It's that time of the year and I've been researching hollowing tools. What's the preferred system for the g0766? Captured, articulated, free hand? I was thinking probably an articulated because the tailstock end of my lathe is kind of up against a wall so I'm afraid that would limit a d-bar in a captured. Any of the usual suspects stand out from the crowd? Anyone made an articulated home made like the one I saw on captain Eddie's? Sam
Yes, I made one loosely based on the Cap'n Eddie's design. I bought some solid 1 x 1 square steel and drilled it in a drill press to make sure that the holes were properly aligned. Also, I drilled it out in steps so that the final hole size wasn't oversize. (if you only take a few thou off with the final cut, it is more like reaming...). I used shoulder bolts to get a better fit. Also, I put thin strips of polyethylene between the joints to act kind of like a bearing to make it move smoothly. It works great. I had an extra banjo, so I mount the contraption with a 1 inch dia. post into the banjo. I did weld the connection to the 1" rod, but it could have also been done without welding. The arm is stout and has little to no play. end of part 1
I was talking to my buddy the other day about the Capt Eddie version and maybe making a couple since making another while making one isn't harder. Would delrin bushings be a good idea or some of those bronze ones available? Or not really necessary? I forget which one I seen but it looked like it had bearings in the joints. I guess it's a matter of where is the point where the cost of add ons overtakes the advantage you get. What size shoulder bolts did you use?
Hello Sam, I think that I may have used 5/16 bolts. 3/8" would have been fine as well. Bushings would be nice. But I found that using grease in the joints and poly between the 1x1 and the washer/nut worked fine. It slides pretty easily. So you won't eliminate that friction, especially if you wax your tool or rest. So, maybe the bushings are overkill. I suppose that you could do a version w/o bushings and if you didn't like it, add the bushings after-the-fact. Use a mic or caliper to measure your bolts and select your drill size so that there is a minimum of clearance. You want everything to have close to zero "slop" or clearance which still making sure that it isn't too tight. They are so easy to put together, perhaps try the simplified version first and see how it works for you.
