Pole Lathe

~ George Crawford ~ 5 Comments

LatheHere’s an image of Mick’s pole lathe where my bowl and plate were created.  It’s hard to see all the workings from this view but it’s a pretty great set-up.  Unlike a modern, continuous motion lathe, the cutting is done on the down-stroke (about 2 1/2 revolutions) and the spring returns the system to the “up” position.  This type of woodworking is done with green wet wood; in this case, alder.

Posing by the bowtop

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment
Youngsters in the bowtop.
Youngsters and the bowtop.

This is a beautiful painted bowtop next to a more modern caravan.  I suspect this image is from one of the large fairs in Britain but I can’t find information on it.  It looks like the ladies are done up in their finest for the photo.

This is part of a series of images, mostly Romany, Irish and Scottish Travellers collected from around the internet.  Many of these historic images found on the web are without citation.  When a clear link to a source is found, I try to include it.  If a source is known, please pass it on and I will gladly include it or remove it if necessary.

Travellers….

~ George Crawford ~ 6 Comments
A family and its dogs.
A family and its dogs.
This is part of a series of images, mostly Romany, Irish and Scottish Travellers collected from around the internet.  Many of these historic images found on the web are without citation.  When a clear link to a source is found, I try to include it.  If a source is known, please pass it on and I will gladly include it or remove it if necessary.