Brian Brown
10-09-2013, 6:25 PM
Last week, I had to go to Texas. Couldn't afford airfare for 4 so we loaded up the car and were off. SWMBO insisted that we stop at CSUSA as we went through Provo. Said she "needed wood". "But dear the garage is full of wood" I said, but she said "CS now", and I said "Yes dear". When we got there, turns out she she really didn't need wood, but wanted me to pick out a new hollowing tool for my birthday. Ummmmm.... I was already confused about which tool to get, and after talking to the sales guy at CS I was even more confused. Ended up leaving without the tool. On the bright side, SWMBO did get a few pieces of wood. CS recommended the Easy Hollower, and I finally got to put my hands on one. I liked the general Idea, but can't see how I can make it work to solve my problem. So I suppose you need to know my problem to help me. I'll do my best to explain it, and maybe the pics can help where my description doesn't.
I make some solid wood forms similar to the pics below, and I can't find a tool that allows me to hollow out to the extreme far distances inside. I like to use a small hole on top, and that limits the tool as to how far it can reach inside, and even more so, the angle that would allow it to reach the full inside. I could use a larger hole, then glue on a collar I suppose. I don't mind collars, but I also like to make solid wood forms. I guess maybe it's that "How'd you do that factor". I currently own a Hunter #3 full swan neck tool, and I like it well enough, but it can't make the full reach. It also has a round shaft, and it rolls easily on the tool rest, causing some horrendous catches at times. The pic sorta shows the reach problem. It can't get to the area in red. Also, after finishing a hollowing job, I usually feel like 10 miles of bad road. It kind of wears me out. I have to maintain a real death grip on the handle to keep it from rolling.
The easy hollower has a flat bottom shaft, that really would work to keep it from rolling, and probably would not require the death grip. However, it seems to me that the wide shaft would make it impossible to get the angle right to get up under the shoulders of the form. It would work fine on smaller projects where I didn't need to reach more than about 3.5-4 inches, but for a longer reach (larger form), the wide part of the shaft would have to get into the hole, and too much of a tool angle to get to the shoulders angle would tear the hole out. I think it would have trouble cutting in the red area in the pic. Easy woods online diagram shows that it is possible to make this cut, but I just can't see it with a larger diameter form. I do make some smaller forms, and this tool would probably work, but I would like one tool that allows me do do larger forms also. I recently finished one that is about 10 inch diameter, and about 6.5-7 inches tall. I really liked how it turned out, except that the wall is so thick at the largest diameter area, that it feels like picking up an anvil. It loses that delicate feeling. Easy Wood's video shows that type of hollowing done with ease, but the form they are turning is only about 4-4.5 inches in diameter. So my questions are :
1. Am I asking too much of a hollowing tool to be able to to this hollowing through a small hole?
2. If you use the Easy Wood swan neck, what do you think of it?
3. What other tools do you work with that would be more likely to get deep enough?
4. What other tools have a flat bottom on the shaft to keep them from twisting?
5. I am not in a position to get a captured system, but is there a good tool out there that does a good job, in a single tool,
and offers a laser attachment?
I don't have the tools or access to the materials to make my own tools, so I guess I'll need a commercial tool. So, can anyone help SWMBO spend some money?
I make some solid wood forms similar to the pics below, and I can't find a tool that allows me to hollow out to the extreme far distances inside. I like to use a small hole on top, and that limits the tool as to how far it can reach inside, and even more so, the angle that would allow it to reach the full inside. I could use a larger hole, then glue on a collar I suppose. I don't mind collars, but I also like to make solid wood forms. I guess maybe it's that "How'd you do that factor". I currently own a Hunter #3 full swan neck tool, and I like it well enough, but it can't make the full reach. It also has a round shaft, and it rolls easily on the tool rest, causing some horrendous catches at times. The pic sorta shows the reach problem. It can't get to the area in red. Also, after finishing a hollowing job, I usually feel like 10 miles of bad road. It kind of wears me out. I have to maintain a real death grip on the handle to keep it from rolling.
The easy hollower has a flat bottom shaft, that really would work to keep it from rolling, and probably would not require the death grip. However, it seems to me that the wide shaft would make it impossible to get the angle right to get up under the shoulders of the form. It would work fine on smaller projects where I didn't need to reach more than about 3.5-4 inches, but for a longer reach (larger form), the wide part of the shaft would have to get into the hole, and too much of a tool angle to get to the shoulders angle would tear the hole out. I think it would have trouble cutting in the red area in the pic. Easy woods online diagram shows that it is possible to make this cut, but I just can't see it with a larger diameter form. I do make some smaller forms, and this tool would probably work, but I would like one tool that allows me do do larger forms also. I recently finished one that is about 10 inch diameter, and about 6.5-7 inches tall. I really liked how it turned out, except that the wall is so thick at the largest diameter area, that it feels like picking up an anvil. It loses that delicate feeling. Easy Wood's video shows that type of hollowing done with ease, but the form they are turning is only about 4-4.5 inches in diameter. So my questions are :
1. Am I asking too much of a hollowing tool to be able to to this hollowing through a small hole?
2. If you use the Easy Wood swan neck, what do you think of it?
3. What other tools do you work with that would be more likely to get deep enough?
4. What other tools have a flat bottom on the shaft to keep them from twisting?
5. I am not in a position to get a captured system, but is there a good tool out there that does a good job, in a single tool,
and offers a laser attachment?
I don't have the tools or access to the materials to make my own tools, so I guess I'll need a commercial tool. So, can anyone help SWMBO spend some money?