Recently one of our roughing gouges suffered an accident against a bowl. This is a small example of what can happen:
The roughing gouge is bent significantly and is no longer useable. Roughing gouges have been known to snap when working against bowls. Fortunately no one was hurt and the bowl can still be made! But in the future, a bowl gouge is the appropriate tool.
On a roughing gouge, the tip is wide and the tang is very narrow compared to a spindle detail gouge or a bowl gouge. It simply cannot handle the force of a catch in the wrong spot.
From another view, the bevel angle of a roughing gouge (about 45 degrees) is designed to take corners off of spindles and shave from grain running parallel to the lathe bed. A bowl gouge can have an angle anywhere from 55 up to 80 degrees, and is physically capable of handling alternative grain directions.
Normally I’m a fan of “if it works, it works!” but when safety concerns or potential tool damage come into play, it’s important to spread the word.