My New Hollowing System photos

[Dan Hintz]

Jeff,

Somewhat similar tack here... did my first bowl several months ago, the next thing I wanted to do was push the boundary a bit and do a natural edge. Now that the NE mountain has been scaled, I wanted me next to be a hollow form... saw this thread, tool looked good on price, so I pulled the trigger. I'm not a slow progression kinda guy, I want to go to the bleeding edge of my ability (but hopefully not be bleeding when I get there).

BTW, love the Rush lyric sig

[Jeff Folkert]

Glad you see someone else is a Rush fan out there. I did hear about the order and you got just under the wire and got one sweet deal. I will be anxious to hear your experience when you get it. I am taking some pics this afternoon of my stuff that did not get thrown in the fire....it will be interesting to see what everyone thinks.

I had the same experience with the bowls. They were fun but got bored fast and was never really satisfied with the finished product...although the friends and family appreciate them.

I hear you about the bleeding part. I have gained a lot of respect for lathes the hard way. I come from a metal working background so the respect was there but wood lathes are a whole different animal when you think about holding the tool by hand.

[Dan Hintz]

I was hoping to get the laser at the same time, but no such luck... "Interested in field-testing the laser" was added to my customer database notes If one doesn't appear soon, I may end up hacking one together myself, but I can practice without it. Since we replaced the woodburning stove with a pellet stove last year, I no longer have the option of hiding my mistakes, so I can't make any.

I take it from some of your comments you work in some capacity or another for Carter? If so, adding that to your sig would help others know any given advice is first-hand experience.

[Jeff Folkert]

I am the one of the engineers / test dummies at Carter. The laser will be avialable soon. I have one on mine and love it.

[John Hart]

I'm kinda late to this mechanized love fest....

First off...Welcome Jeff!!! Nice work. Hope you hang around and strut your stuff.

Nice tool too. Maybe I'll break my piggy bank. (and 5 minutes later my kids will steal it)

[Dan Hintz]

Latest Woodcraft catalog appeared in the mail today... guess what was on the cover?

[David DeCristoforo]

I give...what?

[John M. Smith]

Got to play with one this morning at Rob Campbells house. It was really nice. Easy. Smooth. Best finesse cuts I have ever taken. I used it on a bowl with a hunter carbide cutter. Clean enough cuts to start sanding at 120! I amputting this on my list to get soon. I have never used a hollowing system before, but this has me sold.

John

[Jeff Folkert]

John,

Ron has been using the tool for a while now and with the Hunter bit it can really take a lot of material out in a short time as well as give you a nice finish. I started doing bowls with the tool as well so I could see what I was doing to get used to the tool and then went to the hollow forms. It seems like "cheating" to do bowls with it, but as a beginner I loved the control it gave on the bowls as well as the hollow forms.

[Dan Hintz]

My new toy appeared yesterday This weekend Mike C. will be stopping by to help me with final assembly and moving of my cabinet workbench to get the Stinger off of the ground. This should free up the space needed to get the dust collector to the middle of the shop (right now it's next to the laser, which is a long haul and too many turns to get to the lathe), which means I can turn to my heart's content and not worry about dusting up the rest of the shop (including the laser!).

Now I need to hang on Jeff's back like a bad monkey until he finishes the outboard rest for me

[Dick Wilson]

Here is the youTube video for any that are interested in seeing it. As I have no experience with any but hand held hollowers at this point, for all of you that use different brands, how does this compare?
Video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX5M7z0DX04

The video has been removed by owner

[Dick Wilson]

Keith, Being that Carter is in Grand Rapids and our club is exploring new homes we are going to have our July meeting at Carter Products. I suspect (and hope) we will all have a chance to see their hollowing system first hand. I am looking forward to it. I have a Jamison knockoff that a friend made for me and it has served me very well and I really enjoy using it. The only draw back is I can't go much beyond 12". That of course is because of the limitation of the bar diameter.

[Jeff Folkert]

The video is back on youtube but the original link won't work as we had some audio trouble with the first video that was correct and the video re-posted. Just search under Carter Products or CPvideo in youtube and you find the video.

The GR club will get a chance to see the Hollow Roller first hand as Ron C. will be demonstrating it during the meeting. We have not done a lot of work 12" deep but maybe Dick can put it to the test.

I took my first class with Dick at Woodcraft on hollow forms and learned a lot from that class. Thanks Dick for taking us newbies under your wing and showing us what turning a hollow form is all about.

[Keith Burns]

Keith, Being that Carter is in Grand Rapids and our club is exploring new homes we are going to have our July meeting at Carter Products. I suspect (and hope) we will all have a chance to see their hollowing system first hand. I am looking forward to it. I have a Jamison knockoff that a friend made for me and it has served me very well and I really enjoy using it. The only draw back is I can't go much beyond 12". That of course is because of the limitation of the bar diameter.

Dick, I rough turned a Curly Ambrosia Maple HF about a week ago. 11" deep without any problems. Much smoother and easier than my Jamison Clone. Unlike Jeff I prefer the HSS cuter for hollowing. I clean up with the carbide. Because I am not an engineer, shoot I'm not even a crash test dummy, so I guess that makes me just a dummy, I can't explain all of the engineering dynamics behind this tool but at 11" it responded flawlessly with no effort. Another thing I have discovered which really impresses me is that my natural stance with this tool places me probably 18" away from the turning. With other hollowing methods I have used I find myself pretty darn close to the "line of fire".

[Brian McInturff]

Very Nice looking Hollowing system. The tool arrestor(or whatever it's called) reminds me of the Keith Clark system. That is a great system but like mentioned earlier it's really hefty. Basically built like a tank. I ended up selling mine because of the heft and went with the Monster. This one really looks more compact and light which is a huge plus. I'm not in the market right now for another hollowing system but when I decide to get another one this one probably will be at the top of the list.