Monster round carbide cutter

[Prashun Patel]

I have been unsuccessful in making the monster round carbide cutter work. No matter how delicately I apply it, it wants to catch very quickly. I can't even THINK about using it blind in an HF. What am I missing? How is this supposed to be used?

I'm using it a Monster Articulated Hollowing arm...

[Jeff Myroup]

The large cutter that came with my Monster rig is a "Hunter" type cutter. It should be like the "easy finisher" type cutter The hunter type must be used on a angle, or they will catch every time. The problem is that the mount for the cutter is a hexagon and can only be used flat or on to much angle.

[Jim Underwood]

A couple of things another vendor (Gismo) showed me at the Turning Southern Style Symposium...

One is to turn that cutter so that it's scraping instead of shearing. In the scraping mode, you can move it in and out and it's less agressive.

The other is to use it on the pull stroke when using the shearing angle. If you let the shearing angle pull you in, it will catch really bad...

[wes murphy]

I've been using the cutter on the extreme angle successfully on several pots. Slow, even pressure, I think, is the key to using this cutter.

[Jim Underwood]

Looks like Jeff and I just contradicted each other... :rolleyes:

[Jeff Myroup]

Not so much a contradiction, we are talking about 2 different cutters. They may have included the wrong cutter in my set. Mine is definitely a 'hunter' style cutter. It is the same as my hunter tools. You can not use those flat, they will catch every time. They are meant to ride the bevel. With the cutter attachment on mine. It is either flat or 60 degrees, and just does not cut well at that angle. The hunter cutter I adapted from my jamison rig is 45 degrees and cuts great. It is just smaller. I need to either purchase a new cutter, or make a new holder.

With a flat carbide cutter, I completely agree with you about the presentation.

[Jim Burr]

I asked Randy last year how to use the one mine came with. As Jeff mentioned...angle presentation and run a bevel. He also said it's a pull only!! cutter. As you've found...light cuts are preferred!

[Jamie Donaldson]

The 1/4" Hunter cutter supplied with the Monster is very aggressive because of the small size, and I much prefer the 3/8" Hunter in its place. It must be angled at about 45 degrees and used in a pull cut only.

[Roger Chandler]

Mine uses the 3/8 hunter style cutter as well..........I use an angle of about 40 degrees, maybe 45.........on the monster rig, and my hunter tools, it is pull cut only.

[Tim Rinehart]

Both Woodturning Design and the AAW Journal have had recent articles (with last 6 months without checking actual issue) on the use of these cutters.
I use these tools in alot of configurations for hollowing, especially on materials that tend to dull my HSS cutters quickly.
Here's my spin on it, as I've experimented alot with these tools over the past 6 months or so and can get pretty reliable results. For purpose of my experience, I'll talk about it in context of a 'typical' hollowform, let's say perhaps a SW style we're all used to seeing.
The pull cut will give the cleanest shearing cut, riding the bevel from near the bottom of the piece, in a downhill direction, but when you get to the largest ID of the piece, it will get a bit grabby if you start going 'uphill' towards the opening of your piece.
From the opening, you can take nice shear/scrape type cuts going downhill towards that largest ID again, but go much more and you may experience it trying to 'pull' you down.
I vary the angle by using cutters mounted in round holders at the end of my hollowing tool holders. I find sometimes a more open angle gives good results and affords a bit more aggressive material removal, and the closed (usually not more than 45 degrees) is more conservative, esp with harder woods.
From my experience, the smaller 1/4" diam cutters are a bit more forgiving than the larger 3/8" diam cutters, at least using them in handheld tools. I've not tried mounting the 3/8" diam cutters to my hollowing rig...but may be worth an experiment to try.

[Dave Mueller]

I have not used the "Hunter" cutter that was supplied with my Monster rig. I do have an Eliminator straight tool that has flats milled at 45 degrees so the cutter is automatically presented at that angle. I use this on the inside of hollow forms as a clean-up pull cut only to remove the ridges left by the 1/4" square HHS cutter I use for hollowing. I would never use the Hunter cutter to hollow on the Monster. I did make a 10" long X 3/4" diameter round holder that fits in the Monster and has a flat carbide "Easywood" cutter that works well to hollow, especially in end grain where the finished cut is like glass. It is presented horizontal or zero degrees and scrapes like the square HSS cutter, but has a larger radius so there are less ridges.

[Baxter Smith]

Prashun, knowing nothing about how to use them, I tried mine flat to begin with and experienced a similar excitement!;):) Once I tried them at a 45 or there abouts handheld, they worked quite well on the bottoms of endgrain boxes.

[robert baccus]

Really good advice TIM.-------------old forester

[Bill Hensley]

I remedied the angle by grinding one of the corners of the hexagon shaft flat. It mounts the tool at a useful angle. I typically use it for initial cleanup of ridges left by the cutter. I'll then followup with a scraper blade for final smoothing.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Prashun - I have been using the carbide cutter for some of my endgrain vases. As noted from everyone - it works with a pull cut and must be presented at an angle. I do find that the angle varies depending on the shape of the form you are hollowing. When working on tall vases, I mount the carbide directly in the hollowing bar with the edge at a 45* angle. When hollowing endgrain Southwest style, then I mount the cutter in the 45* bit holder - again making sure the cutting edge is at 45* degrees. It can take a little effort to get the tool to start cutting but once you find the proper delivery angle you will love taking ribbons out of endgrain wood! Sure makes for a clean cut surface!