with slip taking care to use straight strokes so as to not round the bezel. 2. lap the other side - flat on a properly flat stone side on roling as I move, - (no tilting to hurry it up) I use an 8000grit waterstone for a mirror shine to finish laping - piece of thick leather with compound doubled in two; pinch it in the right place to form a curve matching that of the canal to strop the canal to mirror shine, hold the gouge locked close to your chest facing up and only strop on up strokes . Then is a matter of pushing into a peice of wood to remove the burr and strop lap strop until the perfect edge is born. I do not strop the back as I like to keep this perfectly flat. Test cutting a bit of pine end grain - Look very closley at the cut - and bending of fibres, scratch marks are telling you its not sharp - it should be the perfect cut and the wood should have that lovely shine and you will hear the most beautiful sound as you cut. - A note on safety - when you are sneaking up on that perfect edge, pay attention to the way you hold your slip - too short and might get messy. <snip> Dan Krager Quote "Incanal gouges are used on convex surfaces, outcanal on concave surfaces" - This is horse sh1t - the In canal gouge was primarily used by patternmakers to make a straight groove of a known radius - Like I said - not needed by most of us, I have a few in my extensive collection of old tools but I almost never use them. However most of my carving gouges I prepare with an outside bezel and a small inside bezel of maybe 5 degrees; greatly increasing the usefulness of the tool.


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## Bagtown

I like the look of that DMT diamond "wave" stone.
Looks to be on sale too.


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## mchuray

Crocus cloth is jewlers rouge applied to a cloth backing. I get mine at the local Ace Hardware Store. I like it as it is much more flexable than any of the paper backed abrasave products.
Mark


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## superdav721

Now those were some very in depth answers, techniques and supplies. Thank all you gentlemen for your time and answers. They will be used.


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## RusticJohn

Easy Peasy. Make a small sanding drum out of dowel, or in my case, my neighbours unwanted fibre glass fishing rod. Put in in a drill press or lathe. Stick a good quality fine-ish sandpaper to it with double sided sellotape. Turn the machine and hold the in- channel bevel up to it. Do the back of the blade on an oilstone. You can use varing grits of sandpaper to remove more or less steel. Finish of with a buff on a felt wheel.


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## runswithscissors

Crocus cloth is an extremely fine emery cloth.


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## superdav721

These are great suggestions and I will be trying them.
Thank you for your help.


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## Kenny2946

Buy a Japanese water slip stone. They are sold buy a couple of different stores, Woodcraft for one. Soak in water and then sharpen by hand. They come in all different grits. Use a 1000 grit for shaping and sharpening, 4000 grit and a 8000 grit polishes.


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## lwllms

Probably shouldn't do this but incanel gouges are covered in my DVD.

http://georgewalkerdesign.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/off-road-woodworking/


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## superdav721

Larry I didn't know. Thanks!


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## Loren

sandpaper on a dowel. I have some fine waterstone slip
stones too for fine polishing.


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## lwllms

Dave,
In the video, I use a flex shaft grinder to work the bevels of profiled tools. You can do it with a variable speed drill but it's a little more difficult because you have less control. In the video I'm not sure I stressed enough that the steps I show are to rework an old tool that's been messed up.

The first step is to re-establish the location of the cutting edge by grinding at 90 degrees to the body of the tool. This provides a flat on the end of the tool to work to. Regrind the bevel using mounted grinding points in a flex shaft grinder or variable speed drill. I use rubberized abrasive points available from MSC Industrial supply to refine the ground bevel and slips for final sharpening. Dress the points with a carborundum dressing stick or a diamond file and the rubberized abrasives with a diamond file.

Here's a link to the 1/4" shank abrasive points I use:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT2?PMAKA=89677587&partnerURL=http://dirxion.mscdirect.com/bigbook/2012oBookCode=bb212flxPSectionIndex=0PPageIndex=992PArg=%EF%BF%BD

and a link to the rubberized points I prefer:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT2?PMAKA=58130543&partnerURL=http://dirxion.mscdirect.com/bigbook/2012oBookCode=bb212flxPSectionIndex=0PPageIndex=997PArg=%EF%BF%BD

You can get the grinding points for less other places and maybe even at your local hardware store or auto supply house. If you're paying shipping for the rubberized points anyway, the MSC grinding points are worth considering.


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## superdav721

I want to thank all you guys for you expert help. Each and everyone of you.
~
Larry you have helped me before with tempering questions on plane blanks. You answers are precise and informative.
Thank you for the links and your time.
~
I have a few stick and rabbet planes. In the process of making the window frames it is so much easier to use a incanel gouge. I have recently purchased a very old set and I want to be able to sharpen them quickly and efficiently.
~


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