Documenting a Foot-Powered Treadle Lathe

From the YouTube channel, Chop With Chris where he does “amazing woodworking projects with no power tools.” At last count, he has 19 “how to” videos available and a slew of other good things on his YouTube channel. From his “About” Page: “I play in that weird intersection of woodworking and music! A few years […]

A Master at Work

It is awe-inspiring to see a master of anything at work, making their creation seem almost effortless. Many thousands of hours, or even thousands of days, really show at a high level of work. This isn’t to say that repetitive tasks are always fulfilling or require lot’s of mental exercise but that is often the […]

jumping once again on the Bowl Lathe bandwagon

Originally posted on Peter Follansbee, joiner's notes:
I took a break from basket making last week to finally build myself a dedicated lathe for turning bowls. Mine is based on the ones we used when I was a student this spring in Robin Wood’s bowl-turning course at North House Folk School in Grand Marais,…

Occupation, Wood Turner ca. 1425

Still gathering old images of tools, occupations, and craftsmen. Now I just need time to edit and post them in a sensible way. To kick off this series, it’s a wood turner and his lathe from the early 15th century (German). I think the artist may have neglected to show the tool rest here. This […]

Pole Lathe

Here’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 […]

The Wood Turner

A great short film about a bowl being turned on a treadle lathe. http:// Info from the Vimeo Page: Shot in a couple of hours on 2 separate afternoons, this is Leo who lives in a yurt with his partner and a variety of animals on the edge of Exmoor in the UK. He is […]