Articulated Hollowing Systems questions

[Bill Neff]

I'm doing some research before jumping in and buying or building and articulated hollowing system. To those who have one or have used one, is there any real difference between the articulated arm lengths? I've seen them with arm lengths like 4/8/10 inches or 8/12/14 inches, etc. It would seem that the cutting depth comes from the boring/cutting rod on the end of the articulating part and the longer articulating arms would contribute to vibration.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

[Tom Wilson66]

My limited experience with mine is that the maximum depth is limited to the length of the boring bar over the tool rest. The articulating arms need to be long enough to bring the boring bar completely out of the hollow, or you would have to move the whole assembly to get it out. So the deeper you want to go, the longer the arms. I retract mine fairly frequently, so that would get tiresome pretty quick. I think the designers of the systems know this, and design accordingly.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You both are correct. Not quite understanding what 4/8/10 inches or 8/12/14 inches means, the arms do indeed need to be at least as long as the boring bar. I have a Monster rig, so the arms are not interchangeable or adjustable. In addition, consider that the longer the bar, the thicker it (the rig) needs to be to reduce the vibration. I also have a Don Derry hollower, and that works really well for the smaller 4 to 6" vessels. Thin bar, so it won't reliably go deeper than that, but you could. I guess what I'm saying is the smaller and larger rigs need to be different. Good luck in your search!

[Bill Neff]

Thanks Tom. That makes sense to me and explains alot.

[Brice Rogers]

I made a home-made hollower along the lines of Eddie Casteline's snake hollower. It cost under $50 for materials. I bored the end section to accept a 1/2" cutter bar. So, If I was trying to hollow really deeply, then I'd be limited and may be getting chatter. But, if I ever get to the point, I may just replace the 1/2" cutter section with a 1" square bar that the rest of the hollower is made from. Alternatively, I suppose that I could also make the end section out of a 1" diameter round rod and put a cutter on the very end. A 1" diameter tool probably isn't going to flex or vibrate very much. That is the nice thing about making your own tools.

[Michael Schneider]

I was reading in the lastest "more woodturning" magazine, and it looks like monster tools has closed up shop. That takes one good system out of play.

That is a shame,
Michael

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I was reading in the lastest "more woodturning" magazine, and it looks like monster tools has closed up shop. That takes one good system out of play.

That is a shame,
Michael

Oh, they did close up. That is a shame. I really love the system.......It's only limit I thought it has is making small forms.

[Bill Blasic]

The Monster has always been a good system and it can do all sizes of work. I recently reviewed the Hunter Tapered Deep Hollowing System in which one of the hollowing bars is 16 long. I have for my Monster tools an adapter to go from the 5/8" tool holder to a 3/4" tool holder and with this addition can go very deep with either of the Monster Systems. Another good fit for these tools is Tim Yoder's Elbo Tool which already has the 3/4" tool holder and as far as I'm concerned is the best value in a hollowing system today.

[Jason Edwards]

The Monster has always been a good system and it can do all sizes of work. I recently reviewed the Hunter Tapered Deep Hollowing System in which one of the hollowing bars is 16 long. I have for my Monster tools an adapter to go from the 5/8" tool holder to a 3/4" tool holder and with this addition can go very deep with either of the Monster Systems. Another good fit for these tools is Tim Yoder's Elbo Tool which already has the 3/4" tool holder and as far as I'm concerned is the best value in a hollowing system today.

Ditto on the Tim Yoder's Elbo Tool being a great value and a great tool. Excellent service too.

[Bill Neff]

The 4/8/10 8/12/14 refer to the lengths of each segment in the arm of an articulated system.