Question from a non-turner

[craigb]

G'day
I'm not a wood turner but I do do a bit of general woodwork.
I've often wondered how barley twists are turned so I thought I'd ask the experts and wonder no more.

Thanks in advance
Craig

[ubeaut]

The simple answer is that they're mostly hand carved.

However there are also specialist machines that do the job and they can also be done in a router lathe. A lathe that has a router or cutting assembly on a track that is moved along the bed of the lathe whilst the timber is slowly rotated by hand, thus creating the spiral pattern.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif