making a hollowing tool?

[Stephen Hibbs]

I'm looking at doing some small hollow forms (no bigger than 5" tall), and some open forms. I heard mention that it's possible to make a hollowing tool with an allen wrench. Would this basically just require grinding the top and bottom fairly flat, and then putting a v-shaped grind on it? I realize I want to use a larger size wrench, which I have, and I will need to attach it to a handle, which seems to be the hardest part. I was thinking I would turn a handle, drill a slightly small hole, put epoxy in the hole, and mallet the wrench in there. Are there any warnings to this, and are there any suggestions for type/size/brand/metal quality of wrench to use?

[Dario Octaviano]

Look at the commercial tools and copy their design ;). IF you are talking about a swan neck type tool, the most important part is that the cutter end must not extend past the center line of the main shaft....else you will be fighting the turning woods force as you cut. It will twist counter clockwise as you cut.

I am buying a hollowing setup soon but will be making some of my own as well.

Good luck!

[Travis Stinson]

Stephen, cutters made from allen wrenches are best for hollowing ornament sized pieces. 5" deep can produce a good amount of torque. I made this offset handheld hollowing tool with an outrigger out of 1/2" material. It can chatter once it gets past 3-4" deep. I use it now just to clean up inside the openings and shoulders with a scraper bit.

[John Hart]

Seems like you're going to run into some trouble on a 5" reach with the allen wrench, although they do work well for creating an edge and working on very small pieces (less than 2"). For something with a 5" reach, I'd use much heavier stock. Unless you can get your toolrest all the way in there, the allen wrench will probably get bent pretty easily.

Nice tool Travis!:)

[Stephen Hibbs]

Thanks for the replies. I mostly plan to use it get under the lips of open forms, which has been an issue. I'll make a tool for those, but I think I'll also spring for a tool for hollow forms. How do the straight hollowing tools work any differently than a scraper or a skew on it's side? And what's the purpose of a gooseneck if it doesn't extend outside the center line?

[Brad Kimbrell]

I made a tool out of 1/2" cold-roll steel from the Lowest store using the same cutter that Travis did. I bent it into a swan-neck shape (but no outrigger), drilled and tapped a hole for a 10-32 cap screw, and have been using vise-grips as the handle until I decide that I like the balance.

Still trying to decide how long to make the shaft - it's 30" now and of course I'll cut it down. Probably about 12" plus length for the handle.

I plan to turn a handle for it this weekend and epoxy it.

I was very pleased with myself for being able to copy that $80+ tool from Sorby. Of course I did cheat and purchased his cutter for $16, but hey, he should get something out of this deal! LOL..

On a separate note, I picked up a copy of American Woodturner for Winter 2006 yesterday and saw an award for "Boxes with Finials" that went to of one of our own - namely Travis. Congrats sir, the piece is beautiful!