Another Ci1 Review

Vaughn McMillan

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ABQ NM
I got my Ci1 Easy Rougher last Friday, and I got a chance this weekend to test drive it a bit.

My first test was a dry piece of spalted alder that wanted to be a hollow form. It's pretty soft wood, and hard to cut without tearout. I didn't take any pics, but the Ci1 cut the alder very smoothly, with almost no tearout. This thing is not a scraper...it's cutting. Hooked into the 24" Monster Handle II, it was very easy cutting. I was very impressed. I did find that speed is your friend with this tool.

As it turned out, I did the entire hollow form with carbide tools. The Ci1 for the outside (including finish cuts) and the Monster carbide bit on the articulating arm for the inside. I did the detail cuts around the neck of the hollow form with the Monster bit on Randy's hex boring bar, plugged into the 24" handle. Like the Ci1, the Monster carbide tool produces better results at higher speeds.

Here's a picture of the Ci1 and the big Monster handle:

Ash Root Ball Bowl 2 - 07 800.jpg

And the business end of the tool. I guess I could have cleaned it off before taking the picture:

Ash Root Ball Bowl 2 - 08 800.jpg

Saturday night, I decided it was time for a tougher test. I've had a piece of ash root burl in the pile for a while. Since I took a pile of pics, I'll create another thread to show how that went.

Anyway, Stu can give me the "I told you so". :p I'm liking this tool a lot. :thumb:
 
Stu, the ash root burl I did was green once I got inside of it. Even with all the grain changes and inclusions/holes, I was still getting 1/2" wide ribbons off the cutter. :thumb:

Frank, I seriously doubt you'll regret the purchase. ;)

I did forget to mention the one thing that was a problem...the DVD that Craig included with the tool wouldn't play on my computer. It obviously didn't stop me from using the tool. :)
 
Got mine today.

Nicely packed; I bought it directly from Craig Jackson; nice note from he and the Mrs. Along with the tool was the installed handle and straight bit, two extra bits and the chip shield. I have the Capital Area Woodturners club this weekend, think I will take it along for "show and tell". This is a serious tool, great workmanship, perfect finish, nice balance with the handle.
 
Wow, that was quick, Frank. I got mine pretty quickly, too. (I kind of expected a bit of delay, since I figured Craig had a lot of orders to fill after the AAW symposium.

Congrats on the new get...I think you're gonna like it.
 
Naw, I put a good word in for you both, and they made the order extra fast :D :D :D

Kidding! :rolleyes:

I think that Craig's lovely wife Donna (I think it is Donna:huh:) has gone full time on running the Ci1 business, while Craig retains his day job, so your orders can be filled quickly. Craig was at the symposium, but he was demoing the tool at the CS USA booth, so I would think most of the orders would go through CS USA :dunno:

So Frank, give us a review once you have some time on the tool, and be careful, that sucker is SHARP :eek:

Stu
 
So Frank, give us a review once you have some time on the tool, and be careful, that sucker is SHARP :eek:

Thanks for taking care of us Stu.

I will be happy to make long ribbons of wood shavings this weedend after the club meeting. I'll also like to get the thoughts of some of the more experienced (read old) members of club, maybe I can get them cut some wood during a break.

It was Donna who wrote the thank you note I got with my package, so you are correct in that point. I told my wife about Craig and Donna working as a team. I also told her Don Pencil and his wife work together too.

I like the idea of buying tools and supplies from a family business.
 
Finally had a chance to put the Ci1 to work on a small maple bowl. Nice feel to the tool, very aggressive plunge cuts with clean, sharp edges and glass smooth bottoms.

I like it and feel it will be very helpful clearing a lot of wood in a very short time.
 
........
I like it and feel it will be very helpful clearing a lot of wood in a very short time.

Agreed, only downside is it took me 3/4 of an hour to bag up and suck up all the debris from 1-1/4 hrs onslaught on 6 green beech blanks rough turned today. The tips have certainly become my weapon of choice for truing up rough prepared logs/blanks.
 
I need to get one of these for myself. I have one here at the house mounted on a Brazilian cherry easy grip handle that Craig donated as a giveaway/raffle prize for an upcoming woodturning event next month here in Springfield (PM me if you might be interested in attending). It is very tempting to take it to the shop "just to make sure it works ok."

During the process of coordinating the donation with Craig, I had a chance to talk to him on the phone. Frank is correct - Craig's wife quit her other job to work in the tool business. CSUSA has exclusive retail rights to sell the Ci1 other than Craig's direct sales. I would rather buy directly from him.

I think I heard from him or someone else that his sales at the AAW were actually CSUSA sales. That may be why he still had inventory.
 
I have the Ci1 to from Craig Jackson and have ordered extra blades from him after having the tool for awhile now. ill post a quick review of what i think:
* I will say the tool is much safer to use then alot of tools for the lathe
* There are many different cut you can make with this tool so just try using it and experimenting with the cuts. it does a great job for finishing cuts and hollowing of bowls etc.
* The tips are very sharp and can be fragile so dont drop it (as i have), the tips can chip easily if dropped on concrete....lol.....the good news is if you do you can rotate the blade for a new one.
*Craig sells different tips so look and feel free to call him he is a big help and easy to talk to....he has them handled and unhandled for sale i have bought one handled and made a handle for the other....the tool works wonderfully...
Dan
 
Well mine is on the way - I have ordered two - plus one handle.

Have seen all your utube movies Stu in Japan - pretty good stuff.

I think this tool will get a lot of use on our Australian hardwoods - these are my favourites.

Hope to get some pics up in the not too distant future.
 
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