What are the tools you can’t do without
Working with wood in a serious and professional way is a demanding and complex activity – but it is also a great passion that can give both great craftsmen and small enthusiasts considerable satisfaction. To carry out all the necessary work, you need the right tools and machines; the type of operations to be performed is often the same (cutting, planing, sanding, drilling, painting), even if it is performed with different equipment depending on the size of the activity and the product to be made.
What matters is that the right machinery exists for every activity in the woodworking industry. What are the indispensable ones?
The machines you can’t do without for working wood
Working with wood, as mentioned, is a task for professionals and expert craftsmen, but it is also a passion that attracts many hobbyists. It is a set of complex and demanding processes, which requires a lot of practice and experience, as well as the right knowledge, to obtain a satisfactory result. Without forgetting safety: working with wood requires a lot of attention and precision, both for the quality of the product and for the safety of the operator.
Taking these premises into account, working with wood makes us feel a little like creators, a little like artists, and above all it makes us appreciate the ability to transform and give life to an incredible material. For this reason, in order to work wood in a professional way, various machines have been developed, which are essential for the basic operations. Using these tools simplifies all the most typical operations, such as cutting or finishing, with extremely precise and clean results. Of course, this provided you choose reliable, resistant and precise woodworking machinery, such as those produced by Volpato.
Here are some of the essential tools for working with wood and for carrying out a project from start to finish.
Wood cut-off saw
The miter saw is a machine used to make straight or oblique cuts, generally made on portions of wooden elements with a defined thickness. On the market there are:
- manual cut-off saw: more suitable for enthusiasts and hobbyists
- electric cut-off saw: designed to carry out more important and professional jobs. It helps to carry out a precise and fast job, especially for the bevel cutting of the boards
- radial cut-off saw: they have mechanisms to adjust the cutting angle, with a guide to work with greater precision.
Table and band saw
The table saw is a machine that allows you to work wood, but also other materials, making long and straight cuts, dividing wooden elements into two parts at a time. It allows you to work even on large elements, and is distinguished by the worktop (the table) which can be placed on or fixed to the counter. How does it work? Simply, the wood is made to slide on the surface until it meets the saw which cuts it into two parts.
The band saw, on the other hand, is a more suitable tool for curved or “irregular” cuts; it is one of the most used tools by professionals. The blade, made of a ribbon, moves around two flywheels, which continue to rotate. There are different types of materials for the blade and flywheel, depending on what needs to be cut (wood, but also plastic, aluminum, copper, bronze and other light metals).
Band saw for hole
It is a very effective machine for performing small curved operations, therefore ideal either for enthusiasts or for professionals and craftsmen who have to carry out work on small wooden elements – for example for mosaic pieces, or for modeling, or to create inlays, or also to create curved elements such as the backrests. It is generally available in the manual or electric version, depending on the power supply and operator needs; in any case it is characterized by an upper and a lower arm, connected to the blade. The U-shaped structure that supports the two arms (called swan neck) can have different depths; adjusting it determines the maximum size that can be cut.
Planer
The plane (in the electric or manual version) is used to work the wood in order to produce smooth and polished surfaces. In addition, it smooths the edges and can make grooves along the entire length of the machined piece, so as to have a smooth wooden element of the right size. The plane has blades fixed to a drum, driven by a motor that controls its speed (they can reach ranges between 10 and 16 thousand revolutions for the more advanced planes). The depth of the cut is instead managed by the operator through the handle: it is possible to remove a few millimeters or a centimeter of material with the thrust of the blade.
Sander
Sanding is a mandatory step for those who work with wood, and is extremely useful if the professional deals with the production of finished products such as furniture, doors and windows, frames, tables. Sanding consists of a series of finishing and leveling operations of the wood which appears, after this process, smooth and homogeneous. The machine therefore allows to improve the homogeneity of the surface and to perfect the shape and size of the object.
There are many different types of sanding machines (Volpato produces different types for professional use); in general, they share the same basic mechanism. An abrasive surface moves in a rotary, vibrating way or on a belt, thanks to an electric motor. The movement of this base and its rubbing against the material is able to make it smooth and homogeneous.
Woodturning lathe
The wood lathe is a woodworking machine designed to remove wood chips while it is rotating. Also in this case, there are different types, depending on the more professional or hobby use made of them: turret, front, parallel, vertical, numerically controlled, copying or with double spindle; what changes, of course, is the type of functions the machine can perform.
Compared, for example, to the lathe for metal, the one intended for wood is much lighter, as well as simple in its structure. Generally speaking, the motor runs the shaft, on which the cutters and tools necessary to turn the piece of wood are mounted. Depending on the accessories and the model, the piece of wood can also be milled, calibrated and profiled using the lathe.
Combination machines
The combined saw, as the name suggests, is a machine that brings together many tools and tools in the same machine, in order to reduce the steps and perform different processes in the same location; it is therefore ideal for workshops or more artisanal activities, where compactness is essential, without sacrificing resistance, safety and quality of workmanship. It is useful, for example, to carry out milling, sawing, leveling, planing work.
How does it work? It works by means of a motor that drives the belt, which in turn starts the tools. Generally speaking (because also in this case there are many different types on the market), a saw bench can have from two to six functions: the various functions can allow you to saw, mill and plan, as well as act as a tenoning machine. Small combined can have benches of about one meter and think even less than 50 kg, while large ones (generally used by large companies) can be up to 3 meters long and weigh well over a ton.
Volpato machines for woodworking
All these machines are indispensable to work wood professionally and to ensure high quality. In addition to the knowledge and skill of the worker, machinery is in fact a fundamental part of the manufacturing processes. For this reason Volpato produces machinery capable of offering very high performance. Using this type of machine it is possible to work wooden elements and profiles to prepare them for subsequent operations. Furthermore, Volpato proposes the design and production of other special machines, customized according to the type of customer’s pieces.
If for your professional or industrial woodworking activity you need efficient, safe machines that guarantee excellent results over time, Volpato has the solution for you. The company has in fact a vast catalog of machines designed and built internally and also deals with the construction of turnkey production plants.