The Gizmo hollower

[Scott Hackler]

Jt Turning Tools had a booth both in St Paul and in Waco and I played around with their articulated hollower for a while. So I was wondering 1) if anyone here owns one and 2) did any of you Monster owners examin it and can compare it to the Monster setup?

It looks pretty beefy and the boring bars (they are square) had an articulated snake like end on it so you can bend it around to hollow at any angle.


It is pricey-er than the Monster setup but less than the Kobra. I believe Tom with JT Turning told me a price around $750 with a laser, medium bar and a hunter type cutter. But I can't confirm that because their site doesnt show the Gizmo at all. I would have to email or call them to be 100%.


Anyway, anyone care to comment????

[David E Keller]

I drooled on that system every day we were there though I didn't take it for a test drive. My impressions relative to the monster... It's much beefier than the monster articulated system. It's beefier than the Elbo system as well. I haven't seen a Kobra up close, but it seems to be of a similar build to the Gizmo. My only reservation other than the price(I think $750 was the 'show price') is that I haven't learned to love the hunter type carbide cutters... That's a personal hang up for me because lots of other people really like them. Maybe I'm slow on the uptake, but I like the simple HSS cutters for hollowing.

BTW, if you get one of these, I'm definitely making the drive up if you'll let me take it for a spin!

[sam upton]

Yes it is an impressive tool. We see so many new tools & gadgits on the market these days that do not even give them the time of day. But when I saw the Gizmo at SWAT, I stopped in my tracks. I really was impressed with this tool. I guess my wife was too, because she insisted that I needed it. I'm not sure of the time frame on delivery, however I am sure that the complete system including shipping was $777.
Sam

[John Keeton]

Scott, sounds like you got a "live response" from Sam!! Now, we just have to wait for the review.:)

[Steve Schlumpf]

I remember seeing the system when I went over to talk with Tom at the St. Paul symposium! Looked like a beefy system and while Tom demoed it - I didn't see very much flex in it at all!

Looking forward to seeing your review!!

[Scott Hackler]

Thats cool Sam. I thought it was a pretty solidly built setup but like I meantioned before, I have never touched the Monster or the Kobra so I can't personally compare them.

[Terry Gerros]

Hey Scott,

A real pleasure to meet you at SWAT. Hope all that wood you bought from Mike Smith turns out...no pun intended....

OK I took the opportunity to play around on the Gizmo, actually hogged the tool early in the morning before all the attendees arrived, and then had to go back and forth from Mike's booth, on my breaks, to go play with it more. Yes, that system is built like a tank, what I especially liked about it was how smoothly the articulations worked and how well it cut. Tom told me that the articulations are all ride on sealed ball bearings rather than nylon washers which are on some others. There was zero play in the articulations and it seemed to me that you could put the cutter darn near any place you wanted. The fit and finish is nothing but perfect. There are 3 bars that are available, 5/8", 3/4", and 1", all square stock. There are also 3 carbide cutter tips: 6, 8, 10 mm. At the end of the bar you will find the articulation joints are the ones found on Tom's original hollowing system, The Trans-Former System (Check out the website, jtturningtools.com). Depending on how much you are trying to undercut the rim of a hollow vessel, you may not need all those joints and they can be easily removed.

I haven't been much on carbide cutters, my Rolly Munro pretty much spends most of its time in the drawer. That being said, cutting with the Gizmo was, ummm, how should I put this.....SWEEEET. Cutting back and forth along the side of the vessel was pretty much grab free and you can hog out and do light finish cuts equally. I did find that when I went down the vessel wall and towards the middle, it would grab a little. That problem is easily resolved by starting in the middle and pulling the cutter towards you and out the vessel. Duh.

The first articulation, attached to the tool post, is machined out of one solid piece while the middle bar looks like a mini I-beam. The front piece is round stock, simply a nice hand hold for moving the bar and cutter, it fit my hand perfectly. The Gizmo is definitely beefier than the Monster tool and as far as I'm concerned beats the Elbo system hands down.

I am also happy to say I bought it! I think it was worth every penny I paid and since I bought the steady rest and extra bars, I will have to ask Tom what I actually paid for the Gizmo. There is nothing better than a well machined tool that glides as smooth as silk. Hopefully I can post a picture from SWAT of the Gizmo. I should have my grubby little hands on it by weeks end.

Hey come on up to Oregon and I JUST might let you play with the Gizmo.

Regards, Terry

[David E Keller]

I am also happy to say I bought it!...

You lucky dog!

Scott, if you make the trip to Terry's place, I've got a wish list of wood products from the great state of Oregon!

[Scott Hackler]

Hey Terry!

It was good meeting you as well. I have a bit of a reservation with the Hunter style cutters, not because of experience but because I have only have ever used standard cutters and now a feel for the touch. I did play around with the Gizmo for quite a while and the carbide cutters did a fine job, producing a finish like cut, but I thought it cut at a bit slower speed than I do with hand hollowers. I probably just wasnt pushing it to its capabilities.

When you get this tool... don't leave it in that giant tool chest (full of tools I might add)!

If I ever get to Oregon, I will definitely look you up.

[Scott Hackler]

You lucky dog!

Scott, if you make the trip to Terry's place, I've got a wish list of wood products from the great state of Oregon!

lol, You and me both! I was thinking about a plane trip but when Terry said "fill up your pickup" I started wondering how many days that trip would take and how many gallons of Anchor Seal I would need! :)

[Terry Gerros]

Hey Scott,

When I was tinkering with the Gizmo, I did notice that the lathe was running at about 1200 revs, a pretty comfortable speed I thought. As for the Anchor Seal, forget that noise. Get yourself a turkey cooker, melt about 20-30 pounds of paraffin wax to 250-275F, and dip your blocks. You talk about processing some turning blanks..... Mike and I prepared about 65% of the wood at SWAT at my place. We bought 100 pounds of wax out of California, at rough 2.00 a pound, delivered. Picked up an oil filter wrench at Harbor Freight to hold the blocks. It takes the propane burner about 20 minutes to heat the wax to temp and then just dip away. Beats the heck out of Anchor Seal. I will say the large burl caps we had at SWAT did have Anchor Seal on them as they were to large for the cooker.

Don't worry about the Gizmo sitting in a drawer. It will live on that yellow mustard monster, I reckon. I knew there was a reason I bought that short bed Vicmarc. Hollow forms on the 3520, bowls on the Vicmarc.

And by the way, the answer to the question is Yes. I did get permission from my wife before buying the Gizmo. She does a wee bit of spindle turning and I figure I will be able to get her in the shop more often now so she can learn to turn hollow forms.

And seriously, if you get a chance to get out here, please stop by. David, you have an open invitation also.

Regards,
Terry

[John Beaver]

For those who got to see the system,

What size is the receptacle that the boring bar fits into? It looks like it's round and could take a different bar if someone wanted.
Second, could you remove the Hunter style tip and place a standard cutter in it's place? It looks like you could get a round piece of HSS the same diameter.
I really like the look of the system, I'm just wondering if it could become more versatile?

[Scott Hackler]

John, I didn't measure the boring bar ends but would place a guess that the round portion was about 5/8" diameter...round. Only reason I think that size is because they had the smaller boring bar on the unit and the two larger ones on the table. They all have the same end to go into the tool and the next size bar didn't have too much of a lip where the round meets the square bar. The bit holder end should accept round stock as their cutter holder IS round on the bar side. The only small amount of difficulty might be ginding the angle just right on the HSS stock. That is because the recepticle on the end of the boring bar is already angled slightly down for the correct angle using the Hunter style cutters.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Scott: I don't have the Gizmo, but I can tell you that Tom provides great support for his products. I have Transformer hollower and some of his vacuum chuck tools. They are all excellently made and Tom has been there to answer all my questions.

[Alan Trout]

The opening for the bar is 3/4" with adapters to make it smaller.

Alan

[Bill Bolen]

Now that is one heavy duty looking articulated hollower! Hope it serves you well.

[Terry Gerros]

Hey guys,

Just to let you know, The Gizmo shipped out on Tuesday, so maybe with any luck I will have it tomorrow. I will send some pics as soon as it get it up and running. Also, the price for the Gizmo is under $450.00. A couple things also which may be of interest, you can put any boring bar you current own into the Gizmo, that is those which are 5/8 or 3/4". Which really opens up many possibilities. You aren't limited to the Transformer which is JT Turning tools other hollowing system, nor do you have to purchase the Transformer.

Is it Friday yet???????? Jeez why does it take so long.............

Terry