auscab 25th November 2022, 07:40 PM I was looking through this the other day .
Windsor chairs':' a brief history - Australian Wood Review (https://www.woodreview.com.au/news/windsor-chairs-a-brief-history)
I came across this picture of a Bodger turning his legs and it had me wondering about the shavings he's getting off each thrust of his leg . You can see each ribbon looks about one inch wide and twelve inches long . He's surrounded by them .
I have seen some use of these in videos with mainly beginners trying out similar looking lathes and understandably the shavings are nothing anywhere near what this guy is getting . He's efficient! A life spent turning like this would keep you fit.
Anyone know more about the technique and tool to get that shaving? Is it a typical ground skew laid flat on the rest or a different type of skew altogether ?
There's possibly a video of one being used on Youtube ?
Id love to have a go on one of these lathes to see what it takes to get half as quick as this bloke at it .
Hows the height of the bed on it ! I wonder if the higher the bed the more stroke you get from that foot press thing (Treadle) with the cord attached.
519612 519613
auscab 26th November 2022, 11:05 AM No explanation of those long shavings in this video . Everything else looks the same though.
An Introduction to Green Woodwork - Part 4: The Pole Lathe - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4roT7ohT7I)
EagerBeaver71 26th November 2022, 07:47 PM Rob,
I've seen these things when I used to walk the dogs in a woodland area called Pepper wood. My home Village was Fairfield so I used to go walking there alot and used to see various made on site tools knocking around in the open spaces where they were felling.
Maybe a trip to the UK is in order?. I'm off next year so will take some snaps when I revisit.
NCArcher 27th November 2022, 07:24 AM The shaving length is determined by the diameter of the 'pulley' and the length of the treadle stroke. The pole is just a big spring that lifts the treadle to the top of its travel. The rope is wrapped around the spindle and turns it as it moves up and down. It only cuts on the downward stroke and you take the pressure off the tool as it moves back up. Probably a big gouge for hogging the material off. If you make the stroke too long it would be uncomfortable to lift your foot up and down.
Skew ChiDAMN!! 27th November 2022, 12:52 PM Most likely a hook tool.
Like the lathe, the tools they used were often locally made from materials to hand. A hook tool is very efficient at removing large shavings quickly but, like the skew, takes practise to use safely.
It's one of the tools that failed to make the transition to electric lathes with their much higher rpms and is almost forgotten about nowadays... except by those of us who still enjoy treadling, pumping and otherwise driving electron-free lathes. ;)
hughie 28th November 2022, 10:59 PM Rob,
I've seen these things when I used to walk the dogs in a woodland area called Pepper wood. My home Village was Fairfield so I used to go walking there alot and used to see various made on site tools knocking around in the open spaces where they were felling.
Maybe a trip to the UK is in order?. I'm off next year so will take some snaps when I revisit.
Unfortunately, old time bodgers are a thing of the past.
Samuel Rockall: last of the chair bodgers — Stuart King (https://stuartking.co.uk/samuel-rockall-last-of-the-chair-bodgers/#:~:text=A%20traditional%20Chiltern%20Hills%20way,of%20the%20Bodgers%20is%20dead).
Although there are a few who are reviving the craft.
see here
Home | APT&GW (https://www.bodgers.org.uk/)
Chief Tiff 28th November 2022, 11:41 PM Most likely a hook tool.
Yup. And the wood will be green.
There is an English turner called Robin Wood who has been studying pole lathes for over 20 years now and has a thriving business making wooden bowls etc. He’s written at least one book on the subject with a foreword by Richard Raffan who describes a bowl Robin made for him that is in daily use for his breakfast oatmeal. He also has a few videos on You Tube; there’s a brilliant one where he races an electron burning turner to make a bowl; even if the powered lathe didn’t spit out the bowl 2/3 of the way Robin had already won the race.
Wooden bowls, plates, spoons - handcrafted woodware - Robin Wood (https://www.robin-wood.co.uk/)
Cklett 29th November 2022, 05:55 PM If you want to try, it is pretty easy to put such large together.
Simplest is to just make some poppets and clamp them to your bench. Spread a bungee under your ceiling and put together a simple treadle.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20221129/ff0c135cf93ba976123f610968f5ae0d.jpg
That's what I did and worked surprisingly well. Costs hardly anything.
Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk
hughie 30th November 2022, 06:39 AM If you want to try, it is pretty easy to put such large together.
Simplest is to just make some poppets and clamp them to your bench. Spread a bungee under your ceiling and put together a simple treadle.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20221129/ff0c135cf93ba976123f610968f5ae0d.jpg
That's what I did and worked surprisingly well. Costs hardly anything.
Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk
For some maybe , but I like my technology. :)
NeilS 6th December 2022, 05:54 PM Yup. And the wood will be green.
There is an English turner called Robin Wood who has been studying pole lathes for over 20 years now and has a thriving business making wooden bowls etc. He’s written at least one book on the subject with a foreword by Richard Raffan who describes a bowl Robin made for him that is in daily use for his breakfast oatmeal. He also has a few videos on You Tube; there’s a brilliant one where he races an electron burning turner to make a bowl; even if the powered lathe didn’t spit out the bowl 2/3 of the way Robin had already won the race.
Wooden bowls, plates, spoons - handcrafted woodware - Robin Wood (https://www.robin-wood.co.uk/)
I have one of Robin's bowls and his book. I admire what he does.
The first lathe I used was a treadle sewing machine converted into a lathe. I was happy after that to move onto powered lathes.
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