David Weaver
...I mentioned a few times now, but safety isn't first in my shop on things like this. I wake up and pay attention when power saws are running, but for most of the rest of the time, i don't.

Two things come to mind, though.
* lathes are awfully strong devices, and right below the buffing wheel is a lot of metal for something to bounce off of. The HF buffer is less than $40 with a coupon and I haven't managed to mess anything up on it yet other than the power cord.
* everyone wants to see the bevel of the chisel because we don't trust what we don't see, but this isn't precise enough for that to be necessary. I think working on the bottom side of the wheel the top of the wheel rotating toward you is safest. A catch of any sort just throws the tool downward a little.

plus, when you get a bit of wax from the buffing stick flying around, it doesn't land on a lathe bed.

But a lathe or hand drill or anything will work - the result requires some specification, but the tools needed are all low precision.