First set of hollowing tools

[Robert Feingold]

I'm shopping for my first set of hollowing tools.
It seems that the ones with circular carbide inserts have a major advantage-no sharpening required, longer tool life. Are there any advantages to the other types? Will they be aggressive at wood removal or are they mostly for finishing?
I'm looking to do fairly small work-3" to 6" d. Is that too large for the smaller sets?
Any help or advice will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Robert Feingold

 

[Thomas Stegall]

Non-captured tools give greater feedback from the wood in terms of their feel and sound to let you know if you are making a good cut or when the wood is reaching a certain thinness. But they are probably somewhat more prone to catches than captured systems. Carbide tools don't need to be sharpened, but rather replaced alltogether. So their life is actually shorter that that of HSS. Some carbide tips can only scrape because of their design. The Hunter tool however can do either because the surface is dished out so the edge is raised providing a cutting edge, but it can be turned on its side to a 45 degree angle and do very fine shear scraping/cuts.

For the small size you are talking about I would consider Don Derry's Lighting Hollower System, and his Ornament Hollowing tool for small openings. They are really well machined, simple, easy to use designs that are well equiped for the size range you are planning to work in. Good luck.

 

[hockenbery]

I do most of my hollow forms with a jamieson handle and Trent Bosch bars.
One exception is Christmas ornament balls 2.5 to 4 inch diameter. These I always turn with a home made tool that has a 3/16 HSS cutter bit set at 45 degrees. I learned to turn them this way and there isn't anything I've tried I like better for small pieces.

Regarding carbide. There are two down sides for me: Cost and depth of cut. High speed steel cutters for hollowing tools run at most a few dollars. The carbides are in the neighborhood of $30.
The biggest issue of me is depth of cut. I do mostly face grain hollow forms and I get 1/4 to 3/8 inch shaving when opening up the inside with the high speed steel cutters sharpened down the leading side a bit. I have a set of tools with hunter tips. They work fine but are pretty much limited to 1/8 inch shaving so hollowing takes a lot longer.
I finish the inside with a teardrop scraper.

I'll second the Derry tool it has a short learning curve. My wife has one and it is a nice tool. It has an outrigger to keep the tool on line and remove the torque so you need a 10 or so wide tool rest.

Starting with small forms is a good idea. They go more quickly and if you bust out you won't have that much time invested. Also the smaller forms are usually thinner which makes you get better faster.


Have fun,
al