melton hollowing tools

[Faulko]

Hi all,

wondering what the views re out there regarding the kelton hollowing tools. I see they come in a range of sizes/capacities. A quick search of the forum yielded some references to them, but not too much detail re how people have found them to b in use, good points, shortcomings etc.

cheers

[hughie]

I have a set apparently designed in conjunction with Alby Hall. They are basically a Oland hollow tool I havent used mine as yet. Oland and Kelton are scrappers and they will work fine on soft wood might bounce around on hard. But most other tools will bounce around on hard as well.

If your really serious about getting a good hollowing tool have a look at the Rolly Munro or the Woodcut Proform, both these tools slice instead of scrapping. Rollys tool use Tungsten tips, whereas the Proform is HSS. I have the proform and have built my own Munro, both work extremely well and can leave a good finish once you get the hang of them.

[Nubsnstubs]

Faulko, getting the "hang" of any tool is the key.

Two weeks ago I borrowed a Mcnaughton tool to get several blanks from a 15" Mesquite blank I'd roughed out. Read the instructions, set it up, and started my cut. Half way through, I felt I was going to pop out the bottom. Changed my cutter, and half way through that cut, I felt like I was going to have a 3" thick bottom on the blank. Didn't want that, so changed back to the first cutter I started with. Yep, that was the ticket. Now I have a 15" round Mesquite funnel with a 6" hole in it for filling 5 gallon cans quickly.hehehe. Finding any Mesquite in Tucson that is over 12" is pretty rare, so to mess up a 15" piece is heartbreaking......

Lesson learned; For the Mcnaughton tool beginner, use smaller common woods. Don't use the rare stuff as bad things will more than likely happen.

Go to youtube and look up Robohippy, and watch his video on using the bowl saver you questioned. .......... Jerry (in Tucson)

[hughie]

Faulko, getting the "hang" of any tool is the key.

Two weeks ago I borrowed a Mcnaughton tool to get several blanks from a 15" Mesquite blank I'd roughed out. Read the instructions, set it up, and started my cut. Half way through, I felt I was going to pop out the bottom. Changed my cutter, and half way through that cut, I felt like I was going to have a 3" thick bottom on the blank. Didn't want that, so changed back to the first cutter I started with. Yep, that was the ticket. Now I have a 15" round Mesquite funnel with a 6" hole in it for filling 5 gallon cans quickly.hehehe. Finding any Mesquite in Tucson that is over 12" is pretty rare, so to mess up a 15" piece is heartbreaking......

Lesson learned; For the Mcnaughton tool beginner, use smaller common woods. Don't use the rare stuff as bad things will more than likely happen.

Go to youtube and look up Robohippy, and watch his video on using the bowl saver you questioned. .......... Jerry (in Tucson)

Been there and done that too

[Nubsnstubs]

Faulko, yesterday I got some good cores. I also watched the vids by Robohippy and Mike Mahoney. Both are professional turners. Both use different techniques to core their bowls. One cores from the large diameter to the smallest core, and the other goes from the smallest to the largest bowl. There is nothing wrong with the difference in their methods as both achieve the goal of making several bowls from one piece of wood.

One thing neither explained is where to actually set the gate/pins for getting a good core from the blank. My experience was if the gate was aligned with the mark on the blank face, my core would end up binding, causing the motor to slow down, smoke a lot and cause the shavings to clog. My cored piece would be thick at the entry point, and thin at the bottom.

I don't know if I'm right or wrong on this, but after marking the blank face, I moved the tool post with the gate/pins just about 1/2" outward from my mark. This positioning worked for me as I actually got 3 trouble free cores. I am pleased that I might now know what I'm doing, but cockiness will probably get later. .

Lubricate the blades, keep the speed at a good working speed, keep you tool rest and post tight, move it when needed, and know your capabilities. A side note, get about a cord of plain Jane wood to practice on, and things should work out for you. LOl.

Don't read the instructions just once. Read and RE-read them several times. I re-read them this morning and discovered why I messed up the 15" piece of Mesquite I mentioned in my reply above. Nope, I'm not gonna say what I missed......... ........ Jerry (in Tucson)

[Faulko]

Thanks for all the info jerry. a bowl corer is on the list, but i am concerned about whether my lathe an cope...i hear that coring can be hard on bearings.
My original post was actually asking about the kelton hollowing tools rather than the bowl corer. They make scraper style tools with narrow tips for g=hollowing, different diameter thicknesses available, different lengths and bent necks....
thanks again - sounds like you're getting the hang of coring.....
adam

[Nubsnstubs]

Well shucks, Faulko, I sit here with egg on my face. It looks like I'm going to have to take a re-reading course, because all I saw was "coring tools" instead of what was originally written...... I commend you for reading my blather and correcting me. But, I am getting the "hang" of coring. And since a corer is on your list, be aware that you'll easily have more to do in the future. As a hobby turner, I firmly believe that corers are best left for the professional turners. I managed to get 8 cores yesterday, and don't know what to do. They're multiplying!!! It's almost like they're breeding. heheheh.............. Jerry (in Tucson)

[NeilS]

If your really serious about getting a good hollowing tool have a look at the Rolly Munro or the Woodcut Proform, both these tools slice instead of scrapping. Rollys tool use Tungsten tips, whereas the Proform is HSS. I have the proform and have built my own Munro, both work extremely well and can leave a good finish once you get the hang of them.

I have both the Rolly Munro and the Woodcut Proform and of the two I prefer the Woodcut, which does a better job of clearing the shavings. Not to be confused with Woodcut's earlier Shepid Loop design (similar to Exocet) that wasn't quite so good, IMO.

As Hughie has said, these two tools cut rather than scrape. You may still need a hollowing tool to do a final finishing scrape and for that I like the Proform scraper tip (http://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/item/woodcut-pro-forme-scraper-kit), which can be used to do a shear scrape (at any angle, whereas the Munro scraper tip is set at a predetermined angle).

If the price tag for these hollowing sets is too steep for you at this stage, and you are handy with metal heat treatment, making your own in the style of a loop cutter out of re-forged and re-tempered concrete nails is an option.