Gouge

Gouges, much like the chisel, hollowed and rounded wood surfaces. Cabinetmakers and carpenters used them for ornamentation rather than construction. Few gouges survive in the Dominy Tool Collection, probably because these craftsmen normally decorated furniture surfaces with moldings produced by special planes rather than with carving. Specific kinds of gouges, such as firming and carving gouges had a wider flare than normal gouges, and may have been used by the Dominys in making gunstocks.

The Dominys used turning gouges to rid wood of irregularities when turning it on the lathe. As it could produce concave decorative moldings, they also used these gouges on the shafts of candlestands and chair stiles and legs.

Turning gouge, England and East Hampton,  1817-1835. Iron and steel face; black gum handle. 18.4" (L). Marks: "FD" stamped on handle; "TH" set within a rectangular border. Museum purchase with funds provided by Henry Belin du Pont, 1957.0026.075.