P & N Tools

[John Abt]

Has anyone used P & N Tools? I have seen them advertised and they seem to be reasonably priced and supplying my own handles is not a problem.

Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[Steve Worcester]

I use their detail gouges and some of their bowl gouges. I like them and they are reasonably priced.

 

[Angelo]

P&N

Yep, have several Patience & Nichols tools. Spindle Roughing Gouge, 1/2" rolled edge skew, 1/4" bowl gouge. I like 'em.

A

 

[wdspinner]

Yup, I gotta few of them and like them as well or better than my Crown HSS turning tools. They are hard to beat for the price.

 

[Aaron G+11]

Good price for HSS, but will not hold an edge like M4, A10, or A15. They also do not have the higher price tag of those last three either.

For making boxes, I like the straight scraper in a oneway handle. I can sharpen the whole length of the side gracefully, then slip it back into the handle.

 

[GeorgeH]

I picked up a P&N roughing gouge for a song in a close-out sale and I like it just fine. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another P&N tool....

 

[Brian Myers]

I just got the 12mm & 16mm (1/2" & 5/8") bowl gouges. I made handles last night and shaped them to a fingernail grind tonite. It took awhile, they sure are quite a bit harder than the PSI bowl gouges which grind to nothing if you sneeze at the wrong time. :cool2: Tomorrow night I will try them out.

 

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have several. 2 of the 1/2" bowl gouges and a 3/8" bowl gouge. I left the 3/8" and one 1/2" with the traditional grind for finishing bowls. One I put a fingernail grind on. The steel seems to be a lot harder than others as I don't have to sharpen quite as often. Detail gouge is good to.


Bernie

 

[Stuart Ablett]

I have the 1/2" bowl gouge, which is just about used up, the Supra Gouge, great for roughing out bowls, the Roughing gouge, super solid and the 1 1/4" skew.

They are all great tools at great prices, I'd buy them again.

Cheers!

 

[Angelo]

P&N Tools

I see in the photo that you have shown the P&N Spindle Roughing Gouge. Although the tang is more robust than most, it was still designed as a spindle tool.

Is it the 1 1/4" or the 3/4" width? You may get the 3/4" to work like a big bowl gouge but I shudder at the thought of using the larger tool on bowls and the gigantic catch that may result.

Angelo

 

[Angelo]

Bowl Blanks

Interesting, the way you have taped the roughed bowls. Can you provide insight? I have never seen this method before.

A

 

[bob elliott]

could it be alcohol drying method?

Angelo,
I believe the taping / use of grocery bags is an indication of the use of alcohol for drying roughed out bowls as described here:http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/turning/articles_473.shtml
Try it, it works!

 

[Gretch Flo]

Reusing handles

This is really a dumb question, but I have several gouges purchased with handles whose metal is now used up. Buying from Craft Supplies usually. The come ?$3 cheaper unhandled. How do I get the old handle off and reattach to a newly bought unhandled gouge??? Gretch

 

[MichaelMouse]

Interesting, the way you have taped the roughed bowls. Can you provide insight? I have never seen this method before.

A

It's a way of controlling moisture loss on the tension side of the shape. Keeps the surface from contracting too far in advance of the interior of the wood, opening checks. You do the same with coating right on the surface, burying in shavings or bagging at a bit greater distance. Since the inside end grain of the bowl is under compression, incipient cracks from too-rapid surface loss are closed mechanically. You don't need to coat or cover the inside.

Moisture from the wood is trapped in the layer of air under the paper, adsorbed by the wood fiber composing the paper, then perhaps slowed again by a second or subsequent layer on its way to being diluted by the outside air to an equilibrium moisture content depending on relative humidity.

 

[MichaelMouse]

This is really a dumb question, but I have several gouges purchased with handles whose metal is now used up. Buying from Craft Supplies usually. The come ?$3 cheaper unhandled. How do I get the old handle off and reattach to a newly bought unhandled gouge??? Gretch

Put the old tool in a vise, then use a stick and mallet to drive the handle off the embedded part. Downside is you may have trouble with the compression ring - ferrule - when you do. I haven't had a lot of luck driving the ferrule off first, finding it easier to drive once there's a hole in the end. Best thing to do is to use your Dremel and the little diamond disks to slice the ferrule and refit an appropriate compression ring or pipe connector as a ferrule after mounting the new tool.

Size the new hole carefully, because driving a round shape, even with slow inertial handle end taps can sometimes split brittle old wood. Having the new ferrule half driven will help with this problem.

 

[Stuart Ablett]

This is really a dumb question, but I have several gouges purchased with handles whose metal is now used up. Buying from Craft Supplies usually. The come ?$3 cheaper unhandled. How do I get the old handle off and reattach to a newly bought unhandled gouge??? Gretch

I'd just turn a new handle, easy enough to do, and kind of fun.

I'm finding that most of the store bought handles I get don't fit my hands the way I like, so I turn my own.

Cheers!

 

[Stuart Ablett]

Interesting, the way you have taped the roughed bowls. Can you provide insight? I have never seen this method before.

A

What MichaelMouse said

Works well, since I've been doing this, (and yes bobzwood, you are right) with a DNA bath, I've not lost a bowl to a crack

Cheers!

 

[Stuart Ablett]

I see in the photo that you have shown the P&N Spindle Roughing Gouge. Although the tang is more robust than most, it was still designed as a spindle tool.

Is it the 1 1/4" or the 3/4" width? You may get the 3/4" to work like a big bowl gouge but I shudder at the thought of using the larger tool on bowls and the gigantic catch that may result.

Angelo

I said I use the P&N Supra gouge for roughing out bowls, this is like a bowl gouge on super steroids, it has a nice deep wide flute, and a swept back grind

The pic below is one of my first attempts at freehand sharpening (I've improved!) and the resulting pile of shavings from using the Supra Gouge on a rough-out.

Cheers!

 

[Steve Worcester]

I am a bit proponent of interchangeable handles. I find that as I improve my control, I can use light handles like those made by Trent Bosch. I really like them.

 

[MichaelMouse]

I said I use the P&N Supra gouge for roughing out bowls, this is like a bowl gouge on super steroids, it has a nice deep wide flute, and a swept back grind

Check this anabolic A2 freak. Or to quote Crocodile Dundee, "that's not a gouge...."

Quarter coin for reference.