So where can a guy buy a halfway decent 3/4" gouge for $15 or so?

============================= Try Ebay. They periodically have some older carbon steel gouges, usually in "sets" of 2 or more.

I haven't tried them, but I've seen a brand called Benjamin's Best in one of the catalogs, but I don't remember which. They are labeled as M2 HSS and the prices are pretty low. If you search the web for "Benjamin's Best" and gouge, you'll find a few dealers in the brand. Again, I haven't tried them, so I can't make any claim to their quality.

Andy

Andy.... thanks for info. I checked it out and they are for making small pens. I am looking for some full size chisels.

-Thanks

Please pardone me while I act like a computer... as an example of searching in Yahoo's google engine (which is highly modified)...

Search: "Benjamin's Best", 2nd result worth somthing:

Buck,

Try Grizzly or Sears

As a try out I bought one Benjamin's Best 3/4" DIAMOND SIDE CUTTING SCRAPER - 16" L for $26.00 CAD (about $20.00 USD). The handle is of the average quality. I am having difficulty to rate this M2 tool steel. It works well, grinds well and keeps its edge well. The color of the grinding sparks are the same as Crown or Sorby. I have noticed that the original grinding angle had to be fine turned to my needs. I concluded that the original grinding and sharpening of this tool was not at part with higher priced tool. However, for that price the quality of the M2 HSS impresses me. The best way to validate the quality of Benjamin's Best M2 HSS is to get more feedback from woodturners using it.

Thanks but no thanks....... these $AUS gouges are still in the $50 US currency range... that's no great shakes Mate....