GOUGING MACHINE ADJUSTMENT GUIDE

GOUGE THICKNESS

To change the overall gouge thickness the dial on the side of the carriage must be turned.  As set, to thin the gouge the dial should be turned clockwise. To thicken the gouge the dial should be turned counter-clockwise. DO NOT loosen the screw in the center of the dial.  It is held in place with a threadlocking compound. Loosening this screw could result in damage to your machine. One very small movement is usually all that is required to change the thickness by approx. .01mm

CENTERING THE BLADE

The blade should be centered to achieve the optimum gouge. The blade is held in place by a center screw located inside the slot in the top of the carriage and by two side adjusting screws located on either side of the carriage. If you find that the cane from your gouger is thinner on one side than the other the blade may not centered. To determine which direction to shift the blade you should gouge a piece of cane until the carriage “bottoms out”. Turn the cane in the bed, lower the carriage into position making certain that there are no shavings in the slot. While looking carefully into the slot, make another pass with the carriage noting the side that cane comes through the slot. For example, if cane comes from the left side of the slot the blade is off to the left and should be shifted toward the right. Sometimes no cane will come off after turning the cane in the bed, but the gouge will not be centered. Gouge a piece of cane (both directions) then mark the cane at the end that was at the front of the gouger on the original pass. Measure the cane to determine which direction the blade is off and adjust to center the blade. Keep in mind, a small amount of cane should come off the right side of the blade when the cane is turned around and cut. Because of the design of the machine, this is normal, and is usually a good sign the blade is well-centered.

SHIFTING THE BLADE SIDE-TO-SIDE

To shift the blade to either side the screws on either side of the carriage should be moved.  To shift the blade toward the right, the screw on the left side of the carriage should be tightened. Likewise, to shift the blade to the left, the screw on the right side of the carriage should be tightened. NOTE: I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT THE SCREWS BE TURNED NO MORE THAN 1/16 OF A TURN AT ONE TIME. Also, in making this adjustment, it may be necessary to loosen the opposing screw—normally loosening the opposing screw will allow the blade to move sufficiently for a change in the gouge. In loosening the opposing screw I recommend that it be turned no more than 1/16 of a turn at one time. The upper side adjusters are used to center the blade at the top of the slot. Do not over tighten them.

To set the blade for individual depth of cut, the blade retaining screw (inside the slot) should be loosened and the center adjusting screw (running through the top of the blade) should be turned to increase or decrease the individual cut.  To increase the individual cut, the center adjusting screw should be turned counter-clockwise. To decrease the individual cut the center adjusting screw should be turned clockwise. The blade should remain centered at the top of the slot while tightening the retaining screw.

NOTE: WHEN ANY BLADE OR DEPTH ADJUSTMENTS ARE MADE THE CARRIAGE SHOULD BE RAISED, MOVED TO THE END OF ITS TRAVEL AND LOWERED INTO POSITION WHILE HOLDING THE CANE CLIP DOWN.  THE CARRIAGE SHOULD THEN BE CAREFULLY PULLED BACKWARDS TO DETERMINE IF THE BLADE WILL STRIKE THE CANE STOPS OR BED.  FAILURE TO OBSERVE THIS CAUTION COULD RESULT IN DAMAGE TO YOUR GOUGER AND WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER YOUR WARRANTY.