Tag: wood turning

Live Well

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”
~Voltaire

Voltaire was on to something there.  Here is a very inspirational family making good in the wilds of Wisconsin.  I would love to see more as they sound like some truly genuine artisans and keep craftsmanship alive in this consumer era.

I want to continue being inspired by people like this with positive spirits and keeping an eye on the important things in life.  Feel free to submit links like this or comment if you have feeling about a handmade life.

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And don’t forget to check out their own web-page, photos, and blog by clicking the image below.

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Occupation, Wood Turner ca. 1425

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

75-Amb-2-317-18-v.tifStill 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 one goes out to Kiko, Mick, and Veloja for their recent enthusiasm for the foot-powered lathe.

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.