Hollow Form rigs

What is the general consensus on HF rigs and the choices? I have always been impressed with the "Monster Tool" setup, but at $400+ for the complete rig is a bit much.
So I go to the masses and ask for opinions.
Thanks,,,

Doug....I just bought the Jamieson setup.....$400 approximately.....You can knock 60-90 off by building your own rear rest.......If you can weld, you can build the whole thing like Stu did IIRC.....

Lots of Rigs...

Hello Doug,

It really depends... What type of lathe are you turning on and what type of hollow forms do you plan to turn? If you have a small, or a mini-lathe, your choices will limited to a few different tools. On the other hand, if you are working on a medium size or larger lathe, you will have lots of choices.

Also, the types of hollow forms you wish to turn can have a significant impact on what we may recommend to you. Do you want to turn near the maximum capacity of your lathe (for example 3 feet high, by 2 feet in diameter), or do you prefer smaller more elegant hollow forms, like 10" - 12" high?

In my studio, I have lots of hollow form turning rigs including the Kelton, Oneway, Sorby, Jordan, Jamieson, Bosch, Pencil, Monroe, Hamlet, Woodcut, Stott, Berger, Stewart, Misc Boring Bars, Sudol Bars and a couple of home made set-ups to name a few.

If you can give me a better idea of what your goals are, I will be happy to recommend a few systems for you to investigate. Thanks and all the best to you and yours!

Doug if you are really wanting to go with the captured rig either the Kelton, Jamieson or the Monster are probably your options unless you can build your own. I don't have the resources or the time to build so I bought. Randy sold me my monster for $465. Yea it is a little higher than the Jamieson but with the monster you get a heavy duty straight boring bar plus the additional heavy duty swan neck. Getting the extra swan neck is what sold me. This thing is heavy duty.

Now as Steve had said in the post before me you can get all kinds of freehand HF tools. I have the 5/16" and 5/8" Keltons. I made my own ash handles for them because the are 3 tools each size. I went the handle changing because of costs and I hate changing handles more than I do changing belts is why I made my own. Just my $1.298.