Useful or gadget?

[Glenn Lefley]

looks like around £115 or 200 Canadian.

 

[George Kuipers]

Another one of hundreds of hollowing tools and gadgets. Too restricted for my taste, there are better, most likely more expensive, stabilizers on the market.

 

[hockenbery]

I prefer the systems where I hold the bar on a tool rest near the opening and the supporting mechanisms are behind me. examples - Jamieson and Simon hope which I use.

the stand behind work best on short beds. To hollow the shoulder of a wide vessel the handle has to swing too far over the bed to be comfortable on a long bed lathe - so you would want to work from the back side of the lathe- a new learning curve for most. The best stand behind I have used is the Bosch stabilizer.

I feel like I have more control standing close to the form
Others will feel more comfortable standing behind the captured system and using the long handle for control.
When Using a video system the sight advantage of being close for a laser goes away.

hard to beat the Jamieson system for simplicity or cost.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

The Sorby looks reminiscent of the Carter Products system.
To answer your title question, it's a useful gadget.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Its useful, though not my pick for hollowing. I echo what hockenbery said. I chose the Jamieson captive system and am very happy with it. I would go with a hinged articulating type before a stand behind - I want to control the bar with my fingers close to the work. But its all personal preference. After using the carbide cutter and the hss cutter that came with my system, I prefer the old fashioned hss for bulk hollowing (bought a lifetime supply of cutters, 5 3” long m42 bits, 10 bits when cut in half, for $18). Use the carbide to smooth up areas where needed - again, personal preference.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Hard to tell, it doesn't look like it would be very good for deeper hollowing. I'm very much enjoying my Trent Bosch stabilizer. It works well but also folds up into a small, neat package. I haven't gone deeper than about 12 inches at this point, but it worked fine at that depth with a 3/4" tool. So far, I too prefer the HSS bits for bulk work. I have a curved scraper on a swan neck tool that is nice for clean-up.

 

[Russell Nugent]

Sort of like the carter but without the second tool rest so probably worse.. Unfortunately I bought the carter because it was the only one I could find at that point up here and I didn't really want the oneway. Unfortunately I find out that it's a nightmare to get accessories from carter up here unless I order direct from them which between duty, shipping and the exchange rate, I'd get more value scrapping the carter

 

[Bill Blasic]

Unless that tool in the picture has a flat side you are gaining nothing by using it because if it's a round tool it's just like using a tool on the tool rest with nothing to capture the force of a catch. If that is the case for me it would be a useless gadget unless it is made for a one armed turner (that's always a possibility).

 

[Glenn Lefley]

Unless that tool in the picture has a flat side you are gaining nothing by using it because if it's a round tool it's just like using a tool on the tool rest with nothing to capture the force of a catch. If that is the case for me it would be a useless gadget unless it is made for a one armed turner (that's always a possibility).

You are so right. It’s a round tool. So will rotate. Not a good design at all. Big tool companies selling tools to the masses who are beginners and don’t see the details. I just saw a cheaper price than a Jameson setup. And now we see why. It’s an inferior design which would not be much good with that tool.

 

[Doug Freeman]

When shopping hollowing systems, particularly if you want to do smaller to larger forms, pay attention to the total cost of all components needed. Some systems are a bit less $ for one size, but to upsize for larger work and downsize for smaller work, the total $ climb quickly. Also whether laser/camera mounts are included and long enough for longer/ larger bars.