Description
Introducing the Mega Mate from Jimmy Clewes
“I have been asked by many turners to produce a Tool like the Mate #1 and #2 but one which has the stability and capability to hollow deeper vessels.” – Jimmy Clewes
The NEW MEGA MATE #2 is the same basic design but a much larger tool than the Mate #1 or #2 with a lot more integrity!
The bar is 5/8 square section, with a turned round 5/8 tang (see the Diagram and info below). Beautifully machined with a chemical black glossy finish to the bar. The tool will fit directly into a 5/8 Quick release unit or into any of the many available handles with set screws with a 5/8 hole. It features an 8 mm cutter allowing rapid removal of wood with great control.
The bar including tang is 11 ½ inches long allowing the turner to hollow deeper.
As with the Mate# 1 and #2 the cutter this tool can be used to hollow end grain , long grain , wet or dry wood and will resist “self- feeding “ unlike traditional scrapers.
Ideal for hollowing deeper Bowls!
A turning tool is just a cantilever beam extending out from the tool rest. What you want is the very least deflection that you can get. The situation looks something like this drawing. And, the deflection, d, is given by the equation above in the drawing. F and L are in the numerator, so deflection increases when either one increases. W and D are in the denominator, so deflection decreases when either one increases. One important aspect of the deflection is that it increases as the cube of the overhang, L. That, of course, is why one tries to minimize the overhang. Doubling the overhang increases the deflection by 8 times! Another point is that the width, w, effects the deflection only directly, and not as some power of w. So, making a tool, say a scraper, twice as wide only serves to reduce the deflection by a factor of 2.
BUT the depth, D, of the beam is in the equation as the cube. So, if D is doubled, the deflection is reduced by a factor of 8 (2 cubed = 8)! This is the situation with my new “Mega Mate Tool “. This relationship between width, depth and deflection demonstrates why making a scraper thicker is much more effective for reducing deflection than making it wider.
E in the equation is a property of the material called Young’s Modulus. In this case, all the tools are steel so E is constant. But, if you were, say, to make the tool out of aluminum (or aluminium), which has a value of E that is only one third that of steel, then the deflection would triple for the same tool shape! And, aluminium ‘might’ not hold an edge too well!
