Jimmy Clewes Improved Design Mate Tools

Jimmy Clewes

Hollowing & Cutting Tools

Mate # 1 and Mate # 2

Designed and Manufactured by Jimmy Clewes the Mate 1 & 2 come with a superior high quality cup cutters. The New Mate #1 and 2 is an extremely versatile, more user friendly, and a great value for money hollowing & cutting tool.

These tools do not scrape they CUT !!! These tools offer lots of control due to the design and angle of the cutter on each tool.

Mate #1 has a small 6mm cup cutter and the Mate #2 utilizes an 8mm cup cutter. These cutters are not the run of the mill made in China carbide cutters they are micro crystalline carbide sharpened with diamonds to an extremely sharp edge.

The cutters in the Mate #1 are set in a machined pocket at approximately 22 degrees and the Mate #2 is set at 32 degrees. These angels provide a more user friendly, less aggressive cut that reduces catches and shortens the learning curve on these tools. Less catches also means more confidence in the tool and the user's ability to run the tool!

The Mate #2 will basically do everything the Mate #1 does with the exception that with the larger diameter on the cutter it will remove more material but with a light touch it will give an amazing finish on the surface.

The cutters are set just below the surface of the tool, which helps protect the cutter from irritating chips resulting from inadvertent drops.

The cutter is held in place with a #1 torx screw and each tool comes with a T-9 flag style torx wrench. The reason for using this combination is that the screw only needs to be finger tight !!! Do not over tighten and a light covering of wax will help loosen the cutter screw in case you have been turning wet wood.

It is recommended to use the screw provided as the cutter ID has a taper which matches the taper on screw to provide a secure lock up of the cutter.

The tool is supplied un-handled, you can make your own handle, allowing you to spend more time on the lathe and allowing to design and produce a handle to your own specification or you could purchase one of the many commercial handles on the market.( 1/2" Dia Hole ).Make the handle longer rather than shorter, At least an 16" handle is recommended.

Both the Mate # 1 and 2 will cut wet wood, dry wood, long grain or end grain with ease!!

The cutter is positioned so that the cut is limited to the depth that the cutter is protruding from the main tool shank. This greatly reduces the chance of those huge catches that can be experienced with "self- feeding" scrapers.

In the right situation a scraper is a really useful tool however in a lot of cases beginners tend to lean towards a scraper as it needs very little training, in fact any Tom,Dick or Harry can scrape.

The disadvantages of scraping on less dense woods is that it can be more resistant to wood removal, extremely rough finish on the end grain that requires more sanding, and with excessive pressure the risk of the scraper catching on a knot or void and "exploding" the piece increases dramatically.

On the other hand, when cutting wood there is less resistance to the cut, providing the user with more control and a much better finish surface on the wood.

We will not make the statement that these are the only tools you will ever need. That is not the case, but we feel that these tools effectively bridge the gap between scraping and the traditional gouge style tools which have a long learning curve. In some cases this tool will execute cuts that are impossible or extremely difficult to accomplish with conventional tools. The other huge advantage is that these tools will generally, give the give beginner much safer and better results than scraping!

These tools are effective on all types of woods from around the world including extremely hard woods. Woodturning is more of a Hobby nowadays and most of us took up Woodturning to enjoy it. This Tool will really help you accomplish that respective of your turning experience.