I'm new to turning and and gathering up the bits I need to enjoy the hobby some. I teach a high school robotics team and my small "shop" (2 car garage), is quite full of stuff already. Even the new wood lathe with retractable wheels is a burden on my space. I'm retired and can't swing an expensive, big bandsaw for sure. I've got a lot of other bits I need worse to start, and for the foreseeable future. I could pickup a delta clone pretty inexpensively, ($50-$100 around here). Add a riser to it, maybe some better guides, and a proper blade. But I really don't have the space if I can get by w/o it. I had one a few years ago, pre-wood lathe, that I let go as I just wasn't using it. So my only need for it would be for prepping wood for the lathe. My lathe is a 20" PM2020. For turning I'll probably piddle with a little bit of everything, I'm mostly interested in doing segmented stuff right now. But being able to turn a chunk of cut would is appealing. I have an older 10" table saw FWIW.
My question is, can I get by with a chainsaw for making blanks from green wood, or is a bandsaw a must have? I see lots of videos with people turning chunks that have almost a branch sticking out of them, it seems an octogon'ish shape for a bowl blank would be OK. But I don't know. I do have the upside of a reasonably powerful lathe I think.
Other than "suck it up and get a high end bandsaw (Rikon PM, etc)", can anyone offer me some input on the issue? Can I get by with a chainsaw, or will I be a lot better off from there, with a basic, possibly slightly upgraded 14" bandsaw?