Overview
Like most people, I enjoy saving money whenever I can. Years ago, I routinely wasted the center area of the bowls during the spin. If the blank square was very calculated, I would always cut the corners to use for other projects, like pens or bottle caps. All the wood in the center of the bowl was discarded as waste when the center of the bowl was hollowed out.
Wasting bowl centers
Every time he hollowed out the center of a beautiful bowl, he knew there had to be a better way. Some of my 12 “x 12” x 4 “thick figure blanks could easily cost $ 100.00 or more. When a standard container with a thin wall is rotated, approximately 90% to 95% of the original blank is disposed of as waste. One day after a long production I was looking at the huge piles of tall figure shavings on the floor and all I could see was hundred dollar bills. The next day, I ordered a bowl center saver system and immediately started using it to store the centers in my bowls.
In the last eleven years, I have removed the hearts of several thousand bowls with my central protector. Rather than setting aside the center of the bowl as waste, I now flip smaller bowls of the stored cores. The center guard allows me to get the maximum amount of usable material from each blank. Even if you have a never-ending supply of high-relief lumber, a center saver system is a must-have for your studio. It is quicker to remove the center from a bowl with a center protector than to waste it with the bowl gouge. Not only will you save wood by using a center guard, but you will also save time cleaning chips from the floor at the end of the day.
Alternative uses for saved kernels
If you’re not interested in turning the smaller cores, bring them to the next wood turning club meeting. You may be able to sell some to other members with smaller lathes, which will help offset the cost of your center saving tool. You can also re-saw cores into pen project blanks, bottle caps, inlay material, boxes, small hollow shapes, or other project blanks. Removing the core in a solid mass gives you many options that you would not otherwise have.
Central savings yield many bowls
With most bowl savers, you can expect to save one bowl for every inch of wood thickness in the blank. For example, if you have a blank bowl that is 12 “x 12” x 4 “thick, you could easily hold four bowls of the blank, rather than just one if it is hollowed out in the traditional way. A tremendous savings and gives you three more bowls to sell, instead of the largest outside bowl.
My primary center guard system has three different versions, a mini center guard, a standard center guard, and a jumbo center guard. The mini system includes three different curved blades and one straight blade in the set. It is designed to core out of bowls less than 10 “in diameter. The standard system is larger than the mini set and includes three different curved blades and one straight blade. It is designed to core out of bowls up to 12” in diameter. diameter, on lathes with swing capacity of 12 “to 16” or more. The jumbo system includes two different curved blades and one straight blade. It is designed to drill bowls up to 16 “in diameter, on large lathes with a turning capacity of 16” to 24 “.
This system includes straight blades that are very useful as a large parting tool, or for slicing plate and bowl blanks from larger blanks on the lathe. The blades work like a scraper and can create curved and straight profiles, depending on how the system is configured. The manufacturer recommends using the system on 12 “and larger rotary lathes, with 1HP or larger motors for best results.
Using a center guard on smaller lathes
If you are spinning a smaller lathe with a 3/4 or 1 HP motor, you can still use a center guard to remove the centers from your bowls. A few years ago, I developed an innovative Pulsed fluid Technique for using a center save system on smaller, low powered lathes. This technique allows users with smaller engines to enjoy all the benefits of coring, while maximizing the torque and speed available to the engine. My fluid pulsing technique has been well received by turners around the world and has become a standard protocol when using this system on smaller lathes.
If you are wasting the centers of your bowls now, consider purchasing a center saving system. You’ll save time, money, and frustration in your studio and spend much less time sweeping mountains of wood shavings. If you turn more than a few bowls each year, your wood and time savings can add up very quickly. Most of the time, our tools cost us money, but center savers can help you save money, allowing you to preserve wood that would otherwise be disposed of as waste.
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