Which are the better Bowl Corers?

Peter

I have the Kelton and do not recommend it to anyone but the strong armed and strong willed!

Recently I have been researching this tool and found that the One Way has the most built in safety features. The "finger" tool rest is an awesome innovation that provides the tool so much more support. That is what makes the One Way safe.

I can not tell you how many times I have wrestled with coring a bowl with the Kelton and have had sore arms, tender ribs, a near miss with my chin and inconsistent results.

I have Santa all lined up with the info for ordering me the One Way for Christmas. I can not wait to retire the Kelton!

Ray

PS: I will have a Kelton for Sale in early January!

Ray,

It sounds to me like you're trying to hold the handle down rather than holding it up against the top of the guide. If you hold it up, the guide takes all the vertical force so you don't have to. I've seen quite a few people try to hold the handle down, which is the natural thing to do when using a normal hand-held tool) only to have it buck uncontrollably. That's what the crossbar is there for--to take those forces. The main things I learned from Mike Mahoney about the McNaughtin is (1) Hold the tool UP against the crossbar, (2) Push FORWARD, not to the side when advancing the cutter, and (3) start the cut, go in 2 or 3 inches, then back it out and start another cut to the outside, widening the original kerf to allow clearance and to allow chips to evacuate. Then go back and use your original inboard kerf and hug the INSIDE of the cut so the chips will evacuate to the outside and you will not bind in the cut against the outside edge. True, the McNaughtin does take practice, but once you've seen Mike Mahoney demonstrate its use it all becomes clear. Everything we do in woodturning takes practice to get it right. We shouldn't expect anything different from our coring tools.

-Jim Gott- San Jose, CA

I have these cutters and love them

If your having to use a lot of force then your doing something wrong.

I strongly recommend the Mahoney video because it gives some great pointers.

I've done several nested bowls out of cottonwood. I stuggled with the first but after watching the video and getting pointers from others using them is now much easier. My last took me only about 30 minutes to core remount and core out 3 bowls from one piece of wood.

My > the Kelton and have had sore arms, tender ribs, a near miss with my chin and

I owned the Woodcut corer and while it works it is very "grabby" while coring. I bought the Oneway corer and like it a lot better. It not only cores larger blanks but the design of the cutter makes it nearly impossible to "catch" during the coring. Well worth a look if you can find someone locally that can demonstrate it's capabilities.

Hi Ray

I had some of the same problems you had until I started using the tool in the proper manner. Unfortunately the directions are not clear, and it was trial and error for me. Jim gives you some very good advice. You can also go to my personal website (URL in sig line) where I have a pictorial essay on using the tool. When you get to the main page, scroll down to the link on coring bowls, and hopefully it will help you out some. You can push this thing through wood with a couple of fingers once you get it set up right.

Jim & Bill

You are right - it is the tendency to hold the handle down - I have done that and gotten the crap beat out of me. I have held the handle up against the rest device and it does work, but the cutter does not get a good bite in that position and I have the edge sharpened correctly... I push forward, cut a nice wide kerf and pull the tool out of the cut frequently - I have had this tool for over 3 years and have used it quite a bit. I am not happy with it and am fixin' to change to a tool with a better support system. That's all

Ray

Peter,

The "original" coring system was a Stewart Slicer in an armbrace. This system makes conical cores. Many still use it today. There are three dedicated coring systems on the market: McNaughton, Woodcut and Oneway. Depending on what you are corings, what shapes you want and how big a lathe you have, may swing your choice to one tool or another.

Very briefly, if you are making production bowls and want to do it quickly and easily, you might want to consider the Woodcut (for a smaller lathe) or the Oneway for a larger lathe. This is assuming that you want to produce bowls that, more or less, approximate hemispherical proportions. Oneway can go much larger, but it is also the most expensive of the three. If you want to make nests of various shapes ranging from broad and flat to tall and deep, then the McNaughton can't be matched. In my opinion, it is the most flexible of the three systems.

Having said that, there are probably users of each system that can get comparable results to the others. Mike Mahoney, for example, uses McNaughton for production bowl turning and he is like a machine.

Lyn Mangiameli wrote a lengthy review of coring systems in "More Woodturning" about a year ago. You can find his review of bowl saving systems on their website at:

wrote a 3-part follow-up article in "More Woodturning" on usingcoring systems.

Joe Fleming - San Diego ===========================================

my slicer, used as a coring tool, works OK once you learn the tricks - you wedge the tip in the ways and bend to the required curvature, and cut away. But my new problem is that the heat removed the carbide tip - while the tool itself can still be sharpend, it doesn't hold its edge as long ( :-(

======================== Ray, With that glowing advertisement, I'm sure you'll have people standing in line for it ! :-)

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

One other thing, Ray. Mike Mahoney suggests reshaping the tip to an arrow point by grinding the opposite side back so you have a point in the center. This makes two small edges rather than one wide one, thereby making the shavings narrower and easier to clear through the kerf. I've tried it and it is a definite improvement in the tool, and since the edges are smaller it also has less resistance in the cut.

-Jim Gott- San Jose, CA

Jim

Thanks - I just read the article by Joe Flemming that details and draws that configuration out. Looks good, but I think I have a buyer for the Kelton - as is. I'm getting the One Way! Thanks

Ray

Do you have your Stubby yet? I bet that works better with your McNaughton.

Derek