Thread: Hollowing Tool Dilemma

Hello Frank, I can't comment totally on the sorby unit, having not owned one, (have used plenty of similar tools) but there is no simple answer to your question. As there is no 'do all' hollowing tool. some are good for tall thin forms while others are good at enclosed forms. Hand held units give you feel but guided systems are more controllable. And so it goes on. The same applies to bowl savers.

Yes you could use the sorby to save bowls but once again its not going to do it as well as a dedicated unit like the Kelton, Oneway, Woodcut etc. That is why these companies have developed captive systems, because of the forces involved.

Similarly you want a hollower that will work on soft and hard wood? On hardwood you need a small tip hollower and some of the enclosed tip units can clog with shavings. There are years worth of reading on these topics, on forums. Again, no easy answer.

The short answer is, if you pick a system, like the sorby it will do some things well but don't expect everything. One system perhaps also worth considering is the latest model Kelton. ( Mark 8, comes in 2 sizes, have a look at the Kelton site, download the pdf file) It allows you to bowl save with appropriate various size blades and you can also use it with the Kelton hollowers, which are available in various sizes. Their hollowers are pretty good 'all rounders'. They don't clog.
I hope this helps.

PS. people get bowl savers and hollowers mixed up, so read carefully.

Depending on how deep you want to hollow, I doubt that one tool is going to cover all your requisites. In soft to middling wood I love my Woodcut Proforme but on harder woods I use a Sorby RS200 to about 100mm deep and homemade Oland style cutters for anything deeper. On the REALLY hard stuff like Quinine or Inland Rosewood I use a triangular carbide cutter intended for steel machining. Really depend on what you want to create

Yeah, you can only go so far with hand held/braced tools before it gets physically punishing. Then you're looking at captive/gated tool shafts.

If you seperate the tool cutter design from the method of holding you may get a bit clearer.

If you're handy with metal then make your own Oland-style tips mounted in round bar. Hughie's made (and sells) varieties of these - check out his thread.

Mostly I use the Pro-forme. Again, modest metal work skills will allow you to mount just the head in a thicker longer bar. But I find the edge needs regular licks with a diamond hone when turning hard timbers.

The Munro is good for beginners. You can't get a catch and the cup cutters give you lots of fresh edge before resharpening is needed.

But as posted, the bottom line is how deep and how far off axis do you want to hollow?

PS Both the Munro and the Proforme shafts can be fitted with optional scraper heads. The Proforme is pretty ordinary; the Munro is a gem.

Well its kinda horses for courses.They all have thier uses and benefits. But theres no Holy Grail. What generally sets the direction is the cost, you can expect to pay $2-300 for well known branded hollowers and perhaps more. Each one has its technical requirements etc and this is the rub. What love and swear by some body else has no time for.

Get down to a local club and see what the guys are using and have a crack at as many as you can. This way your experience can give some very good direction and lessen the impact on the pocket.

OK, It seems not so clear cut.

I think I should probably see some guys using these tools before diving in and buying the wrong thing. At between $250 and $400 for these sorts of tools, it is difficult just to dive in and buy whatever.
I did see Hughie's advertised tools and was tempted to get the set, but I hesitated, because I have just no experience as yet to make a judgement about them.

I haven't fully considered the increased forces on the tools the further you get from the tool rest, and it sounds like a captive tool would be better in that case. I guess this is true for both hollowing and bowl saving.

I am quite handy with metal work, and I suppose it may be best just to experiment with different shaped tips ground from toolsteel, or buy some existing tips and mount them on a steel rod. I already made a tool which I thought was going to be great, but was a bit of a disaster. It was made from a cut down jigsaw blade shaped and then mounted on the end of a brass rod. I needed to undercut an inside edge for some pepper mills, but the tool just kept digging in and catching. It did eventually work in a basic sort of way.

The Kelton 8 series looks interesting and sounds like it works well. However I did read somewhere that they're not so easy to control.

Thanks for your comments,

Cheers,

FrankG

Thanks Hughie,

You just posted your reply at the same time as I did mine and I just read your PM - thanks.
I will follow the threads.

Cheers,

FrankG

Frank, you're welcome to come over to my place to look at and try out several options. Got some home-made oland tools, Munro (std and baby), Proforme (std), Sorby RS200KT and John Jordan hollowers.

Originally Posted by rsser

Frank, you're welcome to come over to my place to look at and try out several options. Got some home-made oland tools, Munro (std and baby), Proforme (std), Sorby RS200KT and John Jordan hollowers.

Thanks Ern, that's a very kind offer.
I would appreciate that very much and I'd be very keen to see the different types available and their strengths. I will attempt to send a PM to you with my contact details if that's OK.

Cheers,

FrankG

Frank, if I were you I'd definitely take Ern up on his offer. I was at the stage you are at now, so many options and the only way to tell which one suits you is to try them all. Ern has a good selection to choose from but beware, I came away from his place and promptly ordered the Rolly Munro Mega Kit and the Rolly Munro Shear Scraper Kit plus the Woodcut Shepid Irons Toolgate over $500 worth (all from Jim Carroll).

I suspect Ern is on Commission at Carrolls

Everytime he goes to see Jefferson Jim gets another order from Jeff - yep when people go to Erns place Jim is a very happy man

Cheers

Shoot, some folk can't keep their plastic in their wallets

All you really need is an Oland tool tip in some kind of shaft, or several of them, as Skew, Hughie and others here have shown.

...

It's possible Frank will come over Sat some time; if anyone else is interested they're welcome and I'll confirm the time.

Ern if you invite Jim it would save on phone calls

Cheers

Originally Posted by

He will be in Brissy.

That was quick can you read minds or am i under constant surveilance

My mistake. He may not have gone by then.

And yes David, I can (insert Twilight Zone theme here).