McNaughton......McNot

[Neil Bosdet]

Cored my first, errr, bowl last night with my new McNaughton system. Honestly, it's closer to a donut but still has a bottom. Holding my 13", 1.5" thick bowl up to the light, I can see light through the bottom. Rats. I read and read, watched videos, drew diagrams of the path and still did this. I'm very disappointed. The side walls are not even close to smooth. Very ridgy and rough. Constantly had to clear chips and stalled the 2HP lathe often. #!?*&#!

[Steve Busey]

Green wood, or dry?

[Neil Bosdet]

Western Maple, green. Bowl was 6" deep x 13" wide. Used the middle cutter from the Standard set. No knots or anything like that.

[Tim Rinehart]

Neil, definitely a learning curve on this. I will say that I wouldn't expect a 'smooth' surface and getting 'ridgy and rough' seems par for the course. I get this with both a McN system and a Oneway Easycore. Keep in mind, both of these are really ripping the fibers away, so smooth is not going to happen.

There's a lot of folks like Reed who can offer specific advice...but one I'd ask is if you gave the tip a good sharpening with a diamond stone prior to and during use?

[Scott Hackler]

Welcome to coring! :)

Seriously though, coring with the McNaughton has a bit of a learning curve. The main thing with coring is going slow, clearing the chips out regularly, keeping the cutter at the correct height and being able to plan on or imagine the cutting path. I bought Reed Gray's (robo hippy) DVD on operating the McNaughton and he definitely had some good points that helped me. A keeping the cutter really sharp is also a must. I cored a set out of red cedar (pretty soft) and I put a new burr on the cutter with my diamond hone between each core. That helped a lot.


Another thing, the bowls you core ARE going to be relatively rough. None of the cored "blanks" are to be concidered smooth or ready for sanding....by a long shot. Every cored blank will need to be either returned after drying or turned down to final thickness AFTER you core them.


Patience, my friend. It has a bit of a learning curve, but you'll figure it out.

[Reed Gray]

Been there, done that, more than once, and still do it some times. It does take some practice. I guess one hint would be to start the core with the tip pointed straight at the center of the bowl bottom, that way with the curve of the blade, you will end up a bit shallow. You will not get finished surface cuts with any coring tool. They are scrapers, and scrapers cutting down through end/side grain, will leave a rougher surface. If you ever get down south to Oregon, the shop is open most of the time. I did get your e-mail, and response has been sent. One thing I do to keep the shavings from plugging up so much is to grind the spear point down to square. It makes for a smaller shaving which goes out faster.

robo hippy

[Neil Bosdet]

Thanks for your responses! I am mostly disappointed in myself. I really didn't expect to make a donut. Can anybody suggest a use for the "no bottom" bowl? I cored out a 2nd bowl with the remaining core this morning. Went better. Ended quite shallow but at least I didn't waste the bowl.

[Reed Gray]

Richard Hines over at Wood Central hooked up his dust collection hose to the end of one that he did, put it on an articulated arm, and used it for a sanding hood. Looks more proper than a plastic big gulp type sanding hood.

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Welcome to the donut/lampshade/funnel club. I tend to think of my donuts this way. Finish it, turn it over and use it as a stand for the big bowl......

I still can't get more than 3 bowls from a blank...... Practice and get better. Too late to quit now, you got your first donut. Probably won't be your last.

[Reed Gray]

There are claims of 1 core per inch of thickness. Probably closer to 1 1/2 inches. With a 6 inch thick blank, I can get 4, but the last little one usually isn't worth the effort. Now, if you are like Mike Mahoney, and to those nested burl sets, with tiny bottoms, you can get more, but not worth it for utility bowls.

robo hippy

[Pat Scott]

Those donuts burn real nice in the fireplace! Been there, done that. Keep practicing, you'll get the hang of it. Don't get too discouraged, it's just wood.

[Greg Just]

Thanks for your responses! I am mostly disappointed in myself. I really didn't expect to make a donut. Can anybody suggest a use for the "no bottom" bowl? I cored out a 2nd bowl with the remaining core this morning. Went better. Ended quite shallow but at least I didn't waste the bowl.

a member of our turning club takes the bottomless bowls and glues a new piece of wood to the bottom. He then turns the piece into a roof for a bird house. Guess the birds don't mind. The other option is the fireplace.