Pro Forme Hollower

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi All,

Anybody here seen or used this tool? I saw a video on You Tube that looked pretty impressive. So was the price for a system at $500+! Yikes! But it looked like it cut rather than scraped so it hollowed very fast.

http://www.shop.woodcut-tools.com/section.php?xSec=87&jssCart=20b22baeb51796cc1b8da1b593d79577

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Not surprising. My Jamison captured system is currently over $420 at 2 different places I checked.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Little to pricey for my blood.

[David Walser]

I've not used the tool myself, but I've seen excellent reviews for it from respected sources.

It's on sale at Craft Supplies USA for about $330.

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Closeout___Pro_Forme_Tool_Kit___pro_starter_kits?A rgs=

[sascha gast]

I have the whole set and love them, the cut amazing and it's pretty much my goto tool, freehand or in a captured rig. I also use them in Randy's articulated arm, just great and they also have a little scraper head.
the handles are very nice, I have 2 of them.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Good to see somebody uses them. I take it the regular head actually cuts rather than scrapes? That sounds better than scraping end grain. Or is it?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Alan - generally speaking, any time you can cut something you will get a better finish than if you scrape it. In reality, it has more to do with the experience of the turner, technique and wood being turned. I have finally gotten to the point of being able to scrape - sometimes, but happening more often - and no sanding required.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Steve, I hope you don't have to sand the interiors of HF's. I sand inside the opening as far as I can and that's it. If any more sanding is required then I quit. :D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Alan - I'm one of those guys who believes that the inside of the hollow form should remain as I cut it. That means rough end grain or whatever as I believe it shows whoever that this was turned by a person and not some machine. I don't hide the fact that I am not perfect but leave it out there for everyone to see.

Not everyone adheres to that same philosophy - but it is what I do.

[Ryan Baker]

I have some of those Pro-Forme tools too. I love them. They cut very nicely. It's fun to cut flowing curlies from the inside of forms. It's fast and leaves a good finish. But you certainly don't need to shell out over 500 bucks for the full set. The cutter head is the important part, which you can get for $40 at Craft Supplies right now. They just fit into a hole in the tool shaft ... so you could make your own shafts and handles very inexpensively. You can also move the same cutter head between straight and bent shafts if you want to save some money. The slight bend tool seems of very little value to me. And the Woodcut handles are very overpriced compared to all the other suitable handles on the market.

This tool (and the others like it) are, of course, variations of the old hook tool theme. The main difference is the adjustable cover over the cutter, which only allows the desired amount of the cutter to be exposed, making it easier to use. Hook tools can be made for very little cost too if you want to experiment. There's always Jeff's drill-bit cutter too.

[Art Kelly]

I have some of those Pro-Forme tools too. I love them. They cut very nicely. It's fun to cut flowing curlies from the inside of forms. It's fast and leaves a good finish. But you certainly don't need to shell out over 500 bucks for the full set.

Same here. I made some shafts out of hot-rolled steel. One straight and two bent. Cuts like a banshee on green wood. I put a hand grip perpendicular to the main handle so I could control the angle of attack and to be able to steady the tool if I hit a knot, etc. The shafts are just like the shafts for Oland cutters.

Oh, yeah, and the cutters are made from really good (i.e., really hard-to-sharpen) steel.:cool:

Art

[Barry ward]

I saw those a while back and like said was just a tad to pricey for me.So 6 ft of 5/8 stainless steel rod a 4" dia piece of PVC pipe and about 6.00 worth of steel pipe and now I have two complete sets,OH yes a a 1/8 x 1/4 x 12" stainles flat bar stock.Total price about 60.00 Not cheap,just retired :rolleyes:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Alan - I'm one of those guys who believes that the inside of the hollow form should remain as I cut it. That means rough end grain or whatever as I believe it shows whoever that this was turned by a person and not some machine. I don't hide the fact that I am not perfect but leave it out there for everyone to see.

Not everyone adheres to that same philosophy - but it is what I do.

Steve, Your philosphy is a good one. It's hard being perfect. I just wish my wife would let me be imperfect. :D

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I saw those a while back and like said was just a tad to pricey for me.So 6 ft of 5/8 stainless steel rod a 4" dia piece of PVC pipe and about 6.00 worth of steel pipe and now I have two complete sets,OH yes a a 1/8 x 1/4 x 12" stainles flat bar stock.Total price about 60.00 Not cheap,just retired :rolleyes:

I made a couple of tools from 3/4" square steel bar and they worked very well. I made a straight one and an angled one. Only thing was I found out the 3/4" bar was too big to get into smaller vessels.

Was the stainless steel rod hard to drill? What's the 4" pvc for?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I have some of those Pro-Forme tools too. I love them. They cut very nicely. It's fun to cut flowing curlies from the inside of forms. It's fast and leaves a good finish. But you certainly don't need to shell out over 500 bucks for the full set. The cutter head is the important part, which you can get for $40 at Craft Supplies right now. They just fit into a hole in the tool shaft ... so you could make your own shafts and handles very inexpensively. You can also move the same cutter head between straight and bent shafts if you want to save some money. The slight bend tool seems of very little value to me. And the Woodcut handles are very overpriced compared to all the other suitable handles on the market.

This tool (and the others like it) are, of course, variations of the old hook tool theme. The main difference is the adjustable cover over the cutter, which only allows the desired amount of the cutter to be exposed, making it easier to use. Hook tools can be made for very little cost too if you want to experiment. There's always Jeff's drill-bit cutter too.

Thanks for the feedback Ryan. Craft Supplies list the cutter head as out of stock but I guess there are other sources. Your idea is a great one about using different shafts. I've seen Jeff's drill cutter and it looks awesome. Thanks again.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Same here. I made some shafts out of hot-rolled steel. One straight and two bent. Cuts like a banshee on green wood. I put a hand grip perpendicular to the main handle so I could control the angle of attack and to be able to steady the tool if I hit a knot, etc. The shafts are just like the shafts for Oland cutters.

Oh, yeah, and the cutters are made from really good (i.e., really hard-to-sharpen) steel.:cool:

Art



Where can you buy hot rolled steel?

[Scott Conners]

MSC or Enco should have bar stock, or check your local industrial metal suppliers.

[robert baccus]

made my first boring tool 14 yrs ago. the woodcut cutter wil empty a vase or bowl far quicker than all the others i have tried. tried to break one on a 18" dry red oak pueblo bowl with knots & burl and never hurt it. after several prototypes i settled on a captured system using a slot cut in the wall, a 3x8 oak stabilizer with 2 holes bored. one for a 22 " 1-1/8 main bar bored for a 3/8 x 5" bar bored for the cutter tool. phew.. hole b was fitted for a jamison type "crook" bar which allowed me to cut inside vase necks. also it allows teardrop and homemade cutters to be fitted for specific cuts. these two bars are interchangeabe with set screws. also the 3/16" scraper bars can be used for very hard wood. i also use a handle to help control the angle of the tool. this is very iimportant as it allows you to adjust the aggresiveness instantly.(set the set screw in order to be barely moveable. i have probably finished out 35-50 vases and urns with this. would appreciate hearing from anyone using a deep boring system---thats how we all learn----------ol forester

[Ryan Baker]

Where can you buy hot rolled steel?

I wouldn't suggest using hot-rolled steel, because it will be too soft and flexible. You can pick up steel rod from your local hardware that will do just fine for making shafts. You can bend it using a propane (or preferably MAPP gas) torch. Drill a hole in the end for the cutter and either superglue it in or add a set screw. Make a handle and you are done. If you go the set screw route, you can make different shafts with different sizes and curves, and move the cutter around as desired. If you want to get a little fancier, you could use drill rod, stainless, etc.

Craft Supplies was clearing out the cutters, so I guess they used up their stock (glad I got an extra last week). But you should be able to buy them from any other supplier or direct from the manufacturer if that is what you want.

You might want to check out Alan Lacer's new DVD on making tools (especially hook tools) for some ideas. A lot of the info can be found on assorted web sites too.

[Dave Mcintire]

Does this tool perform well on dry wood also or is it for wet wood hollowing only?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks Ryan and Robert and all for your answers. I'm planning on making more tools with this info.

[Randall Houghton]

Hi Alan
I've used this hollowing tool for about three years and have found it to work better than any hollowing system I've tried. You need to use it with the Irons tool gate for it be work at it's best although I started out using it with a standard rest. This tool cuts wet or dry wood equally well.The cutter head unit your looking for is available from Woodworkers Supply for about $85. They also are stocking the new Flexicut tool form Woodcut. It is an articulated version of this cutter mounted to a 1/2 shaft for $99 so all you would need is a handle. Check out there site at woodworker.com.
Regards
Randy

[Ryan Baker]

Yes, it cuts dry wood just fine ... very well in fact. You will want to adjust the gap smaller on the top guard so that it doesn't take as aggressive of a cut (depending on the material).

$85 for the cutter head sounds quite high. I haven't tried the articulated version, but it sounds interesting.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks Randall and Ryan. Going to check it out. Just got their catalog.