Hollowing help

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

New turner seeking advice on hollowing an 8-inch deep vessel. I'll be going into end grain. I've used forstner bits on an earlier project and have a bowl gouge, a Sorby Turnmaster with the the square roughing bit and circular scraper and a Sorby Hollowmaster. Looking for a tip or two rather than mucking up this piece through my usual trial and error approach.

TIA

Larry
'

[Dennis Ford]

For end grain, I prefer a hook tool but would not recommend it for a new turner without some practice with one. Drilling a center hole with a fostner bit will be a big help. The upper end is just a shallow HF, the bottom portion calls for a small cutter on a heavy shank with a fairly long handle. A 3/16" cutter in a 5/8" shank would do the job. Get the upper end to finished thickness before taking much wood out of the bottom portion. Stop often to check thickness and remove shavings, if the shavings build up and grap the tool; BAD things will happen.

[Peter Blair]

I have been turing for quite a while and have been lucky enough to afford first and Elbo then moved to a Kobra. I guess what I'm trying to say is I think without a hollowing system you just may be leaving yourself open for failure. Hollowing 8" deep is in my opinion not something a new turner should try without a mentor or a Hollowing System. Just my 2 cents worth!

[Paul Williams]

I don't do a lot of hollowing through a small hole but I would use a large drill bit to establish the hole and the bottom. I use my bowl gouge to 2 or 3 inches, then switch to a small bit/cutter on a large shaft. It is amazing how fast a sharp 1/4 inch cutter meant for a metal lath will remove wood.

[Richard Coers]

The best way to turn an 8" vessel is to turn a bunch of 5 or 6" vessels first. I guess you are planning a fairly large opening since you mentioned the bowl gouge. No place for the hollow master or turn master at 8" deep except under the collar. Not nearly enough handle on either of them at that distance. If you knock off the handle, and get something 24" long or more and you will have better luck. Or you can get a handle that cradles under you arm and back to your elbow. Effort goes way up with more depth in the vessel. I don't like forstner bits for deep drilling, unless you have a really high quality bit. Way too much heat, to slow, and a bunch of beginners will lock the bit into the vessel because they don't bring it out of the vessel often enough.

[robert baccus]

All good advice. I suggest you first learn how to sharpen fostner bits. Easy with a diamond disc from HF. They do stick easy--start with a heavy extension shaft and a smaller bit followed by a larger bit. Back out and blow chips out before you think you should. Piece of cake with a good borehole.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

To drill the initial hole, I use a spade bit. Yes, those cheapo bits. They do cut irregular and crooked holes, but hey, you're hollowing it out anyways. They cut very fast, dont heat up like a Forstner, and are easy to sharpen, I shorten the pointy part a LOT. You can also drill with the spade a bit size smaller, and follow with your expensive Forstner if you want a clean hole.

For hollowing, if you are serious in getting onto it, I would suggest you bite the bullet early, and get any of the captured laser systems out there. Skip the hand helds. I have Hunter hollowers, a couple Sorby hollowers, and a few end grain hollowers. They all work, but they beat me up. They all are hard to control after 6 inches or so. There's a thread here about a light duty hollower. Lots of good info in those threads. I have a Monster, and like it. I also have a Don Derry hollower, which is also very good, but for small to medium vessels. Yes, using a captured system and a laser is cheating, but you get results, and I can hollow all day, vice getting beaten and giving up after a couple hours with the hand helds.

Just my $0.02.

[steve worcester]

Shape makes a big difference. The more undercuts, the more offset, the more difficult. Without knowing more about the tools, shapes and your experience, it is tough to comment.
You can always come up to Plano and we can discuss it over turning and beer. My treat.

[charlie knighton]

seems i remember you (Steve) doing a rotation on different hollowing tools in .....i want to say St. Paul

[steve worcester]

seems i remember you (Steve) doing a rotation on different hollowing tools in .....i want to say St. Paul

Thank you, someone attended! Actually it was well attended, but the jist of it is you can hollow with anything. 6" is in the anything territory and after that it is finesse or brute tool size and or experience. A system in a newbys hands act different that in an experienced persons hands. You can't just mow though depth off the tool rest.
I have tried most of them on the market, but all designs fall into fewer categories. Articulated is going to have its advantages as does a captive. For low cost, find someone who can weld and adapt the Jamieson system. I have made 1" versions that hollow fairly upright vessels to 24", and use a smaller version that I use with 3/8" bars to work with my normal hemisphere vessels. I have a friend that uses a Hooker tool and makes beautiful and expensive vessels up to 20"in diameter, all handheld (not for the squeamish or inexperienced). All work well, but it is the startup costs that get you tangled up. It is an investment not to be taken without some thought to the end product.And you may end up with more than one.I hve several and probably 30 different bars/cutters (I also test Hunter prototypes)
There isn't a system that does it all. I really liked the articulated systems for their compactness and ease of moving around for different cuts.
Really liked the Kobra, but don't like the cost or the fact that it seems to be a secret society to get it. Didn't really get to try it fully because of the short amount of time I had it. One that hasn't had much mention is the the Trent Bosch system. It is an articulated system that fits into the tool rest banjo. It is new and under full disclosure, I BETA tested it and was giving feedback through its development.
At the expense of rambling, you can email me at steve@turningwood.com if you have questions.