Kelton hollowing tools

[chuck van dyck]

Hey all

I have been eye balling these Kelton hollowers for awhile and am finally ready to pull the trigger. I'm just a little confused on what size to go for.

I typically work on a JET 1221vs but also have a Laguna Revo if it matters. I would use it to clean the inside walls of vases after using a 1" forstner to remove the waste. Right now I just use the toe of a skew following the forstner hollowing, but I feel the Kelton "gentle curve" would be good for this. 1/2", aka small size seems like it would be the ticket, but wanted to check in here with those who might have experience with these tools. I also like a slight under cut on my bowls, and I'm pretty sure this would work there as well. A big bowl for me is around 10".

FYI, the glass insert I use in my vases is 15/16" x 5".

Thanks for any input you may have.

PS, what is the straight cutter used for in hollowing? Boring?

[Russell Nugent]

Generally the straight bar does the majority of hollowing. The curved bar is usually for getting out around the shoulders of a hollow form where you can't reach with a straight bar, all depending on the size of the mouth opening of course. For your purpose, I would think the straight bar would be all you need. If just using it to smooth out the walls of a straight bored hole I would just use a negative rake scraper.