# bowl savers for midi lathes



## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

I have the Turncrafter midi lathe from PSI and I have been doing alot more bowls recently. I hate turning the inside into shavings and I like the idea of coring out the inside of the bowl and making a smaller one. Although on a Midi lathe I sort of feel that it is a waste, compared to larger lathes.

Does anyone use one of these for the smaller lathes? 

Thanks


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

What kind of turnning tool do you use most when making a bowl?
I haven't turnned a bowl as of yet but will get my nerve up soon and try one.I bought a DVD by Bill Grumbine yesterday and it's great.It looks like he uses a spindle gouge with a fingernail grind for most of his bowls.I need to watch it again and learn more.
Donny


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## Dave (PacNW) (Apr 19, 2009)

*Tools for Bowl Turning.*

The most common tool is a Bowl Gouge they come in sizes from 1/4" to 3/4". They are not the same as spindle gouges. I use the Sorby 1/2" bowl gouge with a fingernail grind for most of the process. I also use a variety of scrapers in the finishing process to get the best surface I can before sanding. :thumbdown: NEVER EVER use a spindle roughing gouge when turning a bowl unless your lfe insurance is fully PAID! The shank can break and it is not pretty. Scrapers can be used for most of the turning if desired, but a Bowl Gouge remove material much faster. Unless you are coring bowls over 10 to 12 inches, the expense for the coring system is hard to justify. 
Just 4 cents worth (adjusted for inflation)
Dave (PacNW)


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I agree with Dave. There is a considerable learning curve to the coring tools and they are expensive. They also require a fair amount of horsepower and don't work as well for mini lathes.
Bill uses a bowl gouge for his bowls. You can use a spindle gouge but they are often ground to a sharper angle which means your bowl has to be shallower to keep the bevel rubbing. A properly ground bowl gouge will let you turn most bowls. 
As Dave said, don't use a spindle roughing gouge. It's too easy to get a catch and the tang is too small to handle a catch. It will bend the tool or break it.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

That is sort of my concern too... I can only spin a 10" bowl and my face plate can only hold an 8" bowl, so I would have to master an alternative method to hold a 10" to clean up the bottom.

But even if I start with a 8x8x3 blank and core it i could maybe get a 6x6x2 blank and then a 4x4x1? 

Although in a fancy wood, that would be nice...


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## Barry Ward (Mar 22, 2008)

*Bowl saver for midi lathes*

Which lathe do you have the 1/4 hp or the 1/2 hp? if you have the 1/4 they don't make a coring system that would work with it.I have the Ricon midi 1/2 hp and have cored with the McNaughton,but it had to work at it and it put a real strain on the motor.So I got the Nova 1624 with 1 1/2 hp and that is really about as low as you should be trying to core with,otherwise you will be putting to much strain on the smaller motor.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

i have a 1/2HP one, I couldn't imagine having a smaller one. And there is no more in the budget or the shop for a larger one... 

how many cores could you get off the little lathe


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## Keoni (Jan 5, 2010)

*Mcnaughton Micro Saver*

:icon_smile: I'm new to this forum. But go on to the other wood turning forums.
I have a jet 1220 w/ 3/4 hp. I use the Micro bowl saver, successfully. I take my time with it . At times it does bog down a bit when the shavings build up. So I open up the kerf a bit. and proceed slowly. Cherry and Koa are the hardest wood so far that I have tried it on. 
Takes a lot of practice, Had several times I go to deep and end up with a missing bowl size . Have yet to try it for natural edge work some time soon. Hope this helps. :thumbsup:


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

just saw this lathe: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TCLC12WB.html.

14" swing, 1 HP.... that would be nice.... but about 2x what I would pay


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

It says it's 12" not 14 but does sound interesting. I wish it would tell what kind of motor, AC or DC, not just High induction. That doesn't tell me anything. The could be rating them like Sears rates HP. My 1 1/2hp sears router won't pull as hard as my 3/4horse porter cable.


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

Sorry, I was thinking of something else when I posted about the video with Bill, it was a 1/2" Bowl Gouge and NOT a spindle gouge.I'm waiting on my RS 1/2" Bowl Gouge to arrive tomorrow with my Talon Oneway Chuck. I hope to be turning some this week if at all possible.
Donny


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