Oneway Mini Easy-Core Coring Systems 12 inch

Christopher Waggener · May 1, 2020

I have just purchased the Oneway Mini Easy-Core Coring Systems 12 inch. I have seen and read lots of discussions and watched many videos on the larger systems but haven't really seen much on the mini systems. Does anyone have any experience with these smaller one knife systems and any advice for getting started? I am assuming they are pretty close to the bigger versions but have never used either I wanted to know if anyone had any advice. I have a 14-inch swing on my lathe so I had to buy some extra threaded bolts to adjust the hight to get it all the way to center. about an extra half-inch or so more than the stock threaded adjusters would get me. Any advice or tips or tricks to getting started with this smaller system would be welcomed.
Thanks
PS. this is my first post ever to the forum.

robo hippy · May 2, 2020

I am not sure if the mini Oneway coring system is adaptable to a 14 inch lathe. The problem is that you need a certain amount of the post inside the mounting brackets that go on the lathe. If you raise it too high, you do not have enough support for the vertical components. You could probably call or e-mail Oneway and ask them. They are generally pretty helpful. I would have suggested getting the Woodcut coring system, which is a 2 blade set as it would be more versatile.

robo hippy

Christopher Waggener · May 2, 2020

Thank you robin hippy. I will give Oneway a call and see if they have any suggestions.

Randy Brunzlick · May 5, 2020

Hello Christopher,
What has been your experience with using the 12 inch system with your lathe?
Does the coring system require a powerful lathe?
Do you use the tailstock live center while you are coring?
Did you get a tailstock extension like the picture craft supply has posted in their catalog for the 12 mini system?

Did you get a carbide cutter with your system or are you using the HSS cutter?
If you are using the HSS cutter did you get the Oneway sharpening jig for the cutter?
Thanks in advance for the information.

Christopher Waggener · May 5, 2020

Hi Randy
I have a Nova Comet 14 DR midi, Lathe. It is a 1 hp lathe. I have the original HHS cutter and use a tailstock extension similar to the one in the picture. I have only used it once on some hard maple so my experience is limited and I used a harder wood to test the system out. It struggled a little with the maple that had about 15% moisture content. It went a little slower than the other ones I have seen on youtube. I did get the sharpening jig and recommend this if you are going to sharpen it. I also want to get the carbide cutter because I think the HHS cutter got dull quickly in the maple. I had to sharpen it twice during the coring. I am going to go back and do all the measuring of the distances from the headstock to the bottom of the bowl and the size of the cutter as recommended in the old videos that came with the kit. I kinda winged it and got a cored bowl out but it was pretty shallow and not really as deep as it could have been. It is interesting there really is not much information or many reviews of the smaller "mini" systems. Hope this helps.
Christopher

Randy Brunzlick · May 5, 2020

Christopher Waggener said:
Hi Randy
I have a Nova Comet 14 DR midi, Lathe. It is a 1 hp lathe. I have the original HHS cutter and use a tailstock extension similar to the one in the picture. I have only used it once on some hard maple so my experience is limited and I used a harder wood to test the system out. It struggled a little with the maple that had about 15% moisture content. It went a little slower than the other ones I have seen on youtube. I did get the sharpening jig and recommend this if you are going to sharpen it. I also want to get the carbide cutter because I think the HHS cutter got dull quickly in the maple. I had to sharpen it twice during the coring. I am going to go back and do all the measuring of the distances from the headstock to the bottom of the bowl and the size of the cutter as recommended in the old videos that came with the kit. I kinda winged it and got a cored bowl out but it was pretty shallow and not really as deep as it could have been. It is interesting there really is not much information or many reviews of the smaller "mini" systems. Hope this helps.
Christopher

Thanks. Yes, helped a lot.

RB

Brad Winesett · May 13, 2020

Christopher - Have you sharpened your HSS cutter to the newer design grind angles? I have a full size coring system and have been doing great with the HSS cutters with the new grind. I first used the Oneway coring system when working with my mentor. My mentor had the carbide cutter. I only did about 4 bowls with the carbide, but I prefer the HSS. Even though carbide will last longer, the edge will never be as sharp as HSS. I have cored mainly walnut and cherry, plus 1 oak bowl. The HSS cutter worked fine in all.

Christopher Waggener · May 14, 2020

Brad Winesett said:
Christopher - Have you sharpened your HSS cutter to the newer design grind angles? I have a full size coring system and have been doing great with the HSS cutters with the new grind. I first used the Oneway coring system when working with my mentor. My mentor had the carbide cutter. I only did about 4 bowls with the carbide, but I prefer the HSS. Even though carbide will last longer, the edge will never be as sharp as HSS. I have cored mainly walnut and cherry, plus 1 oak bowl. The HSS cutter worked fine in all.

I am not really sure if the grind is the new grind or not. I have purchased the sharpening jig and followed those instructions so I am assuming it's the "newer grind angles". I have now cored two bowls now so the second was on some red oak. I had to sharpen the HSS cutter three times during the coring process. I am assuming this is pretty normal as well.
Thanks for the suggestions
Christopher

Brad Winesett · May 14, 2020

Sharpening 3 times for one bowl is not normal in my experience. I can core out at least two 12" diameter hardwood bowls before I need to sharpen. Most of the time I sharpen after 3 bowls that size. If you are sharpening per the instructions shown here: https://oneway.ca/pdf/Part 3677 Cutter Sharpening Instructions Dec 2010.pdf that is the new method.

Christopher Waggener · May 14, 2020

Brad Winesett said:
Sharpening 3 times for one bowl is not normal in my experience. I can core out at least two 12" diameter hardwood bowls before I need to sharpen. Most of the time I sharpen after 3 bowls that size. If you are sharpening per the instructions shown here: https://oneway.ca/pdf/Part 3677 Cutter Sharpening Instructions Dec 2010.pdf that is the new method.

Thank Brad. This is the way I have been sharpening the cutter. Maybe I just need a little more practice on the system. Thanks again for the info.

Randy Brunzlick · Sep 30, 2020

I decided to get the Oneway coring system. I use jigs for sharpening tools to get consistent results, so it seemed to follow to get a jig for coring to get consistent results. I opted for the carbide cutter and sharpening jig as well.
My first experience with the Oneway system was coring carob from local trees that were taken down by the city where I live. (Green wet wood.)
My impression is the system worked fine for cutting hemispherical cores. My initial concern of not having a powerful enough lathe was unfounded. Using reasonable care and reasonable force all went fine. I'm sure I could have bogged down the system by using excessive force on the cutter. Once the core was cut, I reversed it, using the larger bowl blank as a jam chuck and cut a tenon on the smaller blank with a center point from the tailstock center for later use when the blank dries.

Using the sharpening jig was easier than reading the directions on how to use it. I would say the sharpening jig for holding the cutter is required if you don't want to modify your fingernails on your sharpening wheel.

One thing I haven't done yet is figure out a convenient method of storage for the coring system when not in use.

Gary Beasley · Sep 30, 2020

I have my Oneway coring system in a drawer, all the knives nest along the bottom at the back, the supports stack in a front corner and the base lays on its side in front on the other corner. Makes the drawer a bit heavy but tucks everything out of the way.

Paul Grenier · Oct 13, 2020

robo hippy said:
I am not sure if the mini Oneway coring system is adaptable to a 14 inch lathe. The problem is that you need a certain amount of the post inside the mounting brackets that go on the lathe. If you raise it too high, you do not have enough support for the vertical components. You could probably call or e-mail Oneway and ask them. They are generally pretty helpful. I would have suggested getting the Woodcut coring system, which is a 2 blade set as it would be more versatile.

robo hippy

The Woodcut Bowl Max is a 3 blade system now. They changed from the 2 blade system about 2 years ago.

robo hippy · Oct 13, 2020

Oops! Paul, I did know that, but forgot. I tried to pick one up a while back and couldn't find any in stock. It is a good little system. I like the cutting tip on it far better than the one on the Oneway.

robo hippy