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Tools For Hollow Forms ?

William Young

William Young

Joined
Dec 14, 2004
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Location
Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada
Website
www.picturetrail.com
A freind sent me a nice chunk of maple burl that should produce a piece approx 5" square after bandsawing off the bark and squaring it up. I thought it would make a nice close to round shape vase or something like that. I am thinking along the lines of maybe a 1" hole in the top and collar on the top of a contrasting color .
I sure dont want to practice on that piece because I dont have any hollowing tools yet. I will probably glue up some 4/4 and 8/4 pieces of birch that I have lots of to the same size as the burl piece and use that for practising on first.

Now for my question. Is there one tool that will work for turning the inside of a project like this or do I need more than one. I would naturally prefer to buy only one at a time and more later as required for different (and deeper) projects.
I would appreciate suggestions as to what to purchase as my first hollowing tool and hopefully links to where they are being sold at the most reasonable price .
W.Y.
 
Thanks Ray Dewey for searching the archives for me to find that even though it only answered part of my inquirey e.g. lack of links to sites that show descriptions and prices of the various tools . Some turners here probably know the best suppliers for these tools and where to readily find a link (s) to provide me with the information to save me the time of searching all over the internet to try and find them. That is why I ask questions such as this on forums. Members come and go and so do new ideas from new members so it is nice to get a fresh and updated outlook on a particular topic now and again.
I have referred people to helpfull information on different woodworking topics countless times over the years and it always seems to be appreciated by 99% of woodworkers.
Also in that archives link I found Dietrich's post quite interesting.

Dietrich, would it be possible to show a few pictures of the home/shop made ones you talked about there. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
W.Y.
 
Will, I purchased a Munro hollowing tool from Lee Valley Tools. I have not received the tool as yet. I believe it will do quite a nice interior once I have gained experience with it.
 
First off, stooooooop!!!!!

Don't bandsaw off the bark part!

Under the bark is the best part of the burl, the spikey burl cap. If you cut it off, you end up with a much duller piece of wood.

If you're going to hollow form it, I'd reccomend mounting it with the bark towards the tailstock, rounding it, and hollowing into the end to make a natural edged hollow form. You can even keep the bark on it and get a great spike-into-the-bark effect. If not, once you've started hollowing, you should be able to pick the bark off pretty easilly with an awl and wire brush. It even serves as a cushion for any "oops" that happens while hollowing.

I do most of my hollowing with a Sorby multi-tip tool. It's good to about 6-7 inches deep and the goose neck version is good to almost 10.

Good luck,
Dietrich
 
I agree with your plans to practice before working on your nice piece of wood. The best "first practice" with a hollowing tool, is to use it on an open bowl, so that you can see the action of the tool.

Most all hollowing tools work in the same basic way. Some are easier to use than others. Some will do things for you that others can't do.

The captive tool, such as the Jamieson that's been suggested, are easy to use, but I don't think will give you quite the touch, and won't quite do everything that others may do. I've been using the Dennis Stewart tools for a lot of years, and like them. Don Pencil's Stinger and Scorpion are copies and are somewhat improved. I suggest that you check them out. http://donpencil.com/
 
Thank you kindly Arbud , Dietrich , and Wally for the type of informatiom I was looking for that I didnt find in the archives link provided earlier.

Dietrich;
Thanks for the info on that piece of burl. Unfortunately I am not at the stage in turning that I appreciate natural edge pieces as much as smooth edge ones but perhaps that will come in time as I see more and more of them displayed but you pointed out some great tips there.
I am definitely not going to put that piece on the lathe until I have had some practice with some lesser woods.

Wally. Thank you ever so much for the link to the site with the scopion and stinger copies. I downloaded the PDF and saved it . That is great information. Also his prices are better than I expected.

I have also got several excellent responses from some other turning forums on the same question and the scorpion and stinger so far seem to be the ones most highly praised. Thus my reason for asking my questions. Could save me a lot of money in the long run.

Thanks again.
W.Y.
 
I have the Rolly Munro hollowing tool and find it does all the hollow forms I do.
With the stringy type of timber I usually open the gate to about 1mm and this causes the shavings to self clean.
I agree with Albertabob in having the toolrest about a hands width away from the material, this way you can move the tool in and out of the opening cleanly.Also have the side knob on the same level as the cutters. This way when the head is in a hollow form you can see at a glance where the knob is indicates the angle of the cutter head.
Use the short link as long as possible as you will find this easier to control. You only need the long link when doing deep undercuts.
Use the guard as the bevel and slowly raise the cutter till you feel it biting into the timber, once this is cutting you can work in and out easily and remove a lot of material quickly.
When holding the tool use your arm to support the tool then bring it into your body so there is total support. Do not try and hold it like a traditional tool as there is too much force against you. You will finish up with very sore shoulders.

As a guide I set the guard at 1mm gap for hollowing then once I have the shape move the guard in to about 1/2mm gap and refine the shape and once the shape is right and you want to clean up go to about 1/4 mm, and with a very slow feed rate will give you a very fine finish.
You will have to practice with differant timbers and openings to see what works best for you. Try on open forms first to see what the cutter is doing .
You have to remember that you will not be able to sand inside the hollow forms but every one that picks up the peice will put their fingers in the hole to see how well you have finished the peice.
 
hey william, i have several hollowing tools.
first off, the sorby tools are not that great, good for smaller things, but i actually just put the round scraper blades on mine and use them as such.

i also have the large kelton hollowers, i love it, 24" or so handle and 3'4" bars, 3 of them with different angles.

but the one i eally have been using lately is the exocet hollowing system. picked it up at a show. 2 bars, 2 cutters and the standard handle. bit expensive, but no catches since you can adjust how much that cutter is exposed. the set was $600ish.
i think the kelton is the way to go, really like the weight of the handle.
hollow forms are all i've bee doing lately.
keep on working and by now you should be used to dr deweys answers already.
personally i enjoy reading every post.

sascha
 
It really depends on depth, width which contributed to depth (it is all about how much tool is off the toorest) and hole size.

Captive rigs are great for more depth and larger hole sizes, they don't beat you up and work equally well on end grain and side grain.

For the starting of almost any form, I use the Ellsworth system that I have had for years. It can get a bit dicey if you don't clear shavings often. If I am going under about 10-12" deep, I use a Jamieson system. It uses a 3/4" bar, so about 1" hole size is appropriate. Up to 24" deep, I have a home made 1" system.

With any hollowing rig, it is about practice, and clearing the shavings to keep safe.

For a great overview of most commercial systems out there, check out Lynn's (Mangiamelis) articles on this page.

http://www.fholder.com/Woodturning/lyn.html
 
Thank you very much to all the ones who who gave helpfull answers .
Much appreciated;

Steve;
That link you supplied to Lynn's site was extremely informative. I have bookmarked that one and I will spend considerable time in there checking out the features of the various tools .

W.Y.
 
Thanks Pascal

I echo what Bob said . It is so nice to see that there are so many that are willing to give of their time to help others.
Pascal;
That link that you provided was just excellent. I have saved that one also and now when I start buying hollowing tools I will not go into it blindly .
I have been given so many choices in this excellent thread. Now I am going to have to make a decision on which one of those tools I should go with as a first one while keeping in mind that price will also be a determining factor for an ancient retiree like me. 😀
W.Y.
 
Thanks Bob and William.
this article (as well as the others about the Termite and the Keltons) had been written for a WW magazine (not in English). once the pictures are taken, and the text is written, it was not a big deal to translate it and put it online. glad it can be useful.
William, if the opening is big enough, the Munro is really a good tool, and easy to use. it's a real pleasure to get shavings with it, not dust. (for smaller openings, I use the small Keltons.). Lee Valley has it at a good price.

Pascal
 
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