This article has been first publishedin the November 2004 issue (no 15) of French woodworking magazine Couleurs Bois.
It was the third paper about hollowing tools I wrote in this magazine.
The first one was about the Termite, and the second
one about
Kelton scrapers.
Kiwi hollowing
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"Kiwi" stands for New-Zealander, as that's the origin of both tools I've chosen to describe this time. I'm going to discuss about both the Woodcut Proforme, and the tool developed by woodturner Rolly Munro, as they are quite similar in their principles. |
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The shaft, which is available in straight, slightly canted, or swan neck versions, is held by 2 screws in a metallic handle. |
| One needs to start with a very small exposure (a few tenth of mm). | If it is too big, the cutting effort will push the head downwards, then too much wood is taken at a time and the catch is not far. | ||
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Moreover, the risk of shavings packing
up in the head is increased. |
The diamond stone is best for the Proforme. The Munro comes with a well thought jig (detailed in the user manual) to be used with a grinder (wet or dry). The cutter is screwed on it, and pressed against the spinning wheel of the grinder. |
Both tools are suited for end grain as well as
cross grain. The swan neck version of the Proforme (the one I have)
works well in quite flat pieces, but not too deep (think of a flying
saucer), or it would need a certain width so one can move it inside
the piece (as an example, the shape of the cade hollow form in the last article
can't be done with just this tool, one would need to use also straight
versions).
The Munro will not be so much at ease when hollowing sidewise far away
from the opening, but it works very well in all other kind of shapes. These tools work also very well for cutting under rolled edges of bowls or boxes. One work at axis height, with the tool held more or less horizontally, at a rather slow speed (don't hesitate to go down to 300 rpm). To start cutting, you can "rub the bevel" with the depth gauge, then rotate gently the tool clockwise, until it starts to cut. If you can't find the cut, try to modify the position of the head with regards to the wood, by rolling the tool on the toolrest, or moving the handle up or down, until it "bites" the wood.. |
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Now you just need to sand the edges, and possibly fine tune the inside of the "ears". With the lathe stopped of course, it's quite brittle and it bites ! |
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Don't hesitate to |