Gouge Pad

Clean channels. Controlled shavings.

Side work as a carving gouge — cut clean channels in the week and collect free hours as controlled shavings, without crowding the main bench.

  • One channel per week A written groove for free hours. If the cut runs into every weeknight, it is no longer a gouge pass — it is a second bench.
  • A rate after the shavings settle What remains once fees, tools and unpaid setup are swept aside. The curl on the floor is cost; the channel that stays is the rate.
  • A mark after each sweep One short note after the cut: hours used, money in, costs out. Without that mark the next week starts blind.

Notes from the bench

  1. Carving clean channels in the week How to cut one groove for free hours so they do not smear across the day job.
  2. Free hours as controlled shavings Fees and unpaid setup are the curls on the floor. The rate is what remains in the channel.
  3. Marking the sweep before you cut One short mark after each week, not a second ledger.
  4. Grooves that crowd the bench Offers that lean on every weeknight do not belong on this pad.