Undercutting Small Bowls

[Tom Hartranft]

Looking at tool options for undercutting small bowls like potpourri bowls. Wondering what others do. Options appear to include:
a. Bowl gouge
b. Something like Kelton 1/2" diameter hollowing tool(s) http://www.kelton.co.nz/Kelton%20Hollowers.html
c. Something like Kelton spoon undercutting tool (bottom of photo in following link) http://www.kelton.co.nz/Kelton%20Undercutters.html

Your thoughts?

Tom

[Michael Stafford]

Tom, I use the #1 Hunter swan neck tools for small items which I want to hollow or undercut. You could also consider the Hunter #3 swan neck tool if you need a little more reach. I use these carbide tipped tools for all of my undercutting jobs.

If you don't want to go that route you might consider any number of different HSS scrapers in various swan neck configurations that are available in the catalogs and on-line.

[Mike Peace]

Here are a couple of hooked scrapers I use for undercutting. These were both reground from other scraper profiles. The one on the bottom has a rare earth magnet so I can measure how deep I am when I am doing end grain hollowing.
274684

[Robert Henrickson]

Tom, I use the #1 Hunter swan neck tools for small items which I want to hollow or undercut. You could also consider the Hunter #3 swan neck tool if you need a little more reach. I use these carbide tipped tools for all of my undercutting jobs.

I also would use a Hunter swan neck for most undercuts. For mildly undercut, most likely a bowl gouge.

[Thom Sturgill]

For something the size of a potpourri, if I could not use a small bowl gouge, I might use either this
274691 the Ellsworth small hollowing tool, or
274692a hooked scraper (especially close to the opening) , or
274693one of these (I have the middle one), or
I also have a sorby gooseneck that I modified to take a hunter carbide.

[Dale Gillaspy]

I agree with all of the above. I also use the Easy Wood Tools swan neck hollower. Works great.

[Tom Hartranft]

Appreciate the timely and helpful ideas.

Tom

[James Combs]

I use the Mini-Monster (http://monster-lathe-tools.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=274&category_id=63) with the MM goose-neck cutter mounted on it. The working end looks very similar to Thom Sturgill's first pic.