nwcatman
Member
anyone using one of these? i want to make salad bowls out of the mesquite that we have around here and i REALLY SUK at doing the inside of the bowl. i've wasted enough blanks to bar b que a whole steer by now. thanks
munro hollower
- Thread starter nwcatman
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JerrySambrook
Member
It is a fantastic tool, but is better suited for face grain work.
It will work ok for conventional.
Try making one of your bowl gouges into a micro-bevel gouge by grinding a secondary bevel on it that shortens the cutting bevel.
Also, try to keep the flutes in a manner that keeps the contact area almost perpendicular to the direction of travel when going around curves
just my .02
Jerry
It will work ok for conventional.
Try making one of your bowl gouges into a micro-bevel gouge by grinding a secondary bevel on it that shortens the cutting bevel.
Also, try to keep the flutes in a manner that keeps the contact area almost perpendicular to the direction of travel when going around curves
just my .02
Jerry
nwcatman
Member
also-how about the "center savers" such as mc naughton and oneway etc? anyone have experiences/prefrences w/those? i did a search on this site but came up blank. thanks.
Fred
Member
This is one device that DEFINITELY has a learning curve that is long and tedious. Do your research before you purchase one of these beauties and try your best to get some hands on training before you apply the cutting tool to your own blanks. You get what you pay for with these devices and the better the tool support the better (and safer) the results will be. $$$ is the name of this tools game.
The tool is highly capable of saving you money IF you use the more expensive bowl blanks available.
TIP: If you do get one learn to turn a tenon on the center piece prior to separating it from the main blank with the bowl saver. If you forget once I bet you don't forget a second time. Of course you will have to make a tenon on the original blank prior to using the bowl saver. Confused ... me too!
nwcatman
Member
fred- bowl blanks will only be mesquite ones from my own trees. they will have lots of cracks, checks and imperfections. at least some will. so.....will the these imperfections cause the bowl sections being cut out to come apart or explode when being cored or......??
mickr
Member
you sound like a newbie..be careful what tools you buy and try to use..are there turning clubs avail to you? Bowl gouges work great and have for hundreds of years..you just need to know how to use them..a munro hollower is usually used for closed forms..a bowl coring unit will not make a "good bowl" ..it will only save the inside..it will be rough and nasty and a bowl gouge will be necessary to clean it up..
nwcatman
Member
well.....i've probably turned out 300 or so pens and over 100 peppermills (check out my photos) and lots of bottle openers-stoppers, duck calls, etc etc and sold all but a few but yes, i am a newbie at bowls. tired of being inside of the bowl and getting catches. BIG catches. slam the gouge on the rest catches. the outside is no problem. i can do bowls with flat bottoms "ok" but want rounded inside bottoms. actually took a bowl turning class at woodcraft in san antonio 2 years ago but walked out early. the guy would get really pissed if you didn't do exactly as he wanted. no learning curve allowed there!! i have a PACKARD WOODWORKS catalog, fall 2009 page 13 that shows a guy using a munro tool in action. to me, and its JUST MY OPINION, using such a tool as opossed to using a bowl gouge is "cheating", not quite as bad as using a duplicator and calling the results "handmade". but...i am REAL gun shy at this point and will keep the bowls or give them to family, and they won't care how i make em. and i hate to waste all this mesquite i have. are there any "youtube" demos online anywhere for the munro?
Wildman
Member
If you cannot cut away cracks or checks and still have a good blank do not use it. Other imperfection could also be iffy if you continue to get catches.
Might try getting one of the many Bowl turning DVD's on the subject. Real oldie but goodie is Bowl Turning by Del Stubbs. A more current DVD, Turned Bowls Made Easy by Bill Grumbine. Or checking out U-tube.
Have no experience with Munro Hollowing Tools. JMHO, think you could accomplish the same result and easier learning curve with a round nose scrapper at less cost.
Once you get the hang of using your bowl gouge (practice) you will prefer it over scrappers. If you really want to hog out wood, go to a 5/8" or ¾" bowl gouge.
Good luck with what ever you decide.
Might try getting one of the many Bowl turning DVD's on the subject. Real oldie but goodie is Bowl Turning by Del Stubbs. A more current DVD, Turned Bowls Made Easy by Bill Grumbine. Or checking out U-tube.
Have no experience with Munro Hollowing Tools. JMHO, think you could accomplish the same result and easier learning curve with a round nose scrapper at less cost.
Once you get the hang of using your bowl gouge (practice) you will prefer it over scrappers. If you really want to hog out wood, go to a 5/8" or ¾" bowl gouge.
Good luck with what ever you decide.
nava1uni
Member
You might try a Woodchuck from Ken Ferrell. They are great for roughing out bowls and make it quite easy. There is a learning curve, but it can be very nice too work with on bowls. I think the idea of watching some DVD's is a good idea. I use them all the time to practice and work on my techniques.
TellicoTurning
Member
Only advice I can offer from my experience... if you're getting "slam the gouge on the rest catches" you're not keeping the gouge on the tool rest when you address the inside of the bowl.... I did a zebrawood bowl and got one of those catches:frown:.... there was a lot of activity in my shop for a few seconds... parts of the tool rest flying all over, the bowl jumping off the chuck and flying around the shop, me with my hands over my head and ducking under anything I can find to avoid getting slammed by all the flying debris.... :biggrin:
I literally broke the cast metal tool rest off the post, gouged a deeeeeep gouge in my bowl and had to put everything aside until I could get another tool rest.