# What "good" roughing gouge?



## Quality Pen (Aug 8, 2015)

I'm looking for a new 3/4" roughing gouge... a good one!

But it seems like different companies use different technologies, and of course, they are all 4x better than each other, and they all use the latest and greatest proprietary technology! :biggrin: How can that even be? 

I'm wondering if there was ever some sort of Consumer Digest shootout, where people actually compared them?

Some options I was looking at were the Sorby excelsior 3/4" and the Crown Pro-pm 3/4"... but really, I've seen others and then there are even those over $150... but at the end of it all, I'm not actually sure WHAT you're buying unless you heard from an expert who can actually compare them in some reasonable way... 

So, what do the experts here on the IAP have to say? :biggrin:

Thank you!

(PS I already have a EZ carbide cutter!)


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## Carl Fisher (Aug 8, 2015)

Honestly it's a piece of metal. Keep it sharp and ignore the rest of the marketing babble. Some will hold an edge longer than others, but beyond that if it's comfortable to hold and is the size/length you want then go for it and keep it sharp.

Just my $.02


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## Dan Masshardt (Aug 8, 2015)

I have a Henry Taylor that I use often and like.  

If you had asked this a week ago, I had an extra sorby I just sold.


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## Jim Smith (Aug 8, 2015)

I use my roughing gouge a lot and find that there is a difference between the different brands (at least for me).   I really like my Crown gouge the best.  Easy to sharpen, keeps an edge, and is large enough to comfortably handle anything I turn on a lathe and yet small enough for all of my pen turning.  They are on sale now at which is a pretty good price for an excellent tool that will last for years.

Crown 3/4" Roughing Gouge Pro PM | Klingspor's Woodworking Shop

Jim Smith


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## its_virgil (Aug 8, 2015)

Not just on sale but on Closeout. I wonder why? 

For pens I use my 1" skew from start to finish. I see no reason for a rough out gouge for pens. But, that is just me. I hope you find what you seek.

Do a good turn daily!
Don



Jim Smith said:


> I use my roughing gouge a lot and find that there is a difference between the different brands (at least for me).   I really like my Crown gouge the best.  Easy to sharpen, keeps an edge, and is large enough to comfortably handle anything I turn on a lathe and yet small enough for all of my pen turning.  They are on sale now at which is a pretty good price for an excellent tool that will last for years.
> 
> Crown 3/4" Roughing Gouge Pro PM | Klingspor's Woodworking Shop
> 
> Jim Smith


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## JimB (Aug 8, 2015)

For me, a roughing gouge is a tool you do not spend a lot of money on. The one I use the most is the one in my $50 HF 8 piece set. If I have a large spindle I need to rough down I have a larger PSI roughing gouge. I think it was about $25. It's a roughing gouge. Why spend a lot of money on it? There are other tools that are worth spending the extra dollars on but the roughing gouge is not one of them. 

BTW, I have completed pens start to finish with my HF roughing gouge.


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## scotian12 (Aug 8, 2015)

I had a Henry Taylor for 15 years and it worked just fine for pen blanks. continuous sharpening over those years ground it down to half its size. I just replaced it 4 months ago with the Crown PM. I does reduce the number of trips to the grinder but it all in what you want to pay.  Darrell


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## Rick_G (Aug 8, 2015)

I'm with Jim on this one.  Just about any HSS tool with a comfortable handle will work fine.  It's not like a bowl gouge where you are trying to get a good finish off the tool although with care you can.  Mine came with a set of 5 HSS tools I got on sale for $50 when I started turning.


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## Fish30114 (Aug 8, 2015)

I'm in the same camp as Jim Smith, I have several roughing gouges, and I find a significant difference in them-for example I cannot get good performance with my 1" Sorby roughing gouged--my favorite one is the one Jim Smith provided a link to, that is an awesome price! In fact I think I'm gonna buy one at that price to keep in backup! As far as it being a close out, I would hazard a guess that it would be because of the difficulty in sourcing Powdered Metal, several of the PM steels have been sporadically available, and I'm pretty sure being a mfg. it would be a PITA trying to schedule orders of a steel that the steelmakers produce on a flaky schedule. Just a guess, but a really educated one


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## KenV (Aug 8, 2015)

Doug Thompson sells a 5/8 SRG designed by Mark St. Leger that is a really nice tool for small work.  

But it really is about turning style -- and what feels comfortable --


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## TurtleTom (Aug 8, 2015)

Just make sure it's high speed steel, HSS.  I've never heard of a bad batch of it.


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## KenV (Aug 8, 2015)

TurtleTom said:


> Just make sure it's high speed steel, HSS.  I've never heard of a bad batch of it.



I have some cheap HSS from China I can share with you ---   

It is all in the heat treatment and quality control and that relates to cost.


HSS rolled out in 1899/1900  -- there have been a few bad batches over the years.


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## Wildman (Aug 8, 2015)

Think Crown ¾” HSS pretty good for the price. PM or Powder Medal mentioned earlier also a good buy at closed out price.  

Shop for Woodworking Tool Brands at Highland Woodworking

Agree with people saying HSS plenty good for a roughing gouge. My ¾” Henry Taylor about 23 years old and still going strong. 

Though heard Going to stop making PM tools, only reason can think of people not buying. 

Most of you HSS, including Exotic steels come from China today.  With few exceptions very little steel still being made in Sheffield England any more.


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## Dave Turner (Aug 8, 2015)

I also use the Crown Pro-PM 3/4" roughing gouge and really like it. It holds it's edge quite well. I got mine as part of the 5 piece set that Woodcraft sells. Eight years ago the set was selling for $250 when I bought it. That was my first set of turning tools and I still use every one of them.


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## Quality Pen (Aug 8, 2015)

thanks guys... as for why...it's mostly because i have some hss but they don't hold their edge long enough. i think it will be worth it to try a real nice gouge.


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## Fish30114 (Aug 8, 2015)

Just an FYI, I took a look at Craft Supplies, one of my favorite vendors, especially for tools and such--they have the Crown PM roughing gouge for sale for 98.50 so the link you posted is a really good deal--I ordered another one from them!


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## Kragax (Aug 9, 2015)

I have a 3/4 from Harbor Freight. I have to hit it with a diamond card fairly often but it works quite well. I have to admit I was surprised.


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## Quality Pen (Aug 9, 2015)

i agree that harbor freight tools are great.... when you sharpen them.  the problem is that after 1 to 2 pens it's time to sharpen them!

but when i take them off the cbn wheel they cut great.


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## Skie_M (Aug 11, 2015)

I got the 19 dollar set of HFT lathe tools....

I went and ground the big bowl gouge into a flat profile and then re-ground the bevel to make it into a roughing gouge .... works fine for me! 

Also, the HFT tool set was cheap enough that I went and bought two sets, just to have extras for custom ground tips like a fingernail grind on my bowl gouges, and a much sharper profile on my skews...  The fact that these chisels aren't even properly ground and sharpened out of the box doesn't matter if you know what you're doing with your tools.  


The "triple tempered steel" thing on the front doesn't mean much .... just that the tool steel was tempered 3 times to ensure that it's not so hard it will shatter during use.  Some time later, when I finally have my forge up, I may run some of these through a hardening and possibly give it a lower temper for better hardness.  I don't like how hard it is for this tool steel to cut ebony, and I hear that there are harder woods out there.  Acrylics are also harder for me to cut with these, but polishing the back of the chisel to a mirror finish surely helps me put a very fine cut on my wood these days.


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## KenV (Aug 11, 2015)

Skie_M said:


> I got the 19 dollar set of HFT lathe tools....
> 
> I went and ground the big bowl gouge into a flat profile and then re-ground the bevel to make it into a roughing gouge .... works fine for me!
> 
> ...




Do not confuse the heat treatment used with HSS for that used with high carbon steel.  

The metallurgy is more than a bit different, and the response is certainly different.

The good news is that much of the bottom end steel sold by HF as HSS has not had quality control applied (by my experience).


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## 79spitfire (Aug 14, 2015)

I have a Marples, that came from my grandfather. I must be 50yrs or so old, and still does the trick when I need a roughing gouge.


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## Skie_M (Aug 15, 2015)

KenV said:


> Do not confuse the heat treatment used with HSS for that used with high carbon steel.
> 
> The metallurgy is more than a bit different, and the response is certainly different.
> 
> The good news is that much of the bottom end steel sold by HF as HSS has not had quality control applied (by my experience).



Well, I intend to pull the small skew apart sometime next week to re-grind the tip, and totally re-do the heat treatment.  If it doesn't work out right, I really don't care ... the tool set is cheap enough that it really doesn't matter to me if it doesn't work.  I can always just be careful while grinding my new profiles that I don't ruin the temper of the HSS.  That's why I keep a bowl of salt saturated water right next to my sander. 

I DO really wanna have some extra-hard steel tools for taking on the tougher materials, and a harder edge will keep it's sharpness longer, but the trade-off will be that that edge may have more of a tendency to chip.  If I notice chipping, I'll temper it back a bit further.  (I'm only going to make it into a straight edged scraper.)   If it doesn't work out as planned, I'll just source the steel elsewhere and use the leftover handles...  not that they're great handles, but they'll at least be handy til I make new ones.


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