Notes On Use of Hollow-Pro™ Tools

STRAIGHT TOOLS:

Straight hollowing tools are easier to control and more suitable for turners learning to make hollow vessels. The use of a bent tool is necessary for many hollow form shapes, but requires more experience to master. The Hollow-Pro™ Tools 1/2"� and 5/8" straight tools are very versatile and efficient tools that can be used to remove wood very quickly and easily from hollow vessels and open bowls. These tools accept both the #1 and #2 size swivel tip shafts, but Mike recommends the #2 size for the larger 5/8" tool.

BENT TOOLS:

All bent hollowing tools that are meant to be hand-held should only be used with the straight part of the shaft on the tool rest. With Hollow-Pro™ Tools this indicates that the shaft is aligned with the cutter, making the tools easier to control. The tool rest height is particularly important when using bent tools, so make sure the tip is cutting on the center line of the turning and that you are not lowering the handle, which raises the tip to a more aggressive angle. The Hollow-Pro™ Tools1/2" bent tool was designed to hollow vessels up to about 8" in diameter, but is also intended to be used on larger pieces as well. By using the smaller tool to undercut the first portion of larger vessels the tool rest is closer, resulting in a cleaner cut and greater control. The larger Hollow-Pro™ Tools 5/8"� bent tool can then be used to continue hollowing pieces up to about 14-15" diameter.

Hollow-Pro™  Scrapers Original & Extended

Made from high quality M4 powdered metal, they are sharpened with a 75 degree grind and have been heat treated to HRC 62-64. The scrapers may be resharpened with a diamond hone or light careful grinding. Since all Hollow-Pro™ Tools have a built in negative angle at the tip, when the M4 scrapers are inserted the result is a clean, less aggressive, final finish cut. Mike recommends using the scraper for your last few cuts, when you are close to your final wall thickness.

CHOOSING THE TOOLS AND CUTTER TIPS

My 4 tools together are a complete hollowing system, with different choices of tips, depending on what size hollow form and what type of wood you are turning.  They are made in Minnesota by Hunter Tools and they use his nano-carbide� cutters that last a long time and don't need to be sharpened.  Sometimes I need to try and see what cutter tip will work best, depending on what I am turning.  If you have all the tools and cutters, you have more choices of options, to try and see what works on a particular piece of wood.

I use all 4 tools to make my bigger pieces up to about 14-16" diameter and I use just the 1/2" tools to make pieces up to about 7-8", so it depends on what you want to make.  If you are buying tools with the idea that you will be making bigger pieces at some point, the 5/8" tools might be something you would want.

All the different tips fit all the tools, but I like the standard #1 cutter assembly for the 1/2" straight tool, the standard #2 cutter assembly for the 5/8" straight tool and the #2 negative cutter assembly for both the bent tools. But I also use the negative cutter assemblies, which are less aggressive, for finish cuts with the straight tools as well.  The M4 powdered metal scraper works great with all four tools. All the tools require a handle with a 5/8"� opening, like the Oneway or Hosaluk handles.

The straight tools are easier to use and they are fast, efficient and fun, compared to bent tools.  I like the 5/8" straight tool for open bowls as well as hollow forms and I have even used the 1/2" straight tool for a little spindle turning!  If you are a beginner or don't have much experience at hollowing, I might start with the straight tools until you get comfortable with them, but there will be shapes where you won't be able to reach.  The straight tools are pretty easy to use and I teach people that you want to remove as much wood as you can with straight tools and only go to the bent tools when you have to.  If you make shapes with a big enough opening, you can do all the hollowing with straight tools, but if you get into making smaller openings, or more difficult shapes, you will need bent tools as well.

If you want to make pieces up to about 7-8" diameter, I would get the 1/2" tools, a standard #1 cutter, a #2 negative cutter and the M4 scraper. If you get those tools, you would already have the cutter assemblies(except the standard #2) for the larger tools as well, so you would just need the tool shafts themselves to have the whole set, if that is what you want.

Thanks - Mike Jackofsky

For more info on the use of Hollow-Pro Tools™, please visit the Video Page to view excerpts from Mike's tutorial DVD "Woodturning with Mike Jackofsky: Making a Hollow Vessel"

To purchase Hollow-Pro™ Tools or the DVD  visit Craft Supplies USA.

 
Please wear safety glasses and follow all safety rules of woodturning. These tools are aggressive hollowing tools and should be used by or under the supervision of experienced turners.