Unpleasant experience w/ Bowlsaver Max3

[Daniel Warren]

For those using the Bowlsaver, have you experienced the major chatter about halfway in on a core, particularly when using the medium blade?

Also seems to catch quite a bit about halfway through.

I haven't used the largest blade yet. The smallest blade isn't as bad.

Any feedback appreciated. I've been working with green/wet walnut exclusively.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, with the old 2 blade version, I did get some chatter when coring some osage orange. It is a particularly hard wood. They did beef up the platform considerably from that first version. To me one of the draw backs to this system is that it can do this with some woods. It is not as sturdy or strong maybe as the Oneway system, which is rock solid all the way out to the end of the biggest blade they have, and that is because of the support finger under the cutting blade. The McNaughton also likes to chatter, and more so on harder woods than softer ones.

One cause can be height issues. Most coring systems say that you should have the cutting edge at center height. I prefer mine slightly above center height, like 1/8 inch or so for Oneway and Woodcut, though I use the McNaughton 99% of the time. With the McNaughton, I keep it over 1/4 inch high. You do not want to be cutting below center!!!!!! These are scrapers, and on the inside of a bowl when using scrapers, you want to be at or slightly above center. The McNaughton has a lot of 'flex' in the system, so if you start at center height, then by the time you get to the center, you can be considerably below center. The Woodcut has a little bit of flex in it, much less than the McNaughton. The Oneway has no flex in it.

Do make sure your cutter is sharp. I prefer a coarse diamond card, like 220 grit, and will go across the bevel rather than up and down. This leaves a better burr. Walnut, for reasons I don't really understand, seems to be hard on all cutting edges, so you may need to resharpen more often with it than other woods. Probably every bowl.

Hope this helps some.

robo hippy

 

[Spike Cornelius]

Would a negative rake on the cutters help?

 

[Daniel Warren]

Well, with the old 2 blade version, I did get some chatter when coring some osage orange. It is a particularly hard wood. They did beef up the platform considerably from that first version. To me one of the draw backs to this system is that it can do this with some woods. It is not as sturdy or strong maybe as the Oneway system, which is rock solid all the way out to the end of the biggest blade they have, and that is because of the support finger under the cutting blade. The McNaughton also likes to chatter, and more so on harder woods than softer ones.

One cause can be height issues. Most coring systems say that you should have the cutting edge at center height. I prefer mine slightly above center height, like 1/8 inch or so for Oneway and Woodcut, though I use the McNaughton 99% of the time. With the McNaughton, I keep it over 1/4 inch high. You do not want to be cutting below center!!!!!! These are scrapers, and on the inside of a bowl when using scrapers, you want to be at or slightly above center. The McNaughton has a lot of 'flex' in the system, so if you start at center height, then by the time you get to the center, you can be considerably below center. The Woodcut has a little bit of flex in it, much less than the McNaughton. The Oneway has no flex in it.

Do make sure your cutter is sharp. I prefer a coarse diamond card, like 220 grit, and will go across the bevel rather than up and down. This leaves a better burr. Walnut, for reasons I don't really understand, seems to be hard on all cutting edges, so you may need to resharpen more often with it than other woods. Probably every bowl.

Hope this helps some.

robo hippy

Thanks Reed, I will give that a try. As you stated, the manual directs the cutter to be at center.

Would a negative rake on the cutters help?

I added a slight rake on the medium cutter, didn't make much of a difference.

 

[Bill Blasic]

I had the original Woodcut and had no problem with the 2 blades that came with it on any wood. Woodcut lent me a Bowlsaver 3 and I cored the hardest piece of ash that I have ever seen and it made noise but it was not vibration and all 3 blades cut through it. The toughest wood mentally and physically to core is a piece that has hard and soft spots, there you will get vibration.

 

[Daniel Warren]

I had the original Woodcut and had no problem with the 2 blades that came with it on any wood. Woodcut lent me a Bowlsaver 3 and I cored the hardest piece of ash that I have ever seen and it made noise but it was not vibration and all 3 blades cut through it. The toughest wood mentally and physically to core is a piece that has hard and soft spots, there you will get vibration.

Do you recall height of blades to center? Higher as Reed suggested?

I'm just going to have to experiment.

 

[Bill Blasic]

I always enter slightly above center.

 

[Richard Coers]

Half way through you are transitioning between mostly end grain to all long grain. That makes it harder to cut and when you are on either side of that transition I have no issues.

 

[Chuck Lobaito]

If you could show your initial setup before coring that might be helpful.

Are the chuck and tenon large enough for the bowl you are coring? Also is the tenon fit properly in the chuck with a small gap and the jaws not open too far.

 

[Daniel Warren]

If you could show your initial setup before coring that might be helpful.

Are the chuck and tenon large enough for the bowl you are coring? Also is the tenon fit properly in the chuck with a small gap and the jaws not open too far.

I can take a photo at some point

I'm using 4" jaws on a Nova. My tenons are pretty good these days, seldom do I have issues. I have calipers set for producing tenons quickly.