Advanced Woodturning Tools
These tools allow the craftsman to create more intricate designs, improve efficiency, and explore new possibilities.
1. Hollowing Tools
Used to create deep vessels or hollow forms, when standard gouges may not cut it—literally! Hollowing tools are designed with extended reach and specialized tips to work inside narrow openings.
Hook tools: Excellent for hollowing bowls and vases with precision.
Swan neck tools: The curved neck allows deeper reach inside vessels without scraping the sides.
Articulated hollowing systems: Highly adjustable for precise control when creating intricate hollow forms.
2. Texturing Tools
Texturing tools allow for the creation grooves, spirals, and other patterns directly on the workpiece.
Sorby texturing tool: Add decorative spirals, knurls, and patterns to the piece.
Burnishing tools: Used for creating a smooth, polished look without sanding.
Wire brushes: Used to highlight the wood grain and create a rustic, aged finish.
3. Steb Centers
Steb centers offer better grip and flexibility than traditional drive centers. They’re spring-loaded and designed to hold the workpiece more securely, reducing the chance of a catch. This is especially useful when working with delicate pieces or harder woods.
4. Longworth Chuck
The Longworth chuck is an advanced version that makes reverse mounting easier. It’s great for finishing the bottom of bowls and plates, and the self-centering design allows for repositioning with minimal hassle.
5. Vacuum Chucking System
Offers an elegant solution for holding pieces on the lathe without needing tailstock support. It uses suction to hold the work in place, which is perfect for finishing the bottom of bowls or working on delicate pieces that can’t be gripped in traditional chucks.
6. Laser-Guided Hollowing System
A laser-guided system helps to avoid going too far and accidentally piercing the wall of the piece by showing exactly where the cutting tool is inside the piece. It’s a game-changer for creating consistently thin-walled vessels.
7. Coring System
When turning large bowls or vessels, a coring system allows for the removal of the center core of the bowl while preserving the rest of the wood for additional projects, reducing waste, and maximizing material.
8. Duplicator Tools
Create multiple identical woodturning pieces—like matching chair legs, balusters, or even custom pens. These tools allow for the replication of a design quickly and accurately, making mass production or consistency across projects much simpler.
Lathe Duplicators
Lathe attachments that copy the exact shape of a template or an original piece onto a new workpiece. These machines are often mounted on the lathe and work by guiding a cutting tool along a pattern or original piece, ensuring that each turned object is a perfect replica of the first. A stylus or guide follows the contour of a template or existing piece, and the cutting tool follows the same path. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of repetitive turning.
Router Duplicators
A more advanced tool that can carve out complex shapes and designs by copying an original pattern. It’s often used to replicate 3D shapes, offering more versatility than lathe duplicators. A router mounted on a mechanical arm traces the surface of the template and carves the same shape into your wood. It’s the best suited tool for intricate designs and more advanced woodturning projects, such as creating complex carvings or reproducing parts for high-end furniture.
Benefits of Using Duplicators
Time-saving: Duplicators drastically reduce the time it takes to recreate a piece by hand.
Consistency: Each piece will come out exactly the same, ensuring uniformity in projects requiring multiple parts.
Precision: With duplicators, there’s far less room for human error. This is particularly important when working with high-end or commissioned projects where consistency is key.
Considerations Before Using a Duplicator
Initial Setup: Getting the duplicator aligned and calibrated can take some time, so it’s best used for projects involving multiple copies, rather than one-off items.
Creativity vs. Efficiency: While duplicators are fantastic for efficiency, they do take away some of the creative freehand artistry that comes with traditional woodturning. But when to balance art with function—especially for commercial work—they can be incredibly useful.