Hollowing tools

[Donny Lawson]

I'm thinking about a new hollowing tool for my bowls. I'm looking into making bigger bowls and need something to remove the wood faster for the inside as well as shaping the outside. What are your opinions on the Easy hollowing tools with the round carbide blades? I thought of trying one before I buy one and maybe even trying to make one myself. My current 1/2 " bowl gouge does a good job but on a big bowl it seems to take alot longer to hollow out. Throw some ideas my way please.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Not only will a 1/2" gouge take longer to cut the inside of a big bowl but it will vibrate more when second turning and cause you to take very light cuts. Theoretically, the bigger the bar the less chatter on deeper cuts. However, that's all relative. Some gouges merely by the shape of the groove leave too little bar under them. I'm not going to start the brand thing but I believe that is the reason the Thompson V gouges are so popular. The V channel leaves a lot of meat around the groove making the tool vibrate less then a wider deeper groove. If you now own a 1/2" gouge, look for a 5/8" next. After that you may even consider a 3/4" bar tool. There is an NZ company that makes a gouge with a replaceable tip. The tip is only 3" long and grooved for only 2". I own a 13mm and a 16mm. They are the greatest tools for finishing cuts because there is no vibration since the bulk of the bar is solid. However, they have to be sharpened by hand because there is no flat spot for the common jigs. My go to gouge for almost all bowls is a 5/8".
faust

[John Keeton]

Donny, there have been numerous threads on the Easy Wood Tools, carbide tool clones, inserts, etc., that may be helpful, including the following:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?192087-Easy-Wood-Tools (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?192087-Easy-Wood-Tools)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?173814-Easy-Wood-Tools (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?173814-Easy-Wood-Tools)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?147542-Easy-Wood-Tools

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?152624-Carbide-Turning-Tools

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148576-Carbide-Turning-Tools (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148576-Carbide-Turning-Tools)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?181951-Carbide-cutters (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?181951-Carbide-cutters)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?192050-Easy-Wood-Tools-Do-They-Work (http://http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?192050-Easy-Wood-Tools-Do-They-Work)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?159044-Full-set-of-carbide-tools-Where (http://http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?159044-Full-set-of-carbide-tools-Where)

[Mark Levitski]

The fastest way to hollow a large bowl is to core it, even if you toss out the core instead of using it for another bowl. Just core out the largest inner bowl first and go on from there. Not as many shavings to deal with either.

Otherwise, with practice and no concern for finesse, cutting out the interior with a bowl gouge can be really fast too.

[Bill Bulloch]

Capt Eddie sells the carbide cutters at a very reasonable price. http://eddiecastelin.com/products_and_services I have his Square cutter and round cutter and they work just fine. I can't compare them with the Easy Tools because I have never used one of those, but there is a big difference in the price. You'll have to make your own handle with Capt Eddie's though.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have the Thompson 5/8" gouge and find I can hog a big bowl faster with it than the Ci1 Rougher.

[Richard Coers]

I assume you are talking about the full size finisher and not the hollowers. The cutter on the hollowers is smaller than the finisher and will be WAY slower than a gouge. What size lathe do you have? IMO, a scraper is never going to cut as quickly as a gouge, nor give you as fair of a curve as a gouge. Riding the bevel can be a nice aid making a curve. A small round scraper will take a better eye to make a big curve smooth.

[Pat Scott]

I considered getting one of the Easy Rougher tools a while back because of the carbide cutter. My thought was the carbide would stay sharp longer and I wouldn't spend as much time sharpening my bowl gouges. I watched the videos online and my first thought was they're too slow. They just don't take as big of cut as my bowl gouges do.

I'm a big fan of Mike Mahoney and Glenn Lucas (both are production bowl turners), and I've taken week long classes from both of them. When I rough out a bowl, I try to have a production mentality - meaning get it done and don't spend a lot of time doing it. I use a Thompson 3/4" V-gouge and take big cuts. Roughing the outside of a typical 12-14" diameter bowl takes me on average 10 minutes to mount the rough sawn blank, cut the tenon, and shape the outside. Then I core the inside, clean up the inside curve with my 3/4" or 5/8" bowl gouge, and move on to the next bowl. I doubt a carbide cutter tool is that fast.

I would step up to a 5/8" bowl gouge (5/8" diameter bar). I like a weighted handle for roughing out as well.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

+1 on getting a bigger gouge. If you do decide to get Thompson 5/8, you'll probably save a few coins as well. You'll need to turn a handle, but that's part of the fun.
On the subject of coring, that's also an avenue that can earn you some bucks in saved wood, and you can sell nested sets as well.

[Thom Sturgill]

Donny, I think you've gotten a lot of good advice so far.

I have, and use extensively, DT's deep V (Jimmy Clewes model) gouges in both 3/8 and 1/2" but when they don't do the job I reach for one of my 5/8 V gouges. I don't do very large bowls so 5/8 is a big as I own, but if I were to start on larger bowls I would add a 3/4 to my arsenal. Remember, the larger the gouge the further it can be extended off the support before chatter starts.

Jimmy Clewes' technique seems to speed hollowing bowls for me. Instead of drilling out the center and cutting toward the center, he works down the outside levering out a donut and leaves much of the center in place until he needs to remove it, then cutting (stepping from outside to inside) with the cut being toward the headstock instead of rim to center, then a single pass rim to center to clean off any sharp edges. Not sure how clear the explanation is, best to get a video.