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WOODbTURNER
2nd January 2008, 04:22 PM
I came across this site www.monster-wood-tool.com (http://www.monster-wood-tool.com)
while investigating hollowing systems and thought it might be of interest. Checkout his Youtube site.
RSSER did you get your Vicmarc Hollower. If so how good is it?
Cheers
Jeff

rsser
3rd January 2008, 06:30 PM
Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the link. Will BM it for closer scrutiny.

Yep, the VM hollower arrived finally.

Haven't used it yet; been fiddling with setup and laser pointer. Depth of the camlock shaft is fine but the stepped washer is too wide for my ways. Need to substitute a washer stack. (It's clearly been designed for VM beds).

It's a well-made bit of kit; now black rather than the 'natural' shown on the C'tec website. Bearing pivots are as smooth as.

Main wrinkle is that the Stubby is not a long bed lathe (70cm max between centres on mine) and so I'll have to have a set of shafts of different lengths for the Woodcut Proforme cutting heads.

The cost is high given that it's a support system only and you have to have cutters and shaft(s) in addition. But the proof of the pudding awaits. There's a couple of nicely figured Qld maple blanks in the 'bank' for vases or urns that will follow a trial run with a lump of Plane Tree. Might make an Ern's urn for later.

Will post an update once I get some quality time in the shed ;-}

Little Festo
4th January 2008, 07:48 PM
I came across this site www.monster-wood-tool.com (http://www.monster-wood-tool.com)
while investigating hollowing systems and thought it might be of interest. Checkout his Youtube site.
RSSER did you get your Vicmarc Hollower. If so how good is it?
Cheers
Jeff

Hello Jeff,

Ordered one yet?? Got one of Enzo's deep hollowers a few weeks back, not too bad. I still like the Munro Hollower, possibly because I'm used to using it BUT boy are the replacement parts hard to get one silly flat little screw.

Got a card from Ian, says he will try to drop in on the way back from Melbourne, will be good to catch up with him.

Peter.

Toolin Around
4th January 2008, 08:37 PM
I came across this site www.monster-wood-tool.com (http://www.monster-wood-tool.com)
while investigating hollowing systems and thought it might be of interest. Checkout his Youtube site.
RSSER did you get your Vicmarc Hollower. If so how good is it?
Cheers
Jeff

His disclaimer is pretty funny. Just a wee bit paranoid of being held liable

WOODbTURNER
4th January 2008, 08:45 PM
Peter,
Like I said before, your scenic views are fantastic.
Thinking hard about buying one. Been looking at making one or getting the Vicmarc one. Priced the Vicmarc at Carbatec and was quoted $384.00 for the hollower and another $59.00 for the laser. As RSSER mentioned the Vimarc is only a tool holder. The "Monster" system is about $500.00 landed in Australia and they come complete with different cutters and tips. Not bad compared to $443.00 + postage for the bare Vicmarc setup.
Cheers
Jeff

hughie
5th January 2008, 03:02 PM
Thinking hard about buying one. Been looking at making one or getting the Vicmarc one. Priced the Vicmarc at Carbatec and was quoted $384.00 for the hollower and another $59.00 for the laser.

As RSSER mentioned the Vimarc is only a tool holder. The "Monster" system is about $500.00 landed in Australia and they come complete with different cutters and tips. Not bad compared to $443.00 + postage for the bare Vicmarc setup.



Hmmm,

Whilst they both well made. But both abit pricey for my thinking. The supplied tools from the US site certainly make it more attractive. Although the exchange rate is not doing us down under any favours lately.

rsser
5th January 2008, 03:30 PM
Zaccly.

The VM with laser arm set me back around 370 (after haggling with Ctec on the basis of their earlier ad. price). With basic metalwork skills and a Proforme head you can keep the added costs of the cutting tool down.

The wrinkle with this setup and the shortish bed on the Stubby is that you're limited in hollowing depth. The tool holder allows less than 20cm of shaft travel courtesy of the handgrip. Then you need space to fold back the arms.

One option to get more length would be to mount the Stubby aux. bed to the end of the main bed. That would take expert fitting (ie. not my butchery). But at least I have good side access as the aux. bed can mount to the rear offside of the main bed, and the main bed can swing as it's on a turntable.

hughie
5th January 2008, 03:49 PM
One option to get more length would be to mount the Stubby aux. bed to the end of the main bed. That would take expert fitting (ie. not my butchery). But at least I have good side access as the aux. bed can mount to the rear offside of the main bed, and the main bed can swing as it's on a turntable.
[/QUOTE]

Or remove the tailstock and mod the tool to have it hang off the end of the bed and so give you all the room you need to work.
Not too hard, a Stubby variation and any short bed lathe owners would appreciate.

rsser
5th January 2008, 06:15 PM
Doesn't need the tailstock Hughie.

Just been out for a fiddle (no more than that; it's 40 C in the shed :cool: ).

The limiting factor is the banjo butting against the hollower support post clamp.

But that gives me 70cm between the cutting tip and the top of the Shark jaws, if I use both the tool shaft and the shaft receiver to run over the tool rest.

Should give me plenty of shear force :C

'Course the retracted bed means a limited range for positioning the steady rest :(

WOODbTURNER
5th January 2008, 09:04 PM
RSSER,
You were lucky with your price. If I bought one and the proforme it will cost well over $500.00 which is for only one tool.
I was also worried about the Vicmarc with my Stubby S1000 with the short bed setup. With the Yank model the tool shaft attachment is very short and would give you more length. Also the pivot base could also be extended by making a longer base to overhang the end of the lathe.
Anyway, it does'nt hurt to dream for awhile but it's getting very tempting.
Cheers
Jeff

Manuka Jock
5th January 2008, 09:21 PM
Gidday folks ,
I have been checking out this system .
The Rolly Munro Articulated Hollower.
http://www.berger.co.nz/munro.htm

I have yet to see it in action , but Soren Berger gives it the thumbs up .
If the local turners club night did not clash with the Scottish Soc. council meeting , I might have gotten to have a 'hands on' with it . Ah well . next time maybe ,eh

Jock

TTIT
6th January 2008, 12:55 AM
Doesn't need the tailstock Hughie.

Just been out for a fiddle (no more than that; it's 40 C in the shed :cool: ).

The limiting factor is the banjo butting against the hollower support post clamp.

But that gives me 70cm between the cutting tip and the top of the Shark jaws, if I use both the tool shaft and the shaft receiver to run over the tool rest.

Should give me plenty of shear force :C

'Course the retracted bed means a limited range for positioning the steady rest :(I'm having trouble pictureing the problems setting it all up Ern - any chance of a pic or two???

rsser
6th January 2008, 05:54 AM
Jock, it's a hollowing rig rather than tool that we're talking about ( = captive rig; hollowing tool rest). (Yep, I like the Munro tool but prefer the Proforme).

Vern: yep, will post a pic later.

Manuka Jock
6th January 2008, 07:45 AM
Ah , sorry chaps , my mistake.
It seems that the Kiwi Hollowing System uses the 'Strong Arm Rig' :D

rsser
6th January 2008, 08:04 AM
Yep, tried that Jock. Don't have Kiwi muscles :(

Hughie: thanks for the PM. Took a closer look and the aux. bed can be bolted parallel to the main bed at the end. Adds 20cm :2tsup:

Here's the setup without, Vern.

rsser
6th January 2008, 08:20 AM
Here's the pic from the Ctec website.

Jeff, AFAIK it's $384 inc. the laser mounting arm but not the laser light. The printed catalogue still has it for $349 which gives you grounds for haggling IMO.

I picked up a laser gun sight with toggle switch from ebay for around $20.

Little Festo
6th January 2008, 09:57 AM
Ah , sorry chaps , my mistake.
It seems that the Kiwi Hollowing System uses the 'Strong Arm Rig' :D

I spent a couple of days turning with Rolly a few years back. The excercise was turning a piece just using the hollower, inside and outside, didn't use another tool. Rolly is amazing.

I have recently made a large Vase end grain out of Hoop pine, the body below the spout is approx 280cm so the depth of hollowing would be about 275cm. I managed to get it quite thin, so the piece is quite light for a item that size. The Munroe tool does clog, especially when you have to cut through "trapped" shavings. Apparently one of the tricks is to keep the speed to 400, no higher as the shaving start to compact at higher speeds. The cutters are self cleaning , Rolly used to whack a piece of pine. i do find that I have to stop at times and clean the cutter though - compressed air works sometimes it the clog isn't too bad but this generally happens when I need to cut thruogh the trapped shavings. I try to complete these areas first. A blast of compressed air to clean them regularly. With a sharp cutter is very important, I go to the extreme and sharpen them on a tormac type water wheel grindstone.

I had trouble with the shaft turning in the handle but this was easily overcome by grinding a flat and this solved the problem. Although my psuedonym is Little Festo, I'm not little at all, it does take a bit of effort when working deep but with a sharp cutter, correct depth and a steady hand it's not too hard to do (with a bit of practice).

I have tried out the Vermec Jig and possibly need to do a bit more with it, might be better for deeper hollowing and the laser (on the Vicmarc) would be good too but I enjoy the freehanded use of the Munroe tool.

The Vicmarc looks good though and hopefully parts etc and not an issue, it's locally made (not in china??). Parts (not cutters) are a problem with the Munroe tool though.

Happy turning - Peter

rsser
6th January 2008, 06:18 PM
Hi Peter,

Thanks for those tips.

Yep, sharp cutter and sucking or blowing out the shavings seem to be the keys to deep hollowing. Same with the Keltons.

Post a pic or two?

Dunno where the VM hollowing rest is made; looks pretty clean machining to this amateur so maybe it's Clontarf product.

I gather Enzo from Vermec is his brother and boasts better machining.

Envy you your session with Rolly; he does some amazing work. The joke doing the rounds is that he uses only his hollower and a skew; the skew is for stirring his tea ;-}

With a bit of luck I might get to UnZud sometime and sign up for one of his courses as well as do some cross-country skiing in the Southern alps.

Well it's my birthday and the fizz has been broached. Time to go!

Skew ChiDAMN!!
6th January 2008, 06:35 PM
Well it's my birthday and the fizz has been broached. Time to go!

Sounds like a good time to ask about the next Ernfest so we can see the VM's breakable^H^H^H fine points for ourselves. :U

hughie
6th January 2008, 10:01 PM
Festo,
I have had a similar experience with Munro type hollowers..:C ggrrrh! Turning shafts yep, milled a flat right along the length on mine from day one. Would recommend it to all owners, beats me why Rolly did not do it anyway.

But have been playing around with a severely modified Munro type system and it shows some potential to not clog even at high speeds. But its still on the drawing board at the moment.
Hope to get one knocked up in a few weeks and give it a try on a friends Leady.

TTIT
6th January 2008, 10:46 PM
................Hughie: thanks for the PM. Took a closer look and the aux. bed can be bolted parallel to the main bed at the end. Adds 20cm :2tsup:

Here's the setup without, Vern.Thanks Ern - looks like you could still fit a serious sized form on there even without the bed extension.

Stu in Tokyo
8th January 2008, 10:01 PM
Well, I built my own hollowing rig (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=48477&) a while back, and it works great! :2tsup:

That being said, I have heard nothing bad about Randy's Monster tools, several guys that have them, on another site, really really like them, and say that Randy is a great guy to deal with.

Cheers!

rsser
10th January 2008, 05:46 PM
Sounds like a good time to ask about the next Ernfest so we can see the VM's breakable^H^H^H fine points for ourselves. :U

No wukkers.

Happy to host another one once I've learned not to make a fool of myself with deep hollowing :- (and when the temps head south a bit).

WOODbTURNER
10th January 2008, 07:31 PM
No wukkers.

Happy to host another one once I've learned not to make a fool of myself with deep hollowing :- (and when the temps head south a bit).

Good to see other parts of Australia sharing high temps. It's funny to see Southern States temperatures higher than us in Darwin for a change.
Jeff

DJ’s Timber
10th January 2008, 07:45 PM
No wukkers.

Happy to host another one once I've learned not to make a fool of myself with deep hollowing :- (and when the temps head south a bit).

Always welcome to try it out in my Air conditioned shed up here :;

Harry72
10th January 2008, 09:17 PM
Good to see other parts of Australia sharing high temps. It's funny to see Southern States temperatures higher than us in Darwin for a change.
Jeff
Yer reckon, we hit the mid to high 40's quite often during summer... today at work we had a hydration specialist testing us, after he fell over when he first felt the heat, he took out a hand held thermometer it hit 68° and thats at 11 in the morning:o

rsser
12th January 2008, 01:34 PM
looks like you could still fit a serious sized form on there even without the bed extension.

True 'nuff.

Just in 'Stubby mode' with my thinking :- plus the more bed length there is the more scope for positioning the steady rest.

rsser
12th January 2008, 01:57 PM
Good to see other parts of Australia sharing high temps. It's funny to see Southern States temperatures higher than us in Darwin for a change. Jeff

Yeah Jeff.

Trouble is our ways of working aren't adapted to it.

When I earned a living in Brissie on the end of a shovel we all took it reeel slow. (It helped that the Breakfast Ck Hotel was within distance for lunch; though a school of about 8 no longer bears thinking about).

The thing that irrits me about our recent highs is the damage done to the 'bank' by way of checking - even with parafin or emulsified wax sealing. I put in a rotary ventilator to try and control it but it hasn't made a lot of difference. Time to stick the best stuff under the house perhaps, where the other 'bank' used to age.