re: Lathe Stand Modular Extension?

You’ve always got to look at it from the standpoint of what works best for your shop. That said, Rikon makes a slow speed (half speed) bench grinder that works perfectly for sharpening HSS. And, since it’s got two wheels, you can put different CBN grits (or shapes) on each side…of course you won’t have a water bath, but that Rikon setup is cheaper than a Tormek (although maybe not cheaper than the clone). You can source quality CBN wheels for a good price and the setup works as advertised. You’ll need some sort of a jig to hold the tools, and there are options for that. 

The other potential (and much much cheaper option with a smaller footprint) is a WorkSharp 3000. It’ll do chisel blades, plane blades, and you can freehand carving gouges and turning tools from underneath. It works really well. I’ve got one set up on my workbench that I use for chisels and plane blades all the time. I went with the grinder because I wanted something stationary on the lathe and with a proper lathe tool jig…but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to go. Lots of options, and many of them have variable uses.