I am looking into purchasing Trent Bosch's 1/2" hollowing set. I have his larger hollowing tools with the HSS tips and like them fine but am considering the carbide cutter tip instead on the smaller hollowing tools. Does anybody have any experience with his tools with the carbide cutters? I have other hollowing tools with carbide cutters, but they are all set at an angle to make them less aggressive. It looks like Bosch's aren't set at an angle. I will do most of my hollowing by hand rather than with the stabilizer.
-
May 2025 Turning Challenge: Long Neck Hollowform! (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Phil Hamel winner of the April 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Paul Hedman and Donna Banfield for "Fire and Ice" being selected as Turning of the Week for 5 May, 2025 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
Bosch hollowing tools. HSS vs Carbide?
- Thread starter Eric Gourieux
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
- Messages
- 9,173
- Likes
- 5,793
- Location
- Lakeland, Florida
- Website
- www.hockenberywoodturning.com
I have the 3/4” Bosch bars and use them for most of my hollowing.
I have both the Carbide and the HSS tips. (Trent is a good friend)
Which is best for you comes down to your turning style and how comfortable you are and with sharpening.
I much prefer the HSS. I do most of my hollowing through the facegrain. I sharpen the leading edge of the HSS on the bent tool so that it can take a 1/2” wide shaving. The carbides it is hard to get a shaving wider than 1/2 the diameter of the cutter.
My Bosch tips are glued in with CA. I set mine flat. You could put them at a angle but then can only cut toward the down side of the cutter.
I have both the Carbide and the HSS tips. (Trent is a good friend)
Which is best for you comes down to your turning style and how comfortable you are and with sharpening.
I much prefer the HSS. I do most of my hollowing through the facegrain. I sharpen the leading edge of the HSS on the bent tool so that it can take a 1/2” wide shaving. The carbides it is hard to get a shaving wider than 1/2 the diameter of the cutter.
My Bosch tips are glued in with CA. I set mine flat. You could put them at a angle but then can only cut toward the down side of the cutter.
I have both hss and carbide (hunter #1), but not Trent’s tools. I use Lyle Jamieson’s captive rig. For 95% of hollowing with the rig I use hss, as it cuts faster and in any direction vs the angled carbide. I use the slower cutting carbide to smooth the tool marks.
For hand held, I make my own tools, and use a 8.9 mm carbide flat top cutter (smallest I could find), because it is not as aggressive as hss or a cupped carbide cutter. IMO and experience with hand held a less aggressive cutter is easier to use and less likely to catch. I suspect a cupped cutter set flat will be grabby - the inner bevel will cause the cutter to self feed (pull itself into the wood. Others may be able to offer direct experience with Trent’s carbide tools.
This doesn’t answer your question directly but may give you some food for thought.
For hand held, I make my own tools, and use a 8.9 mm carbide flat top cutter (smallest I could find), because it is not as aggressive as hss or a cupped carbide cutter. IMO and experience with hand held a less aggressive cutter is easier to use and less likely to catch. I suspect a cupped cutter set flat will be grabby - the inner bevel will cause the cutter to self feed (pull itself into the wood. Others may be able to offer direct experience with Trent’s carbide tools.
This doesn’t answer your question directly but may give you some food for thought.
I like the carbide for harder woods, the hss for softer or somewhat punky woods. I have the 3/4, and 5/8 sets.
I have Trent's 3/4 in HHS and 5/8 in carbide. I have since made a couple of 5/8 in HHS. I also have a couple of John Jordan's 1/2 in HHS. I have turned softer woods and prefer HHS. I have not hollowed dry Eucalyptus, that could change my preference.
I have most of Trent's tools, the 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" and started with them about 3 years ago. His tools are great and if you have any questions what so ever, he is glad to personally help you out. As John Hicks commented, I use the Hunter carbide cutter for most hardwoods in fact most of my hollowing, however I do use the HSS for some woods as the carbide cutter can be a bit grabby on some woods. But even in those occasions, I slightly tilt the cutter down and it does fine in most situations. The carbide cutter stays sharp for a very long time and then you just rotate it 90 degrees and you are ready to go again. I am only on my second cutter in three years and I have done 200-300 pieces at least...
My recommendation is to contact Trent, tell him what kind of wood you normally or want to turn with this new set and he will provide an excellent recommendation. Best of luck!
My recommendation is to contact Trent, tell him what kind of wood you normally or want to turn with this new set and he will provide an excellent recommendation. Best of luck!
I believe that Trent's carbide cutters are Hunter Tool cutters. As for angling, you can angle the cutters on the rest. I have Trent's Stabilizer and just about always angle my HSS cutters rather than use them straight on. However, I would guess that, with the carbide versions, using them straight for hollowing would be the designed way to use them. Just ask Trent. He will be honest and helpful. I think you will likely get smoother hollowing cuts with the carbide than the HSS.
I have been using Lyle Jamieson's boring bar with both carbide and hss cutters as well as a Hunter Baron (Talon) carbide tool. The steel bit is more aggressive especially in dry hard wood. In some cases, especially from 9 to 12 o'clock as seen from above in a shallow, wide flying saucer shape the end of the bar holding the carbide cutter can interfere with the cutter engaging and I have to go with the hss. The Talon tool is excellent for the area just inside the neck from 6 to 7 o'clock. I use a steel teardrop scraper with a negative rake to clean up the roughing cuts. Overall I prefer the tilted 6mm carbide cup cutters for control and the long-lasting edge.