• It's time to cast your vote in the April 2025 Turning Challenge. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Steve Bonny for "A Book Holds What Time Lets Go" being selected as Turning of the Week for 28 April, 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.

ring tool cutter

Breck Whitworth

Breck Whitworth

Joined
Nov 1, 2013
Messages
325
Likes
737
Location
Gulfport, MS
Website
www.woodtreasuresbybreck.com
I have used just about every tool made for wood turners at least once it seems,(that I know of) except for an end grain ring tool cutter. I'm curious. To those of you who have experience with them please enlighten me to their advantages. I know enough about them that they are primarily for end grain hollowing/turning but are they effective enough to warrant getting one? I haven't found anything I can't turn with a gouge yet, but if they have an advantage I want to know.
Another question can they be used for the under cutting of a bowl rim, like a hunter carbide cutter is? Being from that i'm sure rare group of wood turners I call a tool junkies I'm wondering if I should add one to my collection?
 
I bought one 6 months ago. Im honestly not sure where it is. I haven't found anything I couldn't hollow with my gouge, a scraper or my carbide tools. I think a part of it is that they're a pain to sharpen, the instructions for the one I have said to use a router table to sharpen. I don't have space to keep a router table set up. Im not sure if they're ok to use side grain or not.
 
I played with ring and hook tools and actually built my own to learn that skill. The hook tools are good for end grain hollowing of green wood or soft woods. Not as good for hard woods and some of them apparently break easily. They do require a different approach to bevel.rubbing with them. Also.sharpe ing them is a skill that needs to be learned.
The ring tool is used similar to the hook tool. It is a little easier to sharpen if you use a router or drill.press to hold the sharpening stone. They are also less prone to breaking. Some of them have a different sharpening angle on the other side. I didnt really find any advantage.to that. The smaller ring tools are.prone to.clogging with large cuts in green wood.
I now use Hunter Cupped Carbide tools for end grain hollowing. Used flat like a.scraper they remove.wood.very quickly. When you get close to the final.size i.change tools.and use it as a bevel rubbing or shear scraping for a truly fantastic finish. You never sharpen them, just rotate the cutter frequently to even out the edge wear. The.cutters last a long time before they get dull enough to replace. They cut the hardest woods with ease. So.for me they have replaced.the ring tool. Here is one of my videos on their usage. I have a bunch of videos because there are a lot of choices. Great tools.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfp2kvhH6Mo&t=432s
 
Last edited:
I got a ONEWAY Termite around 1994. Great tool for end grain hollowing.

sort of inter changeable with a hook tool or covered ring tool like the hamlet hollower.
The termite is better for me on dry hardwood for boxes - also cut a tight finished corner about the radius of the tool maybe a little less.

I’ve used it a lot - hollowing boxes, goblets, vases, or other endgrain hollowing.
It’s advantages ( along with a hook tool) are being able to:
1 cut from bottom to the rim on the inside.
2 start the cut bottom center not requiring a pilot hole - but I usually make one the set the depth.

easy to sharpen - I put the stone in a cheapie harbor freight air die grinder.

if you do a lot of end grain hollowing it’s a great tool
Some forms I can to finish using the Raffin back hollow with a spindle gouge then clean up with the #4 hunter. However a flat bottom boxes are a lot easier with the termite.
 
Last edited:
I have not used a ring tool but have made and bought a few hook tools. The Martel hook tool was the most fun but I broke it by barely hitting it on the tool rest, Tink... there went the tip... and 60 bucks...
I was using the hooks to make small (6, 7 inch dia.) lamp shades out of green wood. So that is where my experience comes from. Here is a pic showing some orientation. For this shape, cutting from bottom to top is cutting with the grain. Gauge "A" could do this but the handle would have to go thru the side of the shade. Hook "B" shows a finishing cut, and if it had a handle shows how the handle would not hit the rim. And also, how a hook tool looks (sort of) like the end of a gauge except the shaft has been moved 90 degrees. Hook "C" shows a roughing cut. When roughing, shavings just fly out. Gauge "D", if you dropped the handle, would be a shear scrape. Again, this is me making lamp shades, boxes would probably be different.
Hook tool.JPG
 
Breck Whitworth said:
I have used just about every tool made for wood turners at least once it seems,(that I know of) except for an end grain ring tool cutter. I'm curious. To those of you who have experience with them please enlighten me to their advantages. I know enough about them that they are primarily for end grain hollowing/turning but are they effective enough to warrant getting one? I haven't found anything I can't turn with a gouge yet, but if they have an advantage I want to know.
Another question can they be used for the under cutting of a bowl rim, like a hunter carbide cutter is? Being from that i'm sure rare group of wood turners I call a tool junkies I'm wondering if I should add one to my collection?
Click to expand...
I have the Termite tool, and love it. Its great for hollowing the inside of goblets.
I brought it to a demo my club was doing and it disappeared. I like it enough that I bought a new one.
I also use it to hollow end grain boxes. And Oneway has a nice set up to sharpen the cutter, using a router and a jig they include with the tool.
I'm more of a spindle turner than a bowl turner, so the Termite is a good fit for what I like to do.
 
In creating open hollow forms of various shapes, I have used ring tools and hook tools to a varying degree of success. I own the termite, Andre Martels three sizes, large German Weidermann hook tools a straight hook and an articulated hook which appears more Beefier than Martels. I have also used the Houslak. And Kelton hooks.
My key goal is roughing and being able to produce a skew like finish. Both are achieved by presenting the tool at the most efficient tool cutting angle (METCA). The METCA will change based on the size, depth and shape of the form you are trying to hollow. The tool needs to be able to be rotated or adjusted as you cut in order to achieve the sweet spot or the METCA. Some of the tools are limited because their presentation cannot make all the cuts needed due to their bevel angle and shape. The Martel hook tools were designed to maximize the range needed to achieve METCA. One must realize that each size Martel hook tool was designed to work best based on width of the piece that you are hollowing. I know that the ring tools work great but their hollowing range is limited to a specific depth and width of cut.
A well designed hook tool expands your end gain project range. So, if I were just starting out I would not have bought the ring tool.
 
Alan Lacer makes his own hook tools....impressive demonstrator....
oblong undercut oak bowl.....8 inches wide?
 
I have 3 hook tools and thought they would be fantastic for the boxes I like to make. Shaping and sharpening are challenging. I tried a termite ring tool just once.

John L. really summarizes my experience well. Once I tried and got the hang of a Hunter tool, I have rarely gotten the hooks out. The Hunter is much more effective at box bottoms and hollowing tasks, and easy to manage.
 
I have had the Termite since the mid 1990s and have bought several replacement tips and I do prefer the largest diameter ring. The sharpening jig does not require a router table, what I use is a Porter cable router which has a stable end opposite the base such that you can place it on a flat bench surface, adjust the base so he conestone just barely extends into the ring and then move it around the stone. The ring tool is more like a gouge with the handle in a different position verses the cutting edge. I use the ring tool for end grain hollowing in any soft or hard wood either green or dry. The chief advantage of the ring tool is that you can cut from the center to the outside which gives a down hill or shearing cut. The simple but slow method to start the hollowing is to drill to depth or my prefered method is back cutting where you drill a starting hole with a detail gouge and then enlarge the opening by back cutting. The problem with most people I have seen that hate the ring tool is the way they present the cutting edge, which is to have the ring held horizontal to the tool rest = instant catch. The best way I can think of to learn the proper approach would be to hold the ring perpendicular to the bed then bring it to the side of the starting hole and rotate clockwise a few degrees until it begins to cut (that is cut not scrape). Perhaps someone else who has mastered it could explain it better!
 
Don Wattenhofer said:
I have had the Termite since the mid 1990s and have bought several replacement tips and I do prefer the largest diameter ring. The sharpening jig does not require a router table, what I use is a Porter cable router which has a stable end opposite the base such that you can place it on a flat bench surface, adjust the base so he conestone just barely extends into the ring and then move it around the stone. The ring tool is more like a gouge with the handle in a different position verses the cutting edge. I use the ring tool for end grain hollowing in any soft or hard wood either green or dry. The chief advantage of the ring tool is that you can cut from the center to the outside which gives a down hill or shearing cut. The simple but slow method to start the hollowing is to drill to depth or my prefered method is back cutting where you drill a starting hole with a detail gouge and then enlarge the opening by back cutting. The problem with most people I have seen that hate the ring tool is the way they present the cutting edge, which is to have the ring held horizontal to the tool rest = instant catch. The best way I can think of to learn the proper approach would be to hold the ring perpendicular to the bed then bring it to the side of the starting hole and rotate clockwise a few degrees until it begins to cut (that is cut not scrape). Perhaps someone else who has mastered it could explain it better!
Click to expand...
That's a good point about the presentation of the tool edge. I'm not sure at what angle I cut, but its definitely not horizontal. More like 45 deg. or so.
 
I have made a few hook tools and they work well, but there is a learning curve. The ring tool is similar in use. I have one, but haven't used it in years. I'm sure that it is a good tool, but there are better tools out there.
 
It took me a little while to learn the proper use of a ring tool. Without a teacher, I watched videos from Ulf Jannson in Sweden. He is a true master.

To repeat what Ulf says: think of a ring tool as a skew turned 90 degrees. That's effectively what it is for the area on the tool you cut with. The angle is much more acute, and can be razor sharp. Ulf is not exaggerating when he says he usually starts sanding at 600 grit. Here's a quick video on the outside of the bowl that demonstrates what he's talking about. Sorry I can't embed this videos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1w61rcBVIq/

Ulf is a regular demonstrator in Europe and Japan. I would love to see the AAW bring him to North America.

In addition to just being fun, I use a ring tool for spalted, curly, soft, or otherwise difficult wood, because nothing (I have ever tried at least) cuts as cleanly as a ring tool. The main caution is to go slow and keep the tool almost closed, ie. barely past the 9 o'clock position inside of a bowl. Rubbing/gliding the bevel takes some getting used to, compared to a bowl gouge.
 
I use a shielded ring or hook tool for nearly all the hollowing I do its from Woodcut in New Zealand The Proforme I have two one with a straight shank and bent for going under the rim or lip. Plus sundry ring cup type tools, maily Rolly Munro with a 6mm or 1/4" cutter and an English one, the name at the moment escapes me and several DIY ones. I rarely hollow these days with a gouge unless its an open bowl type form.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top