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What hollower and under cut tool

alisboy

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Hi all

This is a little continuation of what your getting for christmas, Er indoors has asked me what i would like (not always get). I would like to move onto making things like tea light holders etc to some larger bowls etc. So here is the question and it will most likely have a lot of answers, but here goes.

What hollower/tool would you recomend to use for bowls and undercutting?

Regards
Ernie

P.S. I am going to looking for a larger lathe in the next few weeks somthing like a CL4 or CL3?
 

Grump

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Now there's a question.
All of them depending on the width / depth of what you want to achieve.
I do some deep boring in flower vases for a restaurant about 14" long X3" diameter, for this I now just use a forstener bit on an extended bar through the tailstock.
They put a glass or plastic tube inside and fill it with water and flowers. The important part is the outside on these.
It also depends on your budget, you could make your own as I have with a steel bar and a ground down drill bit, or your could buy the Sorby or Roly Monroe hollowing tools.
If you wanna do small hollow forms or lidded boxes anything that gets the wood out will do.
Look at George Watkins site for inspiration and see his homemade tools.
Not my kind of thing but each to their own init?
Woody will give the best advise for the bigger stuff.
 

Walter

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I don't do a lot of hollowing so I never thought it was worth paying for one of the expensive hollowing systems and I just used a combination of spindle gouges and home made tools like the ones George Watkins makes.

That was until I tested this Crown Mini revolution tool for Woodturning magazine and I liked it so much I bought myself one at the Harrogate show yesterday.

Crown Mini Revolution Hollowing Tool - The Woodworkers Institute
 

Jim

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Ernie, thanks for posting this up as it is something that i am also very interested in .. So i will be watching this thread very close ...:thumbs:


I don't do a lot of hollowing so I never thought it was worth paying for one of the expensive hollowing systems and I just used a combination of spindle gouges and home made tools like the ones George Watkins makes.

That was until I tested this Crown Mini revolution tool for Woodturning magazine and I liked it so much I bought myself one at the Harrogate show yesterday.

Crown Mini Revolution Hollowing Tool - The Woodworkers Institute

Walter, how ironic that i have just had this little tool in my hands only a few hours ago. But i also had the Revolution Hollowing Systems in my hand too which the war office wanted to buy me, but i held back until i did some research. So it was pleasing to see this thread started on my return ... What i noticed about the Revolution Hollowing Systems was all the accessories that was available for it and what would be my final lay-out should i invest in this tool ... :thinks:
 

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Doug

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I`ve recently been using the Simon Hope hollowing tools,
Carbide tools

They are very easy to use & no faffing around setting up the cutter & shield to get the correct cut, which was one thing that drove me mad with the Little brother from Hamlet.
 

Grump

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Here is the one I have made, it is simply a steel bar mounted in a wooden handle with a hole drilled in the end to take a broken drill bit which has been ground to a Tri-point, a grub screw hold the bit in.
I have another somewhere drilled at 45 degrees across the bar, simples init?
I have some square steel bar which I have made one up with a stirrup blade but not actually used it yet, just don't get the time to play.
Sorry about the pic battery was on last legs, switch on, snap before it shut down.

P1070827 - Copy (Custom).JPG
 

Jim

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Thanks for the Videos Walter .. He made that look very easy, or was it the tool ... :ciggrin:
 

Woody

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It really dose depend on what size bowl, vase or form you want to do a simple bowl of whatever size a long or short ordinary bowl gouge even with a shallow undercut you may find an ordinary scrapper with a bit of side grind a great help before all these wonderful deep hollowing tools come out we just had large scrappers and ring tools so you dont need to spend a fortune
But if you want to spend then there are some excellent deep hollowing tools on the market but most of then do need to be mastered the type Walter mentioned very good are but if you want to go large and deep then I would go for the larger type tools I have used the Rolly Munro, sorby Sovereign Ultima System 22" or the hamlet big brother and they are all great at removing wood very fast my preference is the order which I have listed them with the sorby and munro being very close but the munro is another £100 also the carbide tip tools that Doug mentioned are extremely good easy to sharpen and easy to make your own I think you will need to consider what it is exactly you want to make then consider the tool for that and consider will you be happy to stay at that like small bowls say 8" x 3" not an easy one take your time dont just get the first tool you see take your time and then deride I have seen to many turners dive in feet first t hen realise they have purchased the wrong tool when it is to late
 

Walter

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take your time dont just get the first tool you see take your time and then deride I have seen to many turners dive in feet first t hen realise they have purchased the wrong tool when it is to late

Wise words Woody. :thumbs:

I have tried many of the ones you mention but it still took me ten years to decide on the Crown Revolution and then I only chose that because they brought out the smaller, cheaper version which does all I want because I only do small end grain work and am unlikely to ever get into deep hollow forms.
 

Grump

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Thanks for the vids Walter. How refreshing to hear a good English dialect instead of the usual hillbilly crap we are subject too init?
One can't help but to be impressed with that I fancy, I might have to trot up to Woody's and snatch a go on his Rolly or Sorby or whatever he is using.
You might see some arty farty stuff from me yet, getting soft in me old age init?
 

Jim

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I only chose that because they brought out the smaller, cheaper version which does all I want because I only do small end grain work and am unlikely to ever get into deep hollow forms.

The Crown Revolution Hollowing System maybe (Is) a very good tool but it seems never ending spending due to all the add ons or accessories that comes with it (At a cost) .. :thinks:

How they say it ...

Crown Hand Tools said:
The Revolution can be configured in many different ways, allowing the woodturner the flexibility to configure the tool for almost any hollowing situation.
 

Jim

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It really dose depend on what size bowl, vase or form you want to do a simple bowl of whatever size a long or short ordinary bowl gouge even with a shallow undercut you may find an ordinary scrapper with a bit of side grind a great help before all these wonderful deep hollowing tools come out we just had large scrappers and ring tools so you dont need to spend a fortune
But if you want to spend then there are some excellent deep hollowing tools on the market but most of then do need to be mastered the type Walter mentioned very good are but if you want to go large and deep then I would go for the larger type tools I have used the Rolly Munro, sorby Sovereign Ultima System 22" or the hamlet big brother and they are all great at removing wood very fast my preference is the order which I have listed them with the sorby and munro being very close but the munro is another £100 also the carbide tip tools that Doug mentioned are extremely good easy to sharpen and easy to make your own I think you will need to consider what it is exactly you want to make then consider the tool for that and consider will you be happy to stay at that like small bowls say 8" x 3" not an easy one take your time dont just get the first tool you see take your time and then deride I have seen to many turners dive in feet first t hen realise they have purchased the wrong tool when it is to late

Well said Woody, it is easy for us to forget this, and think of the tool rather than what we are going to use it for .. :thinks:
 

Woody

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Thanks for the vids Walter. How refreshing to hear a good English dialect instead of the usual hillbilly crap we are subject too init?
One can't help but to be impressed with that I fancy, I might have to trot up to Woody's and snatch a go on his Rolly or Sorby or whatever he is using.
You might see some arty farty stuff from me yet, getting soft in me old age init?

I have the sorby Brian you know your always welcome to have a go on it mate
 

alisboy

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Hi All

Thanks to everybody that replied to my question i do like where Grump pointed me to George watkins site and also Walters, Crown mini tool I will have to think about what i am expecting to make as to which i choose. I am not kitted out or have the conferdence to make my own tools just yet.

again thanks for your help

Ernie
 
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