Gouges and Hollowing tools

[bob pfohler]

I’ve been been building furniture and cabinets for a long time and I have a lathe but only used it for spindle work.
My son has shown an interest in turning bowls and hollow forms so I’m looking to invest in some new tools.
I’m not sure if I should buy standard gouges or the modular system and what brand?

What should I be look for in hollowing tools? I’m assuming some straight scrapers and a swan neck with carbide tips? What brands?
I’m not looking to buy the very top of the line but I’m also not afraid to spend a little to get nicer tools.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Interested in this also, I just turned my first four, small, segmented bowls, but would like some expert advice on the tools I should have in my arsenal.

[tom lucas]

For bowls you don't really need hollowing tools A good bowl gouge is all you need. I like the v-flutes better than the u-flutes as they are a bit more aggressive with a cleaner cut. I recommend Thompson for that; half inch is a good first bowl gouge. In lieu of traditional tools, a big round carbide scraper will do the same thing but a bit harder to control tear out.

As for hollowing for vases and hollow forms, depends on how big. The hunter tools are good for smaller forms. Deep hollowing is best done with a fixed hollowing system. You can do it with regular hollowing tools, but it's hard on the arm and not as safe as with fixed hollowers. Deep hollowing also usually requires a steady rest. I plan to make a steady rest and fixed hollower myself rather than buy one because they are so expensive.

[Don Stephan]

Caveat: I have never used carbide tipped tools, and never made a hollow vessel.

I would consider bowls and hollow vessels two different types of turning. Some of the principles are the same, and I would suggest getting initial experience by turning shallow bowls. My opinion an ideal practice wood when starting to use bowl gouges would be 5 1/2" squares of knot free 2x6. The cost is minimal so there is no worry about wasting money, and the wood is easy to cut. Green wood also is easy to cut, but there is a lot more time and work getting a bowl blank from a section of log than from a 2x6.

A local woodturning group can be a tremendous resource - monthly meetings sharing tips and techniques, possibly classes, and likely mentors.

[tom lucas]

Caveat: I have never used carbide tipped tools, and never made a hollow vessel.

I would consider bowls and hollow vessels two different types of turning. Some of the principles are the same, and I would suggest getting initial experience by turning shallow bowls. My opinion an ideal practice wood when starting to use bowl gouges would be 5 1/2" squares of knot free 2x6. The cost is minimal so there is no worry about wasting money, and the wood is easy to cut. Green wood also is easy to cut, but there is a lot more time and work getting a bowl blank from a section of log than from a 2x6.

A local woodturning group can be a tremendous resource - monthly meetings sharing tips and techniques, possibly classes, and likely mentors.

Cheap pine is very economical to practice on. However, it is actually one of the hardest pieces to get a smooth cut. If you can get tear out free, smooth finishes on kiln dried pine, you can do it on just about any kind of wood. Another cheap option is firewood. If you don't have your own pile, bum a piece from your neighbor. Or join a club and soon free wood opportunities will be abundant. Another option is bowl-from-a-board, where you cut rings from a single board, stack and glue them to form a rough bowl shape and then turn it to finished size. Here, cheap poplar is a good choice.

[Stark Suggs]

As well, Ive been a woodworker for a number of years. For the past 5 the passion has been in power carving bowls and recently, turning. Regarding gouges, the one that works really well is my Robert Sorby. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0R8C6Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It is amazing how much one can do with a gouge..... Round nose scrapers 1" or so have really been helpful. But, as time goes on, I keep returning to using a gouge because it has so many uses.

[John K Jordan]

I’ve been been building furniture and cabinets for a long time and I have a lathe but only used it for spindle work.
My son has shown an interest in turning bowls and hollow forms so I’m looking to invest in some new tools.
I’m not sure if I should buy standard gouges or the modular system and what brand?

What should I be look for in hollowing tools? I’m assuming some straight scrapers and a swan neck with carbide tips? What brands?
I’m not looking to buy the very top of the line but I’m also not afraid to spend a little to get nicer tools.

I do a lot of spindle turning but occasionally hollow things of various sizes. I use a variety of tools for hollowing, depending on the wood, the size of the piece, and the shape of the piece. Sometimes I pick specific tools based on other factors such as is it wet or dry wood, the type of wood, grain orientation, or what I feel like at the moment.

If your son is just starting, it's difficult to know what to recommend something specific without knowing more, for example, is he 10 years old or 40? If budget is not problem, buying one of each will let him experiment. Ha! But what if he tries his hand at hollowing and then loses interest?

It's hard to go wrong with the Hunter carbide tools - they are extremely sharp and will both cut like gouges or work like scrapers, and never need sharpening. They are nothing like the common inexpensive flat-topped carbide tools used by so many. I use several for hollowing depending on the size of the work. The tapered Hunter tools, small and large, straight and swan necked, work extremely well on the inside, and among my favorites for general work, both face and spindle turning, are the Hunter Hercules tools.

The type of hollowing tools with a small flat scraper sold by Sorby and many others work well but do not leave a smooth surface inside, fine for a hollow form where you can't see or touch the inside. For a mechanically assisted scraping hollower, both the normally handled and arm brace tools sold by the other John Jordan works well. I would not recommend the arm brace for a kid. Actually, hollowing in general can be challenging for a small person. Or maybe your son is not small. (Sorry, I didn't have time to read the other posts if you gave more info there.)

For bowls, I find it hard to beat either a Hunter tool or a Thompson (or other) bowl gouge or gouges - it is helpful to have several gouges with different grinds for specific parts of the inside of the bowl.

Regardless of the hollowing method, the inside of a bowl will probably need smoothing. The teardrop scrapers sold by Sorby work well and I still use them occasionally. Most of the time though, I now use various negative rake scrapers followed by hand scraping off the lathe - the requires minimal sanding.

As often suggested here, several things might help you a lot in deciding what tools to buy - attend a local woodturning club, take some courses, or make contact with a private teacher and/or mentor. You will get the narrow perspective of the instructor or mentor, but at least it should be a good starting point.

JKJ

[Peter Blair]

All the information that you have already received about sums up my experience. I do still use flat topped carbides but mostly on resin these days. I would have a bunch of hollowing tools because that is what I now like to do. Oh I do have lots of bowl blanks cut and roughed out over the past 15 years but they seldom see the lathe. I would recommend that you make your own hollowing jig. I added this one a couple of years ago and it is pretty easy to make and works like a charm. If you have the inclination you can see a bit about it on a blog I wrote some time ago here.
https://woodbowlsandthings.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hollowing-rig/
Best of luck on you journey, once you get a few good tools you just may have a hard time finding time to do 'flat' work!!

Just went back and reread the post and would like to note that I have changed the angle bars to round bars now. Both worked fine but the movement is a little smoother with the round bars. I think it's because there is less actual contact. I would like to add also that I get a big kick out of using tools I make. I think it is sort of like catching a trout on a fly I tied myself!