You can make a lot of hollowing tools yourself if you have metal
skills, I don't so I buy. You can reach that depth easily with a 1/2
inch tool shaft.

Mac, I have had the Eliminator for over a year and love it. It is an
excellent tool for end grain cutting. I have been doing more boxes
after taking a 3 day work shop with Bonnie Klein last fall. I had to
get a mini lathe to go with her threading jig. The Vortex strikes
again. However, I am a professional, so that makes it okay. The only
thing that I don't like about the Eliminator is that you use the discs
and then toss them. They aren't made to be resharpened. I like the way
the Super Cut cutter comes off and you put it on a mandril to sharpen
it. I would think that you could do this with the carbide discs, but
most people aren't set up to sharpen carbide though the diamond hones
would work. Back to the Eliminator, I don't think of it as a roughing
tool, more of a finish cut tool. I love the flats cut on the bottom of
the tool to keep it in a shear mode (45 degrees) which is the same
angle I kept the Super Cut set to. I think of the Kelton tools as
being a roughing tool. All of the Eliminators also are straight
shafted, and taper at the ends. You can do simple hollow forms with
them, but can't do the shoulders that you can with the goose neck
tools can. I have heard that they are making a goose neck one. You may
also want to check out the Monster System. Really excellent for
hollowing. It really is MUCH easier to use as long as you aren't going
too deep. I don't like their cutters too much as they are rather bulky
compared to the McNaughton ones. The longer, 3/4 inch ones are too
long of a lever to work well with that tool, but the smaller 1/2 inch
ones do fine. Same with the Eliminators.

robo hippy

On Jan 7, 1:46*pm, Gerald Ross wrote:
Woody wrote:
I'm attempting my first hollow vessel. I've completed the outside to my
satisfaction and am in the process of hollowing it out. I drilled out
the center and used a bowl gouge to get the initial hollowing complete.

I'm now trying to hollow the sides out with a smaller Sorby swan neck
tool, but am getting what seems to be excessive chatter. I'm keeping the
straight part of the tool on the toolrest.

I'm convinced the tool is sharp enough and I'm hollowing from the bottom
of the vessel to the side and from the top to the side (all downhill) so
I don't believe the chatter is from going in the wrong direction. My
impression is that with light passes, the chatter goes away, but it will
take me *forever* to get the bulk of the walls thinned.

What is/are your preferred tool(s) for hollowing vessels and, in
particular, for the "bulk hollowing" after you've set the vessel depth
and done any initial bowl gouge work.

~Mark.

* I bought some curved 1/4" tool steel cutters (I believe from
Packard). Drilled a hole in the end of a 3/4" steel bar (from Lowe's)
to accept the cutter and placed a couple of setscrews in the side to
hold it. I slipped the other end of the steel bar into a piece of
galvanized pipe, again held with set screws with a "T" on the pipe for
a hand hold to prevent twisting. Altogether cost about 15-20 dollars
and works for me. As you can see, I'm on a budget.

Darrel Feltmate has a similar tool on his web site,
aroundthewoods.com, except his is swan necked and uses a straight tool
and his handle has two elbows instead of a "T".

If this is too confusing from the description I can send you a couple
of pictures if you leave your email address.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

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