Need help.. First HF

[Donny Lawson]

184215184214This is an Ambrosia HF,sort of anyway.I hope with your help I can finish it soon.This is my "First" one. I started it middle of last year. I done the DNA and then wrapped it good. Now for the life of me I cannot figure out how to turn the inside. Every tool I stick in there seems to catch badly, to the point I don't want to finish the inside.:( What do I need to do to get over this hump and finish this thing? I do not have a big selection of tools so a picture would be nice. I may have to invest in something.:)
Donny

[Dennis Ford]

Do you have a way to heat and bend some metal? You may need some custom tools if you want to thin the "shoulders" of this form. Something like these, although you might need one with a more severe bend. Fairly fast speeds and light cuts will help a lot.

[Josh Bowman]

Are you using a "bit" type tool? http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/images/midi-hollowing-2.jpg There are of course several other ways to approach this. I myself use a Monster Articulating arm hollowing system. Works great.

[David E Keller]

That's a cool form, Donny. The shoulder on that piece will be a little challenging. Something like the Sorby hollowmaster with a swan neck and a swivel tip will allow you to reach around corners, but there's gonna be a lot of torque on anything reaching like that. There are a lot of tools on the market that will let you reach that type of shoulder, and you could certainly make your own if you've got the desire. Dennis is right about the light cuts.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very interesting form and you did some nice work on the surface! You'll need some type of goose/swan neck tool with a small diameter cutter to reach up into the shoulder area. Anyone in your local turning club have hollowing tools you can borrow?

[Michael James]

Donny, that's a beautiful piece of wood. Congratulations on going for the HF. Whole new world in there, esp, the opening being lower.
I don't remember if you do metal work to build you own or not.... if not - cheapest route would be to get a swan neck (as suggested) to get under that collar. As David K mentioned, there is going to be some torque....do yourself a big favor and clamp some vice grips (tip by Jeff N) as a side handle. Best of luck.
mj

btw - I am working on that spalted maple blank you sent last summer. I wanted to wait until I thought I could do it justice. I'm hoping to finish this weekend - I'll up some pics.

[Cathy Schaewe]

Donny, I think one of the tools I sent you was a Kelton swan-neck hollower. Those aren't easy to use, IMO, but it's one of the tools that could maybe do the job. Might need sharpening, though.

[Jack Mincey]

It is a neat form and beautiful wood. If you use a swan neck tool it is very important to move the tool rest back far enough that the entire curved section of the tool is past the tool rest when it is cutting. If any part of the curved portion of the tool is on the tool rest it will cause the tool to torque and catch badly. I use John Jordan hollowing tools and if I keep the curved part of the tool past the rest it is easy to use until I get around 10" over the rest.
Good Luck,
Jack

[Donny Lawson]

Cathy, I did try the swan neck hollowing tool and it is hard to use like you said. I will give it another go today. Is there a better speed to turn this at? I'm probally running about 1000rpm or so now. "Jack", when I was useing the swan neck last night I do think the curved section was on the tool rest. I was trying to put less tool over the tool rest. That could be a big part of the problem. I'll find out shortly.
Donny

[Baxter Smith]

Very pretty piece of wood with a nice shape. Hope you have good luck completing it. I find it amazingly easy to create a shape on the outside that I then can't get to on the inside!

[Cathy Schaewe]

Cathy, I did try the swan neck hollowing tool and it is hard to use like you said. I will give it another go today. Is there a better speed to turn this at? I'm probally running about 1000rpm or so now. "Jack", when I was useing the swan neck last night I do think the curved section was on the tool rest. I was trying to put less tool over the tool rest. That could be a big part of the problem. I'll find out shortly.
Donny

Donny, when I first started hollowing, I was going about 1000 rpms, and got very frustrated, with lots of catches. I slowed way down, to about 500, and started to get the knack of it a bit. Now I hollow at about 750, which is undoubtedly slow for many, but it's gotten easier with time and practice. I can see increasing the speed more as I get more comfortable with it.