Kel Centre Saver

I 'Googled' all last evening and although I got lots of hits and read a lot of good info, I didn't end the evening feeling I had a handle on using the Kel Centre-Saver system. Does anyone know of a site that shows clear pictures of the tool in action and a narrative? If it matters, I have the 'large' model to use on a General 26020VS.

I have yet to try to use it. I understand the rest gate and the 'T' handle's function but I'm unsure how you would advance the blade into the blank to maintain a desired wall thickness. My intuition tells me that the curvature of the blade governs the shape of the cut??

I guess you could say I was a bit apprehensive as it is a formidable looking beast and could probably do the operator (me!) a lot of damage if improperly handled.

Reply to
Tom Storey
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Hi Tom

I don't have the Kelton but for all I have seen and heard, it's going to be an adventure, there are several tapes and disks out, to show how to use the Kelton, all the experts say it's easy yet everyone seems to need help and has problems, funny you never hear that about the Oneway, must be a reason for it, anyway, Bill Grumbine has a tape/dvd I think and there are others.

You will have fun, take care Leo Van Der Loo

Reply to
l.vanderloo

If you want to see one in action, Mike Mahoney has a DVD out that shows it being used. Craft Supplies has it, and Mike has it on his web site.I hope to have one out later this year. I have a number of posts about it here about using it.

I have the complete set of inboard coring knives (large, medium, and small) and for 98% of the cores I take, I use the 2 smallest radius blades on the small and medium blade sets.

For first attempts, use some softer green wood, not something like black locust, and don't try anything over about 10 inches in diameter. The blade should feed with little pressure. The amount of pressure (push) determines how thick of a shaving you will take off, On a big bowl you don't want a lot of pressure. Always keep some, but not a lot pressure on the handle pulling it towards you. This pressure helps the blade to almost self feed. If you are having to force it, something is wrong (shavings over the tip after clearing, drift is causing it to bind, the cut isn;t smooth and the bumps on the core or wall are makine it bind. A hot blade and or steam is a good indicator of this).As the blade goes in, it wants to track toward the outside of the bowl. All of the coring systems do this, but since this isn't on a fixed radius, it wants to drift more than the others. Pulling on the handle helps to counter this drift. Make a slip collar to go around the tool post so that the cutter will be at center height without having to fiddle with it each time you core. Having the cutter at center height is VERY important.

If you are ever headed down I-5 to Oregon, look me up, I'm in Eugene and would love to help. Any more questions, let me know.

robo hippy

Reply to
robo hippy

Hi Tom

I have been using my KM coring tool for years with good results. I do not have any video on it yet, although we are hoping to put a segment in on my next video which we will be filming in March. However, I do have an article with pictures on my personal website. The URL is in my sig line.

To answer your question now, the curve of the blade does determine the shape of the cut, but the depth of the cut can be adjusted by the angle of entry into the blank. In other words, the knife is going to follow a fixed curve, but that curve can be deep or shallow depending on how you stick it into the wood.

The tool suffers much in the way of bad press from people who are not using it correctly. I am big and strong, but I have had little grandmotherly type ladies using it to good effect as well. In fact, I have a picture of a friend of mine using it (and she would smack me with it if she thought I was referring to her as grandmotherly!). She is about 100 lbs, 5 ft and a little bit, and has carpal tunnel syndrome to boot, but she was coring bowls just the same. If you send me an email, I will give you the link to the picture. I don't know if she would want me posting it publicly.

Reply to
Bill Grumbine

"Tom Storey" wrote: (clip)I'm unsure how you would advance the blade into the blank to maintain a desired wall thickness. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You have identified one of the problems. If you "play it safe," and keep the wall really thick, you reduce the number of bowls you can core out of a given blank. If you try to maximize your yield, you risk getting too close to the bottom, and losing the bowl. Most people find they can handle this pretty well as they gain experience.

I solved the problem by mounting a laser over the cutting tip, pointing down at the tip. While I'm working, I can see on the outside of the wood exactly where my cut is going.

BTW, it is possible to steer the cut a little, because the tool has a wider cutting edge than the support behind it. Also, if you decide to change the angle, you can back out and widen the cut for more clearance. You can also switch to a tool with a different radius.

Now for the "fear factor." The tool is usually used with a huge handle, which creates the impression that a lot of leverage is needed. If you always keep the tool properly in contact with its support, NO leverage is needed. Many of the turners I know use the tool without the handle attached. In fact, it seems to work better that way.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

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