The Other Woodturning Tools: More Than The Wood Lathe

When woodworkers begin tho think about taking up woodturning the first thing they consider is buying a lathe. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to woodturning tools. Of course the cutting tools themselves, gouges, chisels, parting tools and so on need to be gotten but so are a few other tools which can be considered necessary for the craft. Thankfully, many of them are already in many home workshops.

Tools obviously need to be kept sharp whether they be lathe tools or plane irons. However, instead of an array of hones and whetstones, woodturners instead use tools straight from the grinder. While the typical shop grinder will work well it should be enhanced with aluminium oxide wheels. A course wheel on one side to shape tools and remove nicks is handy while a fine wheel of about eighty grit is good for sharpening. Wheel dressers will be needed to keep the wheels flat and clean. A sharpening jig is a great tool for new turners and old ones alike.

Wood needs to be gotten ready for the lathe. Especially when it comes to faceplate turning, blocks of wood are best mounted after being cut into disks. The band saw is the ideal tool for this. As green wood is often used for faceplate work, a course blade should be used such as three eighths with three teeth per inch. It is always a good idea to have extra blades on hand in case of breakage.

For getting larger blocks ready to mount, a chainsaw is a great tool. It is also one of the more dangerous tools to use and great care is needed. However, many bowl turners will be working straight from the log and a chainsaw is a necessity. Many turners will find an electric model satisfactory although it will be somewhat slower than many gas ones and of course requires a heavy cord.

The table saw is the mainstay of many flat woodworking shops and can be a great aid to the woodturner, especially for smaller projects or in the preparation of laminated work. While it is not used as much as is the band saw pen turners use it frequently for the preparation of blanks and turners of other small objects often turn to it for the preparation of production runs.

One of the most used tools in many woodworking shops is the electric drill. While it is often used for drilling holes, it is also used as a power driver for mounting faceplates and in particular by woodturners as a power sander. Small drill powered disks, usually padded, are faced with sandpaper and rotated in the opposite direction to the spinning wood. This greatly speeds up the sanding process, especially for faceplate work.

Other shop tools certainly come into play, especially when one considers the vast array of decorative opportunities which woodturning presents to carvers and the like. However, these are some of the most used by woodturners and should be considered when setting up the woodturning workshop, both for purposes of budgeting and for increasing the enjoyment of the craft.

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