Hollowing Tools

[Daniel Heine]

Hello,

I just bought a couple of peices of maple and I am ready to delve in to hollow forms. I am not looking to buy a rig with a arm joints, etc. I have a limited amount of money to spend. What do you think of the Stinger system by Don Pencil?

http://www.donpencil.com/

Thank you for all of your help.

Dan

[Thomas Canfield]

Dan,

I have the Stinger and the Scorpion system from Don Pencil. The Scorpion is the heavier and better for deeper work while the Stinger is better for smaller work. I have hollowed about 13" deep with the Scorpion and that is about the limit that I feel comfortable doing. Deeper depths will require a change. I haven't really used the Stinger much to know what depth limit for the smaller tool bar would feel right. The handle works well for my grip.

Look at Don's blems if you want to save a few dollars since the blems are coatings and not a real problem. That is what I bought when he was at the SWAT in Wichita Falls, TX a couple of years ago.

[cliff smith]

aniel, i have the scorpon and stnger set, they work well no large learning curve, very high quality. use the larger scorpion for larger vessels and the stinger on smaller stuff, gives better control. they are easy to sharpen, instructions very clear. i think you will like them and dons a great guy to do business with.

[Ryan Baker]

I have both of those sets too. The stinger set works very well for small vessels. They are 7/16" bars with small cutters. They won't be useful for depths of more than about 5" or so -- you will be too far over the tool rest and will get too much vibration. The scorpion set is good out to 12-13" or so of depth, as indicated. The arm brace handle is nice.

That said, you can build your own version of the scorpion/stinger (or related designs) by just buying the cutter bits and drilling a few holes in some steel rod from the hardware. That's a good route if money is tight. The thing about hollowing is that you are always needing another tool in a different size or shape (unless you always turn the same size/shape vessel). Hollow forms are a whole other vortex all themselves.