Help with hollowing tool selection

[Brendan Farragher]

Hello. I wanted to see if I could create a very simple miniature vase out of a 2" X 2" X 3" wood block (or I was thinking that I might use one of those wood eggs and flatten the bottom of it).

I have minimal experience with hand gauges and knives for carving caricatures, and this vase would be extremely primative. I will be happy with a cone shape for starters... I just want to practice hollowing out a shape with a narrower neck than it's base.

What tool could I use that would enable me to create a smaller hole at the top, while hollowing out the wide bottom of the vase? I would like to do this with a hand tool, and not a woodturning machine.

Can you provide a link to a picture of such a tool, and could you please describe the motion that I would use in order to create a smaller hole at the top, while being able to hollow out the wide base.

Thanks so much for your help.

Brendan

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi Brendan,

I would start with a brace and bit to drill down into the vase. As to hollowing the remainder...hmm. Gotta think about that. I have seen tools for doing this by hand, I'll have to go look at some catalogs and get back to the thread.

What I remember them looking like is a handled shaft with a curved, almost fully radiused scorp-type blade on the end. They have different radius for getting into tighter curves.

Take care, Mike