bowl savers

[dkulze]

Hullo all and especially Bill G.

My best friend has just offered to pony up on birthday and christmas in one and go in half on a bowl saver. My choices are limited to the McNaughton or the Woodcut as I have an older Nova lathe and Oneway doesn't make a system that matches the round rails. I have to make a decision and need some info.

My preference would actually be the McNaughton, as I would like to keep open the option for shallow bowls and deep platters, in addition to wide vases. The Woodcut is, by my understanding, much more limited in this respect.

On the other hand, my lathe is pretty under powered (1, 1.5?) and a bit underbuilt too. My understanding if the McNaughton system is that it takes a bit more power to work well and that it's not very forgiving of flex in the banjo. And what I've heard about the Woodcut is that it is absolutely simple and straightforward to use, with minimal risk posed by low power or slight flex.

So, all that taken into account, what do owners of the two systems have to chip in?

Thanks,
Dietrich

P.S.(Bill, if you're reading this, I'd appreciate your advice on considering the McNaughton as you'd know how forgiving it is of low power and not rock solid banjo)

 

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Dietrich

The biggest problems arising with the use of the KM system is improper setup. When the tool is not set up properly, it has a tendency to buck the user, grab at the wood, and generally make a mess of things. When it is set up properly, you can core on lathes as light as a Jet 1236. Keep in mind too, that you may upgrade your lathe in the future. I started out using mine on a Nova 1500, which was the predecesson of the 3000. I had a 1 HP motor on mine, and it worked just fine - not as fast as the Poolewood or the Vega, but still very much worthwhile.

Then, when the Poolewood came along, all I needed was a new post for it and I was ready to go. Then when the Vega came along, all I needed was another post, and now I can core on both lathes, even at the same time. Well, not me on both lathes at the same time, but two people in the shop could core bowls at the same time. 😛 Part of the reason I have two complete setups is that I purchased both sets when they were offered as a package deal, so I have two gates to go with them. But that is pretty much irrelevant to you, just my rambling. More pertinent, and my long winded point, is that you can upgrade or go to a different machine with the KM. I am not sure about the Woodcut system.

If you have any more specific questions, let me know. Of course, if you want to make the trip, I could arrange a demo. 😀 Lots of people passing by have stopped for demos of one sort or another. Good luck with your decision.

Bill

 

[Ron Warman]

core saving

I have both. Each has its uses. The Woodfast has almost no learning curve, is very safe but will not cut what you want. The McNaughton is more versatile but has a steep learning curve because of this. You must learn which blade to use, from which set, to cut the large blank out first or last, what angle to start the blade at for each blank and on and on. When I am lucky enough to find a block big enough to core I try. Sometimes it works and sometimes I wreck more blanks than I save and not sure why. Its like anything else the more you pratice the better you become. The people I have seen do the McNaughton and made it look easy do a LOT of coring. One thing I don't hear a lot about is the straight blade. This I can use and it is a wonderful parting tool on big stuff. I can't advise you on the lathe power as I use a lathe with a 24" throw and has a 2.2KW (3HP) motor. I can tell you if you don't keep the chips cleared out often I can stall my lathe so I would think you would have a fit at first but I have seen coring done on a 1.5HP woodfast lathe on a smaller block.

Ron

 

[CTutor]

I use the MN on a Nova 2000. It does (did) have a learing curve but not much more than any turning tool. I bought the standard set first but later bought the small set of knoves. I use the smaller knives more than the big ones due to the size of bowl I turn. Keep the chips coming out with enough spedd to eject them and most of the stalling problems are solved. Once I stopped turning funnels things turned out fine with the Nova and MN.

 

[Scott Lister]

I have the Mcnaughton system and a powermatic 3520a lathe. The problem I have is when using the system is the gate and tool system is way below center. Am I missing something here? Do they make an extension for the gate to raise it up so it will be at center? Help.

Scott

 

[Ron Sardo]

I have the McNaughton system and I use it on a Jet 1236. I'm happy with it.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Whoa

I have the Mcnaughton system and a powermatic 3520a lathe. The problem I have is when using the system is the gate and tool system is way below center. Am I missing something here? Do they make an extension for the gate to raise it up so it will be at center? Help.

Scott

Scott,

First, STOP USING THE TOOL WITH THAT SET-UP. 😱 You're asking for real injury. The gate MUST be set at a height such that the top cutting edge on the tip of the knife is at dead center when locked level in the gate.

What "they" make are posts of different lengths and sizes to match different lathes. My current lathe takes a much longer post than did my old JET 1236.

Contact your vendor and request a post to fit your lathe. If they forgot to ask you what kind/size lathe you have when you bought the set, they should give you a new, properly sized post at no charge. If you get no satisfactory response in that dcirection, Woodcraft usually has all of the posts in stock, and that will be a cheaper purchase option than having one custom made in a shop.

M

 

[Bill Grumbine]

I have the Mcnaughton system and a powermatic 3520a lathe. The problem I have is when using the system is the gate and tool system is way below center. Am I missing something here? Do they make an extension for the gate to raise it up so it will be at center? Help.

Scott

Hi Scott

Yes, they make it and you need it. The post that comes with the set is way too short for the Powermatic, but you already know that, right? 😀 There is a longer post available. You can contact Greg Jensen who is the North American rep for Kel McNaughton and he can set you up. I will send you his email by PM. It is essential that the tool be on center with the back of it up against the gate for it to work properly. When it is set up like this, it is fairly easy to operate. If not, it will throw even a very strong and large person around (like me). Besides that, it will bind in the cut and stop cutting, straining the wood, the motor, the lathe, the operator, etc.

Bill

 

[dkulze]

Thanks all.

With the advice given, I think I'll go for the McNaughton.

Bill, you're gonna be getting a slew of emails from me so be prepared.

By the way, the woodcut is a single post system also so it is interchangable with lathes.

Dietrich

 

[CTutor]

Good Video

Now you have made up your minds about the MN get Mike Mahoney's video on using th Mc Naughton. The instructions that come with the MN are terrible but his video makes it all come clear. Main things to remember have the knife at the center of the turning!!! start your cut perpendicular to the wood and remember that the tip of the knife is in a direct line with the blade where it comes out of the handle.

 

[Jim Ketron]

I have the PM 3520a and use the Mcnaughton on it you need the post that is 4" long to work on the PM
Also Mike Mahoney has a great DVD of using the Mcnaughton I highly recomend it!

 

[Jeff Jilg]

I have the large MN set (and a 3520 as everyone knows). There is a learning curve. Good tips and suggestions on this so far in this thread. I never obtained a video or lessons. It just takes a bit of diligence and planning but it isn't hard. As Bill has shown on his website you can almost use your fingertips to guide it.

I liberally spray a lot of water while coring. The lubrication helps drastically. Also withdraw a lot and clear out the shavings.

 

[helang]

I,m a retired engineer so you must excuse my need for planning (PPPPPPP=previous prior planning prevents piss poor performance). When I'm going to core a bowl, I make a sketch of what th largest bowl is to look like. Then I lay the McN blade upside down on the sketch to yield what I want for the largest and next bowl. I place a templete representing the McN guide on the outline of the blade and mark the center of the templete on the sketch. the distance of the guide center from the lathe center line and the distance from the blank face is noted. I then position the guide accordingly and enter the cut as shown on the sketch.

 

[Ron Sardo]

I liberally spray a lot of water while coring. The lubrication helps drastically. Also withdraw a lot and clear out the shavings.

This is the first I heard about doing this. Do you spray into the cut while the lathe is spinning?

 

[Mark Mandell]

This is the first I heard about doing this. Do you spray into the cut while the lathe is spinning?

A spritz of WD40 on the blade also helps.

Yes, I also use water (spray bottle - not the hose 😉 ) as well while the lathe is running to keep the friction of the cut and shavings from warming things up too much.

 

[Ron Sardo]

Thanks Mark

I Usually rub a candle stick on the blade before I start coring. I'll have to try both WD-40 and water.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Yes, spray the water right into the cut while the lathe is running. I slightly withdraw the blade while doing the spraying to avoid having a catch occur. It sounds messy but most of the water seems to get soaked up by the shavings. Also you're out of the line of the spray as you are controlling the blade facing the top of the bowl.

 

[Scott Lister]

Thanks for the info guys!!! I was really shy about using this with my students. I am a Technology Education Instructor.

Scott