I am woodturner of just a few years experience. I have recently received a
80degree hollowing tool as a gift. Its made of 6mm square HSS with a 80
degree bend in the bar. I presume the idea is to allow you to reach in and
cut the inside rim of hollow vessels. I have tried a few times to use it but
seem to always have a dig-in.
There is obviously a trick to taming this little fella.
Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Maurie

Hello Maurie,

An 80 degree bend is a pretty severe offset and is very difficult to hold by the
most experienced hollow form makers. You need to add a counter torque device to
make the tool workable. If the tool is long enough, I would use a Cresecent
Wrench on the shaft to provide a degree of stabilization. A pair of vice grips
would also work, but they would mar your tool. Further, you could build a
stabilizing bar like are used on some tool with a rod that rides on your tool
rest to stabilize or counter the torque of the tool.

Good Luck,

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

In article , MaurieTaylor
says...

I am woodturner of just a few years experience. I have recently received a
80degree hollowing tool as a gift. Its made of 6mm square HSS with a 80
degree bend in the bar. I presume the idea is to allow you to reach in and
cut the inside rim of hollow vessels. I have tried a few times to use it but
seem to always have a dig-in.
There is obviously a trick to taming this little fella.
Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Maurie

Hi Maurie, in addition to Fred's good advice, make sure that no part of
the bend in the bar is on the tool rest. Arch

Fortiter,


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

A) If made correctly the cutting point of the tool should be directly in
line with the main shaft and the straight part of that shaft needs to
ride on the tool rest, not part of the hook.

B) Keep the cutting edge just a little ABOVE center, maybe in the 9:30
to 10:00 position and the toolrest should also be at or just above
center. If you use a scraper on the outside you probably know how to
present it to the wood. The same rules apply on the inside of a form but
we all invariably misapply them at first. Try thinking in terms of the
scraper being lifted up into an overhang. On the inside that puts you
above center and on the outside below center.

Good luck.
David

MaurieTaylor wrote:

I am woodturner of just a few years experience. I have recently received a
80degree hollowing tool as a gift. Its made of 6mm square HSS with a 80
degree bend in the bar. I presume the idea is to allow you to reach in and
cut the inside rim of hollow vessels. I have tried a few times to use it but
seem to always have a dig-in.
There is obviously a trick to taming this little fella.
Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Maurie

By Maurie's description, this tool is like a Packard mini hollowing
tool with a 1/4" thick square bar. I suspect that the offset portion
is about 1" long. Assuming this is the case, I LOVE this tool and use
it on almost every hollow form I make - small or large. I use it on
large vessels to get right under the rim near the mouth.

First of all, a torque-arresting feature is not practical on this
tool. The shaft is too short. For my turning, I find that a firm
grip is all that is required. The suggestion to keep back of the bent
section applies to swan neck tools. That is not the case here.

When using any scraper inside a vessel or a bowl, the most important
thing is to cut at or just above the center line. If the tool starts
to dig in, it will go into clear space as the tool tip drops down. If
you are cutting below the center line, the inside radius is getting
smaller so a dig-in is accentuated as the tool tip drops down.

For most of my hollowing, I find that I like the tool to be slanted
down hill very slightly (3 to 5 degree). This means that, in order to
keep the cutting tip above the center line, the tool rest must raised
up.

Finally, as in any hollowing activity, you need to clear the chips
often. When the chips build up in the cavity, they start to grab the
tool tip. For small vessels, I use a small plastic tube or a drinking
straw to blow out the chips - DON"T INHALE!

Joe Fleming - San diego
=================================================





David Wade wrote in message ...
A) If made correctly the cutting point of the tool should be directly in
line with the main shaft and the straight part of that shaft needs to
ride on the tool rest, not part of the hook.

B) Keep the cutting edge just a little ABOVE center, maybe in the 9:30
to 10:00 position and the toolrest should also be at or just above
center. If you use a scraper on the outside you probably know how to
present it to the wood. The same rules apply on the inside of a form but
we all invariably misapply them at first. Try thinking in terms of the
scraper being lifted up into an overhang. On the inside that puts you
above center and on the outside below center.

Good luck.
David

MaurieTaylor wrote:

I am woodturner of just a few years experience. I have recently received a
80degree hollowing tool as a gift. Its made of 6mm square HSS with a 80
degree bend in the bar. I presume the idea is to allow you to reach in and
cut the inside rim of hollow vessels. I have tried a few times to use it but
seem to always have a dig-in.
There is obviously a trick to taming this little fella.
Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Maurie