Tools & Machinery
These are the main machines I use for creating my segmented woodturnings.
Vicmarc VL300 lathe
This is my latest lathe which I have bought and it is better than I ever expected. I asked to have a new drive shaft made to accept a 1½" x 6 thread so that every chuck can be used on either of the 2 lathes I now have.
It's just a pleasure to use it.
Jet 1220 VS lathe
The latest addition to my machines. Small enough so that it can be taken to exhibitions and demonstrations in the car. It has variable speed and 6 step pulley. This lathe has a 20" bed and can turn pieces up to 12" in diameter.
Felder combination spindle/panel saw
This is my main workhorse that is extremely accurate, especially when using my purpose made jigs that are used for cutting the many different angles required for segmented work. To achieve the cleanest cut possible for crosscutting, I use a negative rake 80 teeth saw blade with alternate bevel. Both the saw blade and spindle moulder can be tilted to a 45° angle. The built-in spindle moulder is a useful addition if being used for general joinery work. This saw is capable of trimming an 8' x 4' sheet on the travelling bed.
Lurem SAR 400 band saw
This band saw has a cutting height of 8" and 15.25" to the column with a 19.5" square table.
When using more exotic timbers (which are expensive) every saw cut is costing money! So when I’m ripping strips of timber I’ll use the thin blade of this machine rather than the thicker one in the panel saw.
Kity 638 planer/thicknesser
The capacity of this machine is 12" x 8" and has a total of 61" beds. The beds tilt upwards out of the way when you need to use the machine for thicknessing. I use this machine to dimension most of my stock.
Jet 16-32 thickness drum sander
I like this machine very much for its precision in dimensioning stock. Even after the work has been through a planer thicknesser or a panel saw the accuracy improves. After I have made up several segmented rings, these can then be sanded to an accurate size for building into the next stage of a piece. To sand very thin pieces i.e. 1/32", these can be carried through on a piece of 1/4" plywood to prevent sanding into the 16" carrier bed.
Scheppach BSM 2010 belt sander
This is a general-purpose sander that can be used horizontal (as in the photo) or vertically by tipping the bed onto its side. One of its main uses is for cleaning excess glue off ring assemblies before they go through the drum sander. Its capacity is 3' x 6".
