Tool rests for bowls with a hollow shape

[John Hicks]

I have all the robust rests that we use in our disabled veterans group all the time. They are well made; I however have not found one for bowls with a hollow form to them. The curve never matches the curve inside a hollow formed bowl (sides in a bowed out form). I suppose there is something out there that I am missing? The lathe we use is a Harvey t60-s with a 24" swing which needs a 9 inch post.
This is an example of the shape....

 

[egsiegel]

I never use a curved tool rest...jus can't get used to them.
I use a straight rest and put the end inside a bowl like that

 

[hockenbery]

You might consider using a captured or articulated hollowing system for those students not able to hollow that bowl with a straight tool rest across the mouth.

I use the Robust J rest for the inside of bowls. It’s short left side gives lots of working room.
I use a bowl gouge and work a good bit over the tool rest on some bowls. This requires light cuts and the bevel floating over the cut surface.

jimmy Clewes taught a footless bowl in a couple of workshops I helped him with..
The bowl is 8” diameter spherical shape with the top 1/4 or 1/3 cut off for the opening.
One point of this project is to show the students the changes in bevel angle needed to turn the inside surface.
30-40 degrees bevel at the rim, 50-60 degrees bevel for the equatorial region and 80 degree bevel for the bottom.
All,of these cuts are done with the tool rest across the rim.

 

[RichColvin]

I agree with Hockenbery. I’d also use a hollowing system.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I'd use a J rest in a bowl that shape. in times gone by I'd have used a straight one like egsiege. Mostly you need a good long bowl gouge with a long handle so you can cut several inches off the toolrest. (and you might needs a couple ground at different angles for the sides vs the bottom) This isn't the situation for using a gouge that's been ground down to its last few inches.

Matching the bowl shape to the toolrest shape is way too much of a constraint on design.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

First, @John Hicks , that's a nice bowl. I agree with others. I'd use a straight or "J" rest with the end positioned into the opening. Trying to match the curve of the rest and the curve of the bowl would really limit me.

If you go with an articulated hollowing jig and scrapers, then I'd suggest the flat Robust box rest (with the pin removed).

 

[John Hicks]

Thank you all for your help! I do have a bosch stabilizer, but only have the 5/8 set of carbide cutters for now.

 

[Randy Anderson]

Maybe me but I was surprised at how "comfortable" you can get with something as simple and basic as a tool rest. I have one long one that I think is the stock rest that comes with my Jet 1642 that I use all the time and have learned to maneuver it and work with it. I have a couple of other tool rests, one shorter and one curved. Every time I try to use them I seem to struggle to keep my cuts going right. Maybe the angle or shape of the rest top edge, angle relative to the post, the curve throws me off for how to move my tool, etc. I almost never swap out my big basic long one for one of the other two.

 

[Joe Kaufman]

Maybe me but I was surprised at how "comfortable" you can get with something as simple and basic as a tool rest. I have one long one that I think is the stock rest that comes with my Jet 1642 that I use all the time and have learned to maneuver it and work with it.

I have found the same with the PM3520 factory tool rest, maybe because I used it for three years before trying others. The hardened rod on others is definitely easier to maintain than the cast iron surface of the PM. I do find the curved outside bowl rest useful, however I find that I will continue with the straight rest instead of stopping to change. After trying several others, a couple fell in the category of "that was a solution in search of a problem".

 

[R Henrickson]

Maybe me but I was surprised at how "comfortable" you can get with something as simple and basic as a tool rest. I have one long one that I think is the stock rest that comes with my Jet 1642 that I use all the time and have learned to maneuver it and work with it. I have a couple of other tool rests, one shorter and one curved. Every time I try to use them I seem to struggle to keep my cuts going right. Maybe the angle or shape of the rest top edge, angle relative to the post, the curve throws me off for how to move my tool, etc. I almost never swap out my big basic long one for one of the other two.

I got by well enough for a number of years, or so it seemed, with the tool rest (12"? 14"?) which came with my 1642. Sometimes using the stock tool rest got awkward. Then a friend bought a bundle of used lathe equipment which included a 9" rest he didn't need. I thought I was doing fine, but the price was right so I bought it from him. It was a revelation -- having a rest with dimensions more in accord with what I was turning made life much easier. A lot of what I do now involves spindles as small as 1" diameter and 3" length. A stock rest would be extremely awkward for something that size. I now use tool rests roughly equal in length to what I'm turning (6", 9" 12"). I get much better access and thus greater ease of cutting.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Hollowing system does work but for me most of that style I turn is only a 6-8 inch bowl and rest does not fit inside well. I usually use a swan neck Hunter, and there are other swan neck tools out there. Clean up with a scraper if needed on either Sorby or Don Pencil system. I do have the Robust J but mainly for bowls.

 

[George Kuipers]

Check out the oneway curved rest with extra long post.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Not sure if I would call that a hollow shape. I have made thousands of Calabashes, looks very similar to what you have. I would use a Robo rest, my first choice, made by @robo hippy or any other curved tool rest. That is not s shape easy to pull off for a beginner, a more open form is easier, to turn and to sand.

 

[hockenbery]

Not sure if I would call that a hollow shape. I

I agree - for you and me and most turners.

This thread has drifted from the original post was about helping disabled veterans turn that shape.

I have limited experience with disabled students but each had different mobility limitations.
The same is true for children and the elderly. I use a tight fit to turn box tops. Kids and elderly often lack the hand strength to get a tight fit box top off the box after turning it.

the challenge is to find tools and techniques that each student can use effectively.
If a person with limited range of motion cannot hollow a bowl shape with a gouge, they might be able to hollow it with a captive hollowing system or a carbide tool.

I know 3 turners fairly well who turn from chairs.
Two use gouges well but differently. One locks the wheels and rotates his upper body against the fixed chair position. When we might shift our feet he repositions his chair. The other has limited use of his legs and turns with his feet in the floor and rotates the chair much like I would shift my weight from one foot to the other. The third uses carbide tools he lacks the range of motion to turn a gouge. Does most all of his turning pushing the carbide tools straight in and can turn his upper body just a tiny bit.
All three of these guys have earned prizes for their work.

 

[Lars Hansen]

A friend of mine has the ability to stand but limited ability to move sideways or move the upper body, shifting the weight from one foot to the other. His left arm can move up to a bit above horizontal, the right not quite to horizontal.
Carbide tools work for him and lately he has been able to improve finish a lot by starting to work with Hunter tools. Not to the level of prizes yet, but he's working on it.

 

[hockenbery]

I should add that my freind who uses the carbides uses a bunch of different tools.