Pole lathe

Wood turning on a spring pole lathe is all about reciprocation, all about back and forth. For example: Q: “Don’t you get tired of standing on one leg?” A: “Sure, but if you try to work the treadle…

By Camille Coy A Brief History of Lathes Woodturning using a human-powered lathe is one of the most ancient forms of woodworking. Perhaps not quite as old as whittling, which was practiced over 10,000 years ago after the last Ice Age, but the art of turning wood still dates back thousands of years. An early archeological record of woodturning with ...

For the past 6 months I’ve been working with Jeff Lefkowitz on a set of pole lathe plans. It’s been a slow and steady process. Jeff’s a top notch designer and I’m really thankful for his expertise. You may know him from his plan drawings for Curtis Buchanan’s chairs , Tim Manney’s Shaving Horse ,

PoleLatheDemoLHist - pole lathe - Wiktionary

“The earliest depiction of the foot-powered spring-pole lathe is from the 13th century. An illustration (above) from the Bible of St. Louis (circa 1226-1234) shows a turner making a bowl. The pole is seen pulled into tension downward by means of a cord attached to a treadle.

As a companion to my You Tube videos on How to Build a Pole Lathe, I have decided to share some simple plans of the lathe that I make in the...

A Modern Build of a Medieval Spring Pole Lathe: I study medieval woodworking a lot, and I've always wanted to try out the medieval style lathe. The major difference between this type, and the modern lathe is that the motion is reciprocal, rather than continuous circular motion. That, and the fa…

Märt Viljaste's pole lathe for bowl turning.