New Monster Hollowing System

[Bill Bulloch]

I got my Monster Articulating Hollowing System last week and have been busy with it. Here are my first out puts. All of these have walls of about 1/8" and I am not sure I like walls this thin. It is nice to be able to do it, but I think 3/16" or 1/4" might be better on the HFs. How thin do you turn your walls on HFs like these?


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This is a Pecan cup with Bloodwood Lid. 8 1/2" overall.



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This was my first one. It is Poplar with Bradford Pear lid. 6" Diameter 5" higth overall.


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This one is Magnolia with a Ebonized White Oak Lid. 7" diamenter, 7 1/2" high over all.


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This one is Ambrosia Maple with a Walnut Finial. 9" diameter, 8 1/2" high overall.


This was also my first real attempt at finials. Took several tries with the Walnut one.

Comments welcome.

[Roger Chandler]

Congratulations Bill! this ought to keep you busy for a while!

[Steve Vaughan]

Bill, those look great! I love the forms and tops. I'm looking forward to joining you in making some of them.

[Jamie Donaldson]

That's some good looking work Bill, and I love my Monster also. Your knobs and finials are well done, and each finial can be thinner and thinner as you practice!

[David E Keller]

Congrats on the monster rig! I agree with you about wall thickness for the most part... It all depends on the piece. Nice looking group... I particularly like the poplar/pear piece.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats Bill. Really nice looking pieces. I have to agree I don't like 1/8" walls. I like mine 1/4" to 3/8" thick.

[David DeCristoforo]

Monster....GOOOOOD!!!

Most of seem obsessed with super thin finials and walls so thin you can see through them. My wife likes pieces that have a bit more of a substantial feel.... a bit more weight to them. I'm kinda in the middle of the road on that. The "because you can" factor is a huge temptation! But I think you should go for balance and proportion first. The pieces in the third and forth pics are sweet. The finials fit the forms really well.

[Michael James]

Nice stuff Bill, congratulations on the monster score! I would suggest you go with the thickness you feel is right for each piece.
btw the magnolia is my favorite of your offerings!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Bill - looks like you are putting your new system to good use! I have turned a few HFs down to 1/16" and it gives it a nice eggshell feel to the piece but is lighter weight than I prefer for most forms. I find that I like the walls somewhere around the 1/8" to 3/16" thickness as it allows for some weight and the piece doesn't feel as fragile.

Keep hollowing - it gets easier with time!

[Michelle Rich]

Grand "firsts" . Go & have more fun!

[John Keeton]

Bill, first of all - congrats on the Monster rig, and a big congrats on some super work on your first finials!! These are all very well done pieces. For form, I like the poplar piece, for wood, the magnolia really has a warm feel to it, and overall, I kind of favor the ambrosia walnut combo. It is a more squatty form, but the proportions are good and the finial is well proportioned, IMO. Walnut can be challenging for finials - open grained, and it is sometimes difficult to get a straight grained piece. Better to rive a piece for a finial if using walnut.

[Tim Thiebaut]

Very nicely done Bill, those came out great! I think that a Monster is in my very future, after several bad catches with my hand held hollowers just from yesterday I am almost at the point of being afraid of the things! I even bought a brand new tool EWT Ci3-h5 thinking this would make it better, and although it hollows better then anything I have...man when you have a catch it is a big one.

[bob svoboda]

Congrat's on the system and very nice work on the forms!

[Dan Hintz]

Well if you ever get bored with it, Bill, I'd be happy to take the system off of your hands :D I was going to pick just one and say how much I liked it, but I kinda like them all for different reasons...

[Bill Bolen]

Congrat's on the new Monster system Bill. I really like all your posted pic's. Can't decide which is #1. I also agree on the super thin point expressed in several replies. Although I have done a few pieces 1/8" or less they just feel fragile. I usually stick to 1/4" to 3/16". The weight is reduced to a level that gives it the lightness we seek without the fragile feel...Bill...

[Baxter Smith]

Good work on all the firsts!

[John Hart]

Wonderful work Bill!!!...Holy cow, you've really gone to town....and beautifully done on everything.

I've watched carefully over the past few weeks as people outside of the turning world have been fondling my stuff. The thinner the wall...the less they fondle. The thicker the wall, the more they fondle.....and sometimes hug and say, "this one's mine"

[Eric Gourieux]

Bill, these turnings are impressive. I use an articulated hollower, as well. I try to turn my hollow forms to about 1/8". I haven't turned cups or goblets, so I can't make any suggestions regarding wall thickness.

Did you turn the Poplar, Magnolia and Ambrosia Maple vessels with wet or seasoned wood?

Eric

[Richard Kennedy UK]

1/8 of an inch WOW I need to sell some work and pray I can get one shipped to the UK Great pieces from the sounds of things you are going have a great time making things! I gotta get me one of those things!!!!!!!!

[Bill Bulloch]

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Did you turn the Poplar, Magnolia and Ambrosia Maple vessels with wet or seasoned wood?

Eric

These were all turned from blanks that were cut over a year ago -- the poplar maybe 3 years. They all seemed dry when they were turned, in fact the shavings burned my hands as I turned. I treated them as dry wood.

[John W Dixon]

Bill that is some nice work. Finials look good too. I think the last two are really nice!