what hollowing tool

[curtis rosche]

what hollowing tool should i get? for a 9 inch lathe, that might possible be upgraded in the future. i dont do much deep hollowing, more of the short but wide hollow forms.
if cost didnt matter what would you suggest,
and if the cost was limited to $180 what would you suggest?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Curtis,

I have the Jamieson Hollowing outfit. It works quite well.


I used it on my Jet Mini VS...1014....when I upgraded to a PM3520B...I bought a new secondary tool rest for $80.

I could probably have just had a welder extend the orginial secondary tool rest but I had visions of paying it forward with the lathe as the lathe was given to me by the idiot turners here.

[Ryan Baker]

I'll say the John Jordan hollowers, or the Kelton hollowers. But there are a lot of nice tools out there.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Check Don Pencil's website for blemished hollowing tools. A friend of mine bought both sets. The scorpian and stinger. He loves them.

[Brent Grooms]

given the pricing at woodworkers supply, I would second the Don Pencil unit... I got both the stinger and the scorpion for just over the price you list shipped. The advantage I saw, was that I could convert them over to a captured rig in the future.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Curtis - you know I am a big fan of Randy's Monster Tool line and he does offer a hollowing set within that price range: http://monster-lathe-tools.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=272&category_id=60

If you decide you want to increase the amount you are willing to spend - then Randy has lots of options. Also, check out Tom Steyer and his new hollowing system: http://www.jtturningtools.com/node/13

[Don Geiger]

I have seven hollowing systems:
1) Ellsworth's two hand-held
2) Frank Sudol's 6' deep system
3) Red Kobra articulated
4) Green Kobra articulated
5) A home-built captured rest system
6) Earl Basham's Y-tools
7) Trent Bosch's goose neck tools

Since you have a small lathe and it sounds like no experience at hollowing, I suggest you get some kind of hand-held tools and learn the basics. Also, I strongly suggest that you take a class. David Ellsworth is teaching just the right class at Arrowmont (www.arrowmont.org) this coming June. I will be assisting him. I've taken two classes from David and have assisted him about 6 or 7 times. You will benefit greatly by spending a week with him. After all, he's the one that started all this hollowing business.

Sincerely,
Don Geiger
"We are all one tool away from greatness!"

[Mike Peace]

My advice would be to keep it simple. You can buy the two John Jordan 1/2" hollowing tools for $75 directly from John http://www.johnjordanwoodturning.com/John_Jordan_Woodturning/Tools.html

You can make a separate long handle for each. Rough rule of thumb is you can hollow about 15 times the tool diameter so 15 X .5" means you can hollow about 7.5" without excessive chatter. For a mini lathe that should be more than adequate to give you the opportunity to learn hollowing without getting carried away with fancy rigs. Save the Elbow and Jamieson tools for when you have more money, more lathe and a specific reason for needing one.

My two cents worth.