Paul Porter Woodturning
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Hollowing Tools and More
These are the tools I use to hollow most of my work. They are good to about nine inches in diameter and six inches in height. For larger pieces I use the Jamieson style captured boring bar system. The tool at the top of the photo has a homemade laser holder attached to it. It's made from hardwood and half-inch aluminum tubing. The middle tool is for "hogging" out the middle of the piece. And the bottom tool has a teardrop scraper attached to it. They have the tang bent to about 45 degrees to hold the 24 inch handle against your body for excellent support. This is really useful if you have a long bed lathe. If you have a short bed, you do not need to bend the tang. I first saw this type of tool on the Kestrel Creek Web Site. You can buy this type of tool from AL BASHAM at this URL: http://www.albasham.com/.
Hollowing out is inherently dangerous, and is not a process that should be pursued aggressively. Tool control is very important, regardless of which tool you use. Staying focused on what youre doing, not over-extending the tools capability and using appropriate safety equipment will make the process both enjoyable and rewarding. J. Paul Fennell
I buy my swivle cutter holders from Dweller in the Lathe: http://www.lathedweller.com/
Glen makes a great product at a reasonable price.
(I have no connection with Dweller in the Lathe, just a satisfied customer).
Below is a photo to the tool in action.
Reverse Chucking a Natural Edge Hollow Form
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Billiard Ball Jigs
CAUTION: Use a dust collection system when turning a billiard ball.
You will get a very fine dust when cutting this material.
Some sort of a vacuum or air filtration system is probably necessary as this billiard ball doesn't produce anything remotely approaching chips - it really is a very fine dust. Still, you're unlikely to produce to much waste, so you probably won't have to resort to dumpster or skip hire to hold all your bagged up wood dust. You can find more about the importance of protecting yourself from long term exposure to wood dust from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The chuck with ball inserted.
Inside the chuck.
A billiard ball is 2.25 inches (57mm) in diameter. Drill the large hole with a 2-1/8 forstner bit about 1-1/8 inches deep.
Drill the smaller hole 1-3/8 inch in diameter about 1 inch deep. Drill a half-inch hole all the way through for your knock-out dowell.
You can turn the bottom of your box using this same jam chuck.
Side view of chuck.
Notice the shallow groove to keep the hose clamp in place.
Sanding Jam Chuck
You will need to sand the out side of the ball when finished hollowing. Make a simple jam-chuck
to push the ball over. It doesn't need to be exact because your sanding at a very slow RPM. I wet sand
with Micro-Mesh up to 12000 grit, then polish with some kind of plastic polish.
Have fun and send me a photo of the finished piece.