Thread: Hollowing tool question

What a coincidence! Have you seen the thread "minimalist hollowing rig" that I posted here last week? That would cost you virtually nothing and has proven to work well for small items (say max 150mm deep). I am not able to say more because I have not purchased/made a proper hollowing bar yet.

This said, I am also keen to see what responses you get, especially whether the Vermec system works well.

Cheers
Frank

For smallish boxes and basic bowls in the, oh... let's say 3" - 12" diameter range, I'd settle for a 3/8" or 1/2" bowl gouge, a square scraper and a round-nosed scraper. That's enough to get you going. For larger pieces then I'd just get bigger versions of the same tools.

The fancier hollowing rigs (munro, etc.) are very, very nice but are really for deep hollowing such as vases or hollow forms with very small openings.

I'm sure that eventually you will get into that sort of fancy work... you'll love it! But right now I really think you're better of starting at the beginning and going for a simple bowl gouge and scraper. (And they're cheaper, too. )

Skews advice is probably on the mark but without his and the forums advice, I started out with the Sorby RS200KT hollower and swear by it. I use it for all my shear scraping so it gets as much use as any other chisel on my rack and even with all the other hollowing gadgets I've got, I'll still grab it for hollowing things up to 4" or 5" deep. It's very easy to use and doesn't dig in much at all - well worth a look if you don't want to spend to much to start off.

That'd be my first choice for a dedicated hollowing tool, too. It's a nice piece of kit.

But I'll stand by what I've said for starting off, mainly 'cos Toni probably already has the scrapers and a good bowl gouge is cheaper (and more versatile) than the Sorby.

We all know that the wish list for tools just keeps on growing as our skills improve in different areas.

Go the multi tip i have been using it for years . the only one I think might be better is from Vermec tools , there WTT-001 3 piece set look them up .there well made and wil last a life time .

Yep, I'm with Skew, Tony. I'm relatively new to turning myself, but just started off with a basic set of big Chinese HSS chisels that I bought with the lathe.

I recently acquired the Munro Mini-Hollower which is a great tool, but it's around $250 which is what I paid for the full set of 5x chisels. I still find my favourite general purpose hollowing tool to be the Bowl Gouge. For you - 1 or 2 Bowl Gouges (8m & 10mm?) and a scraper - and you're away.

Wayne

Skew's right on, Toni; bowl gouge and scrapers will do you for a while... Also, you can make an Oland tool for little or nothing, if you have a drill motor and some bits. You can bend a small one to do hollow forms, also. It'd be a cheap way to go, after you get used to hollowing out bowls.
I turned bowls, vases, and hollow forms, with homemade Olands for two years, before getting my first bowl gouge. Wished I'd bought one long before that, when I found out how much timber they'd hog out of a bowl.