Charlie,
Asking the question here is a good start. However asking yourself a few questions may get you further down the road to the best system for you.
Am I going to core a lot? (this will help you justify the cost of any of the systems)
What are the size of blanks I intend to core? (will help you determine the stability you will feel comfortable with, especially if your going to core 16" and larger blanks)
Am I going to core odd shapes or just round bottom bowls? (Will help you with the versatility you require)
Am I willing to invest the time for the learning curve? (McNaughton has a little more curve than the other two)
What type of wood am I going to core? (some really hard woods with certain grain structure, like locust, can be really tough on larger blanks)
Do I just want a new tool and challenge or am I really out to maximize my yield? (either may be a good enough reason however your money made be better spent somewhere else)
Am I going to try and core a seven piece nested set? (definitely a McNaughton job)
Do I have the lathe capability to handle a system? (You can core on smaller size lathes however it requires a bit more learning curve, for all the systems, due to motor power)
Am I a casual corer or am I intending to production core? (For me when I production cored the McNaughton was fastest for me because I cored a huge variety of blank sizes and species - Glenn Lucas finds the oneway fastest but he cores the exact same size blanks over and over)
These are a few questions to ask yourself and I hope others add questions they had to ask themselves. All of the systems work but they may not all work for the answers you provide for yourself. As with all equipment we tend to promote what we have rather than help you with questions, you should answer, to help guide you to the best tool for you. I hope this helps you on your journey, coring is fun and rewarding.
Charlie,
Asking the question here is a good start. However asking yourself a few questions may get you further down the road to the best system for you.
Am I going to core a lot? (this will help you justify the cost of any of the systems)
What are the size of blanks I intend to core? (will help you determine the stability you will feel comfortable with, especially if your going to core 16" and larger blanks)
Am I going to core odd shapes or just round bottom bowls? (Will help you with the versatility you require)
Am I willing to invest the time for the learning curve? (McNaughton has a little more curve than the other two)
What type of wood am I going to core? (some really hard woods with certain grain structure, like locust, can be really tough on larger blanks)
Do I just want a new tool and challenge or am I really out to maximize my yield? (either may be a good enough reason however your money made be better spent somewhere else)
Am I going to try and core a seven piece nested set? (definitely a McNaughton job)
Do I have the lathe capability to handle a system? (You can core on smaller size lathes however it requires a bit more learning curve, for all the systems, due to motor power)
Am I a casual corer or am I intending to production core? (For me when I production cored the McNaughton was fastest for me because I cored a huge variety of blank sizes and species - Glenn Lucas finds the oneway fastest but he cores the exact same size blanks over and over)
These are a few questions to ask yourself and I hope others add questions they had to ask themselves. All of the systems work but they may not all work for the answers you provide for yourself. As with all equipment we tend to promote what we have rather than help you with questions, you should answer, to help guide you to the best tool for you. I hope this helps you on your journey, coring is fun and rewarding.
Perfect checklist! I plan to use that when (if ever) I start looking for a coring set.
First I gotta get a lathe, though.. HF's lathe would never handle coring (almost burned up the motor just working a 11 inch x 5 inch blank of hard maple into a bowl)
I have all 3 systems, and use the McNaughton the most.
Oneway: Their original cutter tip is, to me, the worst cutter design ever. That is why so many are now using the Hunter tip. I did take one of their blanks for their cutter before that cutting tip was ground into it, ground it to a trapezoid shape, wide at the nose, and narrow where it sits on the arm, and it cut far better and easier than their standard tip and you didn't have to take it off to sharpen it. This system is rock solid, all the way out to the tip of the biggest blade they make. Most of us only think of having the pivoting center, pretty much centered on the lathe bed. By moving it to either side, you can greatly change the trajectory to get flatter or deeper cores. If you get much off to the sides, you can run into binding issues since the curvature of the support finger is fairly specific to certain diameters. It isn't difficult to move the set up a bit to one side or the other to open up the kerf.
Woodcut: I have had the 2 blade system for a while, and did like it. It was prone to chattering a bit on harder woods. I do have the 3 blade system, but haven't gotten it set up and used. They did greatly beef up the plate it sits on. It does require you to use the tailstock as part of the stabilizing process. It is a simple and efficient system.
McNaughton: Every one who has ever tried to use it swears at it. Every one who knows how to use it swears by it. I once turn my bowls. I can take the first core in less time than it takes me to set up the Oneway or the Woodcut. I used to be able to core a 13 by 6 inch blank, 4 bowls, and finish turn those bowls in about 50 minutes. There are 2 problems with learning how to use it. One is that since it is not on a pivoting center, you have to do the aiming. I probably should update my video on it. Watching Mike Mahoney at the Oregon Woodturning Symposium last weekend, like me, he uses the medium curve blade for 90% of his coring. The second problem is with the blades themselves. You don't have to look very closely to see that the last inch or so of each blade tends to go straight, rather than follow the curve of the particular arc. My guess is that they are profiled first, meaning the rounded edges top and bottom, and then bent. It is pretty much impossible to get enough pressure on them to get the tip to follow the curve. I have one blade that I hammered and tweaked till it was pretty close, and it actually drifted to the inside of the cut. As they come, they always drift to the outside of the cut as you core. Not much of a problem for more shallow cores. Big problem when going deep. You do have to open up the kerf since the blade will bind in the cut. Usually open up to the outside of the bowl. I guess a 3rd problem would be height adjustment. They tell you to set it with the longest blade, lift the handle against the top of the stop thing, and that is the correct height. Well, no. There is a lot of 'flex' built into the system. If you have ever tried to remove the stub left when you break out the core, once the blade engages that stub, it drops considerably. I start mine at about 1/4 inch above center, and for deeper cores, this is not enough. I have learned to 'feel' when that cutter is below center, and adjust accordingly. My guess is that this is the main reason some have so many catches near the bottom of the core. I do use a stop collar around the post of the tool rest, end grain turned and drilled out for the post. This makes sure it stays in place. I have a video out on how to use it, and Dale Bonertz has one as well. There are others. None of the other systems will tend to drift as you cut. I have talked to Kel McNaughton a couple of times about this issue, and he insists the blades are spot on. For me, I don't have to lay them on a circle template to check out the curve. I have often thought about using a torch and metal forms to persuade the blades into the perfect arc. I don't think that would be good for the laminate that is used for the cutting edge. I have retipped a couple of my blades with tantung. That does work great.
Oh, for sharpening the Woodcut and the McNaughton, I use a coarse diamond card and a couple of swipes across the bevel to raise a burr. They are scrapers, and scrapers usually need a burr for best cutting.
robo hippy
One thing not spoken much about coring systems is pucker factor. How are your nerves? Very few if any videos are not going to show you what happens when something goes wrong. Which system has the least pucker factor? For me the Oneway just beat out the Woodcut in that factor. For me the McNaughton just oozed pucker factor, having to keep the blade up against the stop and the correct pushing pressure. Hey I could core well with the McNaughton but that pucker factor was constant. The Oneway with the support blade going into the cut halfway through cut that pucker factor way down. Woodcut lent me a Bowlsaver 3 when they came out and I put a 15" piece of Ash on the lathe to try it. This Ash turned out to be so hard that I thought that I was going to break this Bowlsaver 3. It did core the piece and I returned the system unbroken but it was very stressful (If there was no Oneway the Bowlsaver would be my choice as I did own the original). The Korpro just added one more layer of less stress using the Oneway as I can control the cut just using 2 fingers through the cut. Before you by a system ask yourself just exactly are you going to use it for? If your answer is just saving wood and getting more bowls out of the piece then any of them will work. If your looking to core different shaped bowls the McNaughton will do it better. The Oneway will also give you different shapes but not as varied as the McNaughton. The Woodcut is more or less going to give you the same always. Now if you are looking for the most stress free coring (pucker factor) it is without a doubt the Oneway. And again I know the Korpro is not cheap but the difference between it and the regular or carbide regular cutters is just amazing. (I do not own stock in Hunter Tool Systems but I wish I did ).
I’ve had the Bowsaver 2 blade for ~5 yrs. Use it on a Nova Galaxi 16” swing. Its done what I expected, and I’m glad I did not spend the extra $ on a Oneway. IMO the OW is overkill (design and $) even for larger knives - the Mcnaughton does not use a blade support and is used for large coring.
The Oneway and Bowlsaver have the same flexibility in terms of cutting path - both can be offset from center to adjust the arc through the blank. Had I understood this better at the time I would have gotten the 3 blade Bowlsaver - I didnt realize how the larger blade could have been used on smaller blanks.
I agree with Bill Blasic, “pucker factor” does play into it. This is overcome with experience, but how often the unit is used does also - not using it for several months will bring back a lot of the initial stress.
The McNaughton needs more skill (as described), but also needs more power, from the lathe and the operator. The blade binds and over time I read several instances of them being bent, so I see it as a tool that needs to be used relatively often to keep the skill level intact.
As for the laser for the Woodcut systems - yes it helps. I cobbled together my own. I had Ron Brown’s Best laser setup (attaches to many different hand held hollowing tools by clamping around the tool). I used the horizontal bar and 90 deg clamp to make a setup for the corer. A nail in the bottom of the vertical support (wood dowel) locates in a center punch dimple in the pivot bolt head, and a small plastic bubble level indicates the level position. Makes it a lot easier to layout a blank for multiple cores.
I would like to have a McNaughton system, but more for just the challenge of learning it, so that will probably wait until I happen across one priced right.
When I bought mine, there was a dramatic difference in $ between OW and BS (I think I paid ~$380). I know the BS Max4 is more like $900, and I havent priced out a OW in years. I havent used a Max 4 but I would have high confidence in it based on my experience with the 2 blade version.
The laser set up for the Woodcut Bowl saver is a good idea, but not necessary. Woodcut did supply templates that would measure the correct distance from your chuck to the center pivot point. With the Oneway system, I have a set of rectangles. Simply place them between the headstock and your coring platform, and that gives you a set distance, which is supposed to be in the 1/2 inch away from where you want the bottom of the bowl to be. You can do pretty much the same with the Woodcut. You can also just put your chuck on, and then slide the coring set up into that proper distance. The McNaughton did have a laser set up. Only picture I saw of it was in the Craft Supplies catalogue, and they had it mounted wrong. I had the bracket welded to my handle since it was mounted using the same set screws that secured the blade. I did see one You Tube video where the guy coring drew pencil lines on the bowl blank before coring, which were the depths that he wanted to core to. I thought that was a good idea. To aim, first, I lay the intended blade against the outside of the bowl blank. If the blade has a flatter curve than the bowl, I aim more into the center of the bowl. If the blade has a tighter curve, I aim more down the wall. The pucker factor never got to me, I do like a challenge..... Worst thing that happened was that I had one of the early A models. I was coring some black locust and the pressure plate on the bottom of the headstock broke. The first ones were cast iron. Bad choice.
robo hippy
When coring, you need to use the low speed range, unless your lathe has 3 pulleys, then you can use the middle one. Massive catches with the McNaughton are usually, at least as far as I can tell, come from being below center. This is why I have mine set at least 1/4 inch above center. There is a learning curve with it....
Stellite is a good material. I got a few blanks from Canada when making the Big Ugly tool. I can't really say if it performed better than the tantung or not. Wish I had more to play around with. Last time I contacted them, they wanted to sell me a block of it. I could have afforded it then, but had no way to process it into 1 by 3 by 1/8 inch pieces. Highly resistant to abrasion when cutting, very durable edge. Some one needs to make the Big Ugly tool for sale....
I am getting ready for my one show per year, and will be breaking out the Max 4 just to see how it performs. The cutters on it are now flat across the top. The original 2 blade system I have, the cutters were slightly concave. That did seem to eject the chips better than the square tips I had on my McNaughton. I did have one tip I made from a blank that Oneway sent me that didn't have the tip ground on it. It was also flat across the top. Might have to dig that one out as well....
robo hippy
When coring, you need to use the low speed range, unless your lathe has 3 pulleys, then you can use the middle one. Massive catches with the McNaughton are usually, at least as far as I can tell, come from being below center. This is why I have mine set at least 1/4 inch above center. There is a learning curve with it....
Stellite is a good material. I got a few blanks from Canada when making the Big Ugly tool. I can't really say if it performed better than the tantung or not. Wish I had more to play around with. Last time I contacted them, they wanted to sell me a block of it. I could have afforded it then, but had no way to process it into 1 by 3 by 1/8 inch pieces. Highly resistant to abrasion when cutting, very durable edge. Some one needs to make the Big Ugly tool for sale....
I am getting ready for my one show per year, and will be breaking out the Max 4 just to see how it performs. The cutters on it are now flat across the top. The original 2 blade system I have, the cutters were slightly concave. That did seem to eject the chips better than the square tips I had on my McNaughton. I did have one tip I made from a blank that Oneway sent me that didn't have the tip ground on it. It was also flat across the top. Might have to dig that one out as well....
robo hippy
Hi Robo, yes the Woodcut Bowlsaver and Max 4 cutter is currently made available square at the front. Alternatively we have tested a tapered shape and it works well, especially if you want a less aggressive cut. Please contact me and I will share a picture and any detail you need on this. Cheers Dan
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