Info on Hollow Form

[Robert Torkomian]

Hi All,

When you turn your HF from green wood what do you rough it out to? I normally turn bowls and am looking to try a HF. Is there a mandrel you use to help in the finishing?

Rob

[Steve Schlumpf]

Rob - I turn the form to about 10% just like I would a bowl. Then soak in DNA, wrap and let dry for a few weeks or longer. To finish it - reverse mount it on a chuck and with the tenon in the tailstock. That allows you to true the tenon and the bottom end of the form. Then turn it around and mount the tenon in the chuck, set up the steady rest and finish the turning and hollowing.

Kind of a short explanation - hope that answers your questions. If you would like more detail, I did a short tutorial on hollow forms and it walks you through the different steps. The tutorial is located in the Articles and Reviews forum.