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Recent articles
- Stuart wins Strictly Woodturning
- History of Marquetry (with Glossary)
- History of the Lathe: part one – reciprocal motion
- History of the Lathe: part two – continuous rotation
- History of the Lathe: part three – mechanical power
- History of the Lathe: part four – the machine takes over
- Marquetry and Me
- Raymond Harvey makes his (wooden) bed
- Bone up on Bobbins : the craft of lace bobbin making
- Khokhloma Ware: Folk art for the masses
Older articles
Topics
- folk art (6)
- lacemaking (1)
- marquetry (2)
- Uncategorized (1)
- woodturning (18)
- woodworking (3)
Category Archives: woodturning
Stuart wins Strictly Woodturning
Attended by 170 guests, delegates and turners, Axminster Tool Centre hosted the Strictly Woodturning event. Similar to the BBC’s popular Strictly Come Dancing, this was a competition in which the 12 turners competed against each other at the lathe and were tasked with producing items such as a vase, goblet and lidded box in an incredibly short eight minutes. Continue reading
History of the Lathe: part one – reciprocal motion
All lathes by their very nature rely on a revolving work piece. To capture and impart this motion, to devise and create the required force has challenged mans ingenuity back into pre-history. Man has been using the momentum provided by … Continue reading
History of the Lathe: part two – continuous rotation
The wheel is probably man’s most important technological discovery. A Sumarian pictogram dated 3500BC is the earliest reference for the wheel. By 2000BC man was making spoked wheels yet the earliest pictorial reference we have of a wheel driven lathe seems to be from the 15th century. Continue reading
History of the Lathe: part three – mechanical power
From classical times man has harnessed wind and water to work heavy machinery, to relieve him of hard physical labour and to speed up production. A Roman settlement C.200AD in southern France boasted sixteen water mills for grinding corn. It … Continue reading
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History of the Lathe: part four – the machine takes over
Man has always tried to find ways of making manual tasks easier and the businessman methods to reduce manpower, speed production and lower operating costs. A good illustration of this was the manufacture of rifle butts. Hand held firearms have … Continue reading
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Bone up on Bobbins : the craft of lace bobbin making
‘Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door, Pillow and bobbins all her little store; Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay, Shuffling her threads about the livelong day, Just earns a scanty pittance, and at night Lies down … Continue reading