Tall Oak HF: Sandblasted & Dyed

[Doug W Swanson]

Love the platter already. Can't wait to see it finished!

I also like the hollow form. I've never been big on Oak for turning because of the pores but I like your treatment for it. Looks great!

And your hollowing system is nice, too. Pretty soon and you'll be turning 6' tall vases with that setup!

[David DeCristoforo]

Well I'm no great lover of oak but I cannot recall seeing it look better than this. And your hollowing rig is awesome!

[Mike Cruz]

If any of you get a chance to meet Baxter, let me just say you couldn't meet a nicer guy. Yeah, he's a Red Sox fan, but I can look past that...

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Baxter, looks like you've done a pretty good job making your boring bar similar to Steve Sinners. Just a couple of basic recommendations.
When your using the Rolly Munro cutter I'd take out the extra link and only use the cutter head for most turning. Only use the link when necessary to do the top shoulders then take it out again. It's just a extra stress point that's not needed while hollowing deeply into the body of the vessel.
Also have the Rolly set up to cut on center, then use a level to make sure that the bar is level. As you hollow deeper the cutter will either travel higher or lower than center line if the whole bar is not set up level & the cutter will not perform as it should if off center.
On a safty note drill a hole in the back end of the bar say 1/4" or 5/16" dia. and put a hitch pin or bolt through it when you hollow. This makes sure you don't pull the back end of the bar out of the trap while your hollowing & watching the front end. That would cause a heck of a accident.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks again for the comments!

Love the platter already. Can't wait to see it finished!
!...........

Thanks Doug. At 2 " thick I hope you can wait a couple of years. Roughed out it was right at 20 1/4". It has made it through the first couple months without any cracks but I don't hold out a lot of hope. At least it looked good to start.

Baxter, looks like you've done a pretty good job making your boring bar similar to Steve Sinners. Just a couple of basic recommendations.
When your using the Rolly Munro cutter I'd take out the extra link and only use the cutter head for most turning. Only use the link when necessary to do the top shoulders then take it out again. It's just a extra stress point that's not needed while hollowing deeply into the body of the vessel.
Also have the Rolly set up to cut on center, then use a level to make sure that the bar is level. As you hollow deeper the cutter will either travel higher or lower than center line if the whole bar is not set up level & the cutter will not perform as it should if off center.
On a safty note drill a hole in the back end of the bar say 1/4" or 5/16" dia. and put a hitch pin or bolt through it when you hollow. This makes sure you don't pull the back end of the bar out of the trap while your hollowing & watching the front end. That would cause a heck of a accident.

Thanks for the advice Joe. I never thought about removing one of those links when not needed....which is actually much of the time. I do level everything up to begin with. Thats one of the reasons I added those legs and leveling feet on the each end of the rear trap. I did make a safety pin for the end and added those ears on the front support as well. Definitely a lot of weight to just drop off either end.