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McNaughton system

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Apr 4, 2008
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I just received my McNaughton system and have have watched Mahoneys video 2 times. I have a couple of questions, before starting out .
(1) Is it better to use something harder like maple or walnut or a softer wood like box elder or maybe cedar?
(2) In the video he makes it look easy but are there any tricks or rules on how to keep a uniform wall thickness or am I going to have to make a few funnels before I get the hang of it? bang head
If you have any other tips or cautions they would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Duff
 
Mc Naughton

Make certain you start with the tip of the tool perpendicular to the surface. that means swinging the heel of the tool outboard to start. Also notice that Mahoney does change the position of the gate as he cores. Cherry is a joy to core. Never tried real hard stuff. Depends on the HP of your equipment.
 
I think it's best to learn on green wood that has few knots. A lazer lets you know where the cutter is in the bowl blank. Also I think it's good to have the belt a little loose so if the cutter does jam the belt slips instead of something else happening.
 
Duff,
There are a lot of tricks to using the McNaughton. First, get some thing smaller and preferably green to start with. Use the large set of blades after you get the hang of the medium set. You want the cutter to be at or slightly above center height when you start. As far as wall thickness uniformity, you won't get a core that leaves you with only a clean up/finish cut on the bowl you cored. If you do get one, you will have made a lamp shade because the bottom of your bowl has a transition that flattens out. You need to aim a bit shallow. I have the laser and love it. It lets you know if you are on course, and if you need to change your aim.

The biggest problem with using the McNaughton is that the blade wants to drift to the outside of the cut. This will make the blade bind in the cut because the cut will be a flatter curve than the blade. You need to be able to feel and see when this is happening, and how to correct for it. You can come back to the top and remove some from the outside of the cut, or the inside of the cut, especially if you are aiming too deep. You can also bump the tool rest to the inside a bit. This helps some as well. I don't think that this is some thing that can be really taught, you kind of have to learn by experience.

robo hippy
 
Using the McNaughton

Duff,
It may help you to make a paper cutout of the blank you are going to work with. Draw the outside bowl you want to make on the cutout, and choose that particular blade from the set that closely matches the profile of your bowl. This also helps you to picture the path the tool will follow in the blank.

Also, take the extra time to clean out the chips often, so that the tool is less inclined to jam. Some turners like to keep a spray bottle of water or soapy water to squirt in the tool path to help lubricate.

Good Luck!
Kurt
 
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The Mcnaughton is an excellent system. There's a few "tricks" to keep in mind.

1. Cutting tip should be dead on the center line. The enables the shape of the knife to stay within the "kerf" of the cut the best. By going higher or lower, either the top of bottom of the blade will rub more.

2. The most common cause for "dislodges" are "sudden bursts" or "jerks" into the wood. The smoother the feed rate of the knife the better the results. One way I control this is to hold the handle with one hand (right) and my left hand I place at the backside of the support, just under it, as the knife enters the support rest. By squeezing or loosening my grip of the knife at the support I can better control the feed rate to a smoother cut. I think this is also mentioned in Mahoney's DVD.

3. To start, I'd recommend a 12" blank and low speeds. I usually core at approx. 500 rpms. Green wood is the way to go. Dense or soft woods both core wonderfully. Use what you've got.

4. The knife as it cuts will always "bind" first on the outside. I usually cut 1/2 way through the blank and then pull out. I start another cut towards the center abot half of the cutter's width over. Just enough to "widen" the first cut to the outside of the knife. This also creates a wider kerf so the ribbons can exit the kerf. On large blanks, I do even slightly move the banjo in towards the center slightly. On smaller blanks I find just moving over the kerf slightly will widen the kerf enough to give the knife's outside edge room.

5. By "lapping" the edge with a hone, up the tool to raise a burr, you should always have a sharp tool.

6. You can go from the outside, bigger bowl in, or form the inside out, smallest bowl out. I find for learning, it's easier to take the larger bowl first, rechuck the "center core", turn a tenon and do it again. You'll end up with maybe one less bowl due to the tenons but I think you'll have better success as you learn the system. 2 or 3 bowls is better than just 1.

7. Also take a look at Bill Grumbine's second bowl DVD. He has some excellent tips as well.

8. If you have questions, feel free to ask anyone. Mahoney and Grumbine are excellent turners and very nice guys. I'd be glad to help to "troubleshoot" any issues as well.

Have fun.
 
Mahoney is the best user of the McNaughton system I have seen. In his shop he has a large drawer clear full of coring blades. I will give a few tips:
1. Make sure you have the tool in the dead center.

2.Green box elder is probably the best wood I have ever cored.

3. If you mix a few teaspoons of dish soap in a spray bottle of water, then spray that in the kerf, it will go a lot cleaner.

4. Make sure you keep the tool in the dead center, if it feels like it is rubbing on the left side, move the banjo to the right and it should work better.

5.Make sure that the banjo is at an angle on the bed ways will help it work better.

6.Your tenon should be very large, at least 40% of the diameter of the piece.

7. Also remember that the tip of the tool is in line with the tool shank, you can better guess where the tip is.

8. If you line up the curve of the tool so it looks parallel to the curve of the outside of the bowl hen it usually will cut the shape you want.

Hope it goes well for you. Mike Mahoney is a good person to ask about using the center saver.
Wyatt
 
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