comments on the following hollowing tools

[joe zarnitz]

crown beaver deep---berger hollowing---oneway termite---tks,joe

[Frank Fusco]

Can we add Sorby to the list and any others on the market? I'll be shopping also soon.

[John Shuk]

Termite tool good. Very good.

[John Hart]

I can speak to the Sorby and that's about it. When I first started using it, it seemed like it wouldn't cut, but found later that my toolrest height was a key player in that. So once I got the feel for it, I found that it was capable of removing lots of material in a short period of time. The straight bit is useful for hogging out and the scraper is useful for final turning/prefinishing. It has proved very useful. The downsides are in the curvature of the tool....which I'm sure you'll find with any curved tool. If you have the tool deep in a hollowform and are building up shavings, the tool wants to spin in your hand....so you need to be sure to keep the shavings clear. Catches are easily catastrophic....so you really get used to taking light cuts. All in all...it's a nice tool. Just takes some gettin' use to. :)

[Tom Morton]

Consider one of the captured boring bar systems. I have the Jameison system with the 3/4" Jordan bar set and find it very easy to use - not physically or emotionally demanding. The complete Jamieson system includes a double ended boring bar. So far catch free and very easy to control. The Jameison system with the laser pointer eliminates - mostly - cutting through the walls of the piece. Jamieson's web site has instructions for a shop built system if that is your cup of tea. I also have and use - mostly the shear scraper tip - the Sorby "multi" tool. A bit pricy for what I got but . . . .

The Jordan set includes a straight bar which I don't use as I take the piece to hollowed depth with a 1" diameter drill or forsner bit.

[Reed Gray]

I have the McNaughton HF blades in a Jamieson style handle and a laser pointer. I also got one Sorby blade for the scrapers, which can be used to shear scrape. I am fairly new to HF turning (LOTS of bowls), but I like the way these tools work.

If your drill doesn't go all the way to the bottom of your form, and you have to take the bottom down with your HF tools, use the straight ones, and not the curved ones. I have lost 2 pieces to a catch on the nipple in the bottom as the goose neck came into contact with it.
robo hippy