# Penn State Industries bowl gouges



## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

Does anyone have Penn State ind.bowl gouges?I was on their website and they have a three bowl gouge set made from HHS.Steel for about $55.00.Are they decent for that low of a price?Itchy P.S.Some rookie work but I'm practicing.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Those are what I use to turn my bowls. I have several other lathe tools but those are my primary ones.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

I have a set from there too. It is decent, no complaints. Great if you are just starting out.


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

Thanks for the advice,I bought their 1/2" bowl gouge.I'll try this one out then maybe buy a set of them.Before long I'm gonna have to get my feet wet on the sharpening.Thanks again.Itchy


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## Oak Tree Woodworks (Mar 25, 2010)

I was just on the web site, they dropped the price to $51 .... as it seems there is enough positive info to warrant the purchase.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

My bowl gouge is Sorby, but I have their 2" roughing gouge and love it.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Why not buy the best for about the same amount of money. Non handled but he does sell handles. These are fantastic tools made of state of the art metal. http://www.thompsonlathetools.com/tooltype.asp?TYPE=BV


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

John,Non handled but he does sell handles.

Didnt see any handles for sale just an article on how to make them.Nice tools tho! Itchy


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## Jeff4woodturning (Feb 1, 2009)

Itchy, make your own handles, also if you go with PSI tools, try Ryan at http://www.woodturningz.com first to see if he can get it for you cheaper same tools and pen kits as PSI.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Doug had his handles at the AAW symposium. There very nice and he can engrave them for you if you want personalized handles. The have removeable lead weights so you can customize the way they handle.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

I'm dangerously close to getting a few thompsons tools. My psi bowl gouge has severed me well but is about 2 inches shorter then all my other tools. I have a bunch of handle blanks ready to go.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

john lucas said:


> Why not buy the best for about the same amount of money. Non handled but he does sell handles. These are fantastic tools made of state of the art metal. http://www.thompsonlathetools.com/tooltype.asp?TYPE=BV


No doubt Thompson tools are among the best John. But I have to point out that they're certainly not priced anywhere near the same as the tools Itchy's talking about. The PSI set for $50-something is a set of three gouges, whereas a single Thompson gouge will cost $50 for one (without the handle).

Itchy, I've had good luck with the PSI tools I bought. They're not great, but they're certainly not bad either. For the price they're unbeatable.

John's right though...I'd invest in a couple good quality bowl gouges, at least eventually. Sorby, Crown, Thompson...All good names and they'll hold the edge better. Since you're learning to sharpen, it is best to do it on inexpensive tools like the PSI Benjamin's Best.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Sorry, your right. When I looked up their bowl gouge by itself it wasn't much different than Doug's. A set of 3 for that price is pretty good. You always use old tools even after you buy a new one. I just grind the older ones to different angles for other uses.


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