Supplementary Equipment
While woodturning does not require many large machines like other types of woodworking may, it is necessary to have more than just a lathe, but a few other pieces of power equipment: a bandsaw, a chainsaw, a grinder, and a drill. With these pieces of equipment, woodturning will be made far more possible for you.
Debatably the most important supplementary piece of equipment for woodturning is the bandsaw: a bandsaw cuts wood with a revolving blade that is the shape of a rubber band, but just around 80 inches in length. This blade can cut curves in wood and is often utilized for that purpose, as it can cut out a round piece of wood so it is not so unbalanced when put on the lathe to be rugged out at first. Bandsaws range in price greatly, from less than a hundred bucks to professional grade bandsaws that are several thousand dollars. Personally, I bought my bandsaw used off of Craigslist for 115 dollars, and I have been using it for the past several years. The blades of bandsaws must be replaced or resharpened every so often, or else the dull blade may veer off in one direction making it difficult to control the path of the cut. Bandsaw blades’ tautness is an adjustable feature and must be done properly so that the blade is not pushed off of the rotating driving wheels.
Furthermore, a grinder is a machine that rotates a stone or cubic boron nitride(CBN) wheel which is used for the sharpening of steel tools and is an important machine for a turning to have in their shop. Sharpening must be done on a frequent basis, as gouges and chisels can cut through a lot of material in a short time, dulling them quickly. It is very important to note that when selecting your grinder, you ensure it is a “slow speed” grinder, as it generates less heat on the tool, therefore tempering the high-speed steel less. Tempering steel softens it and happens by heating it. Even a slow-speed grinder can heat up your tools too much, so I recommend keeping a little cup of water next to your grinder to dip the tools in to keep them cool when grinding, especially when grinding for extensive periods of time. A necessary accessory for your grinding wheel is a dressing stone; after substantial use of your grinder, it will likely not be a perfect disc, and this can be a problem when sharpening flat tools like the skew, so a dressing stone flattens out the surface, making it square with the edges of the wheel.
Additionally, while not necessary, a chainsaw allows you to cut large pieces of wood to put on your lathe. This would be a necessary tool if you want to make large salad bowls from logs because a bandsaw is incapable of making large cuts from thick pieces of wood like logs. When purchasing a saw, there are several factors to consider: bar length and power source. In reference to the power source, your saw can either be plug-in, battery-powered, or gas. Bar length is also important to consider because you can only make a cut as deep as your bar length, or in other words, you can only cut a tree whose diameter is less than or equal to the bar length of your chainsaw.
Lastly, you might find a drill useful when woodturning. It is necessary if you ever want to use your screw chuck, as you need to drill a hole for it. But the main reason I find drills useful when turning is because they can be helpful when sanding, as I put a sanding attachment on them which reduces sanding marks on bowls which is a common problem when sanding by hand. Sanding attachments are often two inches wide and are hand on by the drill’s chuck. The sandpaper velcros onto the attachment.
