32 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
Fig. 3. 
prevent the tool edge from entering the 
work too far, or, in other words, to regulate 
the depth of the cut, and prevent its becom- 
ing so great as to force the tool from the 
hands or break it, as is sometimes the case 
under such circumstances. When the 
gouge is thus held, its point of rest upon 
the lathe rest may be used as a fulcrum, the 
tool handle being moved laterally to feed it 
to the cut, which is a very easy and safe 
plan for learners to adopt, until practice 
gives them confidence. The main point in 
the use of the gouge is the plane in which 
the trough shall lie. Suppose, for example, 
that in Fig. 3 is shown a piece of work with 
three separate gouge cuts being taken along 
it, that on the right being carried in the 
direction of the arrow. Now the gouge 
merely acts as a wedge, and the whole of 
the pressure placed by the cut on the trough 
side or face of the gouge is tending to force 
the gouge in the direction of the arrow, and 
therefore forward into its cut, and this it 
does, ripping along the work and often 
throwing it out of the lathe. To avoid this 
the gouge is canted, so that when cutting 
from right to left it lies as shown at B, in 
which case the pressure of the cut tends 
rather to force the gouge back from the cut 
rendering a slight pressure necessary to 
feed it forward. The gouge trough should 
lie nearly horizontal lengthwise, the cutting 
edge being slightly elevated. The gouge 
should be ground, as shown in Fig. 1, 
special reference being made to the back 
view, where it will be noticed that the curve 
is ground well down the sides of the convex 
back, which is necessary to make the sides 
of the cutting edge keen and sharp. 
The gouge always requires to be oil- 
stoned, the trough being stoned with a slip 
of stone lying flat along the trough, the 
back being rotated upon a piece of flat 
stone and held with the ground surface flat 
on the surface of the stone, and so pressed 
to it as to give most pressure at and near 
the cutting edge. 
For finishing flat surfaces, the chisel is 
Fig. 4. 
employed; it should be short, as shown in 
Fig. 4. It must be carefully ground, and 
oilstoned with the surfaces level with the 
stone, the surface nearest the edge being 
pressed the firmest to the stone. The posi- 
