Can OneWay Easy-Core cutters be sharpened on a CBN wheel?

[Frank Trinkle]

Getting ready to buy a coring system and leaning towards the OneWay Easy-Core system.

Realizing that their cutters need constant sharpening, I'm wondering if anyone is doing that on a CBN wheel...which is my preference. The cutters ARE HSS steel, so with the available sharpening jig, I would think there wouldn't be a problem, but I thought I'd ask here first to get a feel for whether or not I'll be spending a lot of shekels regularly on replacement cutters, and would also need a traditional wheel.

Cheers,

Frank

[Reed Gray]

They will do just fine on the CBN wheels. I would use the 180 grit wheel, and a light touch, just like standard wheels. The little jig that they sell for it works fine. I know that Woodcut has 'new and improved' their coring system by adding a 3rd larger blade, and saw some pictures of it, but I don't think it has been released in the US yet.

robo hippy

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

any additional info on that Reed? I have a Woodcut and was just about ready to sell it - I bought a McNaughton system for the added flexibility of sizes.

[Reed Gray]

I don't have any facts on it. They have been working on it for a couple of years. You will not be able to upgrade your old set up to the new one, but other than that, I haven't really been able to examine it. I had hoped they would be in Phoenix with it, but I am still waiting. I need to contact Peter (I think that is his name) and pin him down about it.

robo hippy

[George Thompson]

The new Woodcut coring system is now sold by Parker and is far better and cheaper than the One Way.
George

[Frank Trinkle]

The new Woodcut coring system is now sold by Parker and is far better and cheaper than the One Way.
George

No offense George, but simply saying something is "far better" is somewhat subjective.

How is it better? Have you used both? What does the Woodcut bring to the table that makes if "far better" than OneWay's? And WHO is Parker? You assume that anyone reading your post would automatically know? I certainly don't.

I'm new to woodturning and a total novice. I have both a Mustard Monster 3520B, and a Laguna REVO midi. I'm learning slowly.

I looked at the Woodcut, OneWay, and McNaughton systems. Immediately rejected the McNaughton due to MANY reviews about the learning curve. Probably great for experts, but I'm certainly nowhere close to that. I am leaning to the OneWay due to its flexibility...the only drawback being the cutters. I'm not that concerned with pricing issues. The Woodcut blades, while apparently maintaining sharpness for a long time, still need to either be replaced or sent back to the factory for resharpening eventually. That's a negative for me.

I would be interested in opinions regarding the systems...other than simply pricing issues.

Cheers,

Frank

[Reed Gray]

Well, the old Woodcut was a nice little system, with the emphasis on little. The big blade was a 5 inch radius. If you were coring some thing like Osage or locust, it would chatter a bit. It is screwed onto a post, and there is a jig from the back of the platform that fits into your tailstock for added stability. I don't really think it helped much. When I first heard that they were trying to add a blade, I thought the whole system would need to be beefed up because the standard platform would not handle reaching out any farther than it did. One other advantage was that you could core all the way in without having to advance the support finger that Oneway uses. The Oneway is rock solid, all the way out with the biggest coring blade, but you have to turn off the lathe for about every 2 inches of depth and advance the support finger. On a big bowl, this is 4 or 5 times. Huge time waste to me. The tips on the Woodcut should take a very long time to wear out. The material is stellite, which is almost as hard as carbide, and can be easily sharpened on standard wheels, or also easily on the CBN wheels. They are slightly concave on the top, and some one told me that part of the reason for that is that it helped eject chips better. Not sure on that one. You sharpen the face of the cutter. I would expect honing with a coarse card (220 grit would be best to raise a bigger burr). I don't really care for the Oneway tip in part because you have to dig out the shavings in the hex head screw with a push pin, take it off the blade, then put it on a jig to sharpen it. I did get them to send me one that had been hardened, but had not been ground down to the chip breaker point. I tapered the sides a bit, and put it on the blade. I think it cut a lot better/more aggressively than the standard tips, and they told me that was why it was not sold to the general public. As far as versatility, I would rate the Oneway and Woodcut the same, and way behind the McNaughton. For ease of use, I would rank the Woodcut ahead of the Oneway, and the McNaughton down on that list. Once you figure out the McNaughton, it is by far faster and easier to set up and use. But, there is that learning curve.

robo hippy

[Frank Trinkle]

Awesome! Thanks very much for that full comparison!

I think I'm still leaning towards the OneWay. I'm not a production shop, and bowls are a very small piece of my woodworking hobby. So, having to advance the support, while a pain, is not a big issue for me. What concerned me about the Woodcut is the limited size and wasn't impressed by their video talking about having to use your left hand on top of the cutter to reduce chatter.

Thanks again Reed!

Cheers,

Frank

[Reed Gray]

I really wish I had one of their new systems in hand to compare it to the old one. I did send them an e-mail asking to get one at least by the Oregon Woodturning Symposium in March.

robo hippy

[Frank Trinkle]

One benefit that I also like about the OneWay vs the Woodcut is the ability to slide the tailstock to the wood, not the coring unit. Keeps the cored bowl from potentially flying out of the outer bowl and landing on hard ground.

I'm pretty much settled on the OneWay for now. I might consider the McNaughton somewhere down the road when I have a LOT more experience on the lathe. Anybody want to chime in on the best place (Outside of Florida to avoid sales tax) to purchase the OneWay?

Thanks for all the replies!

Cheers,

Frank

[Dave Fritz]

The new Woodcut coring system is now sold by Parker and is far better and cheaper than the One Way.

Do you have a link to the Parker that sells the new system?

Thanks for your input too Reed, as always, very useful.

Dave Fritz

[Reed Gray]

Now, I am trying to remember, I think the guy that runs Woodcut is Peter Helmsley or some thing like that. I sent them an e-mail a day or two ago asking about it, and haven't heard back from them. I also sent one before the AAW Symposium, and didn't hear back then either.

As far as cores running wild across the shop, it hasn't been a problem for me, but then I have learned to work around it. Mostly when it gets close to being cut all the way off, I turn my speed down. With the Oneway, the way the blade set up goes when you get to the end, it pretty much traps the blank inside the bowl. With the Woodcut, pretty similar. With the McNaughton, it isn't trapped, but I was a Hacky Sack champion in my younger years, and can ease them down to the floor with a foot catch. If I don't and they go wild, the part of the rim that gets dented is always cut off any way. I do take the biggest core first, and work my way down. Turning the speed down is probably the best bet though.

robo hippy

[George Thompson]

Sorry to drop a quick note on coring but have been real busy the last weeks trying to get caught up on some of my orders. Yes I have used all three of the coring systems and for what I do the new Woodcut is the best I have ever used and it will pay for it's self the first time you core a burl. We have three McNaughton systems in the guild here one has been sold and replaced with the woodcut and the member with the Oneway is trying to sell his. After the first setup with the Woodcut it only takes minutes put it back in your banjo and cut an other bowl. The company in the USA that handles it is Packard Woodworks in NC.
Sorry again I got that wrong in the first post I think it is sold for around $500.00. Hope this helps a little more and also it is a single knife and will core from 17" to a 4" bowl I have in the past year cored about 70 bowls with it.

[Reed Gray]

I really don't like that 'more replies below current depth thing..... Arrgh!

Any way, I looked on the Packard Tools web site and didn't see it there. I will call Brad on Monday morning and get the scoop...

robo hippy

[Hugh Buttrum]

Frank,
I learned something from Mike Mahoney at a demo last year.......Heat on the cutting arm will soften the arm enough for the arm to bend. Mike was talking about the McNaughton system, but it is true also for the Oneway system. When Mike gets part way into the cut, he moves the cutter and makes the kerf a bit wider so he does not get the friction. I have the Oneway coring system and love it. I like it better now that I make the kerf wider. Less problems.
Hugh