I do use axe and mallet sometimes. There are a few things which I take into consideration when choosing which ones to use. As I do not want to have a too large impact on the back of my axe, I prefer using a froe. Or I should perhaps use an old, cheap axe for splitting. Another plus for the froe is that I can create a long, straight split, which gives me a bit more control on where the wood is going to split. That being said, using a few axes will work as well, to get a long, straight split. That is a bit more work though. However, when the wood is really hard and does not easily split I do use several axes for splitting and then gently hit them one by one until the wood splits. I do this as well when I don't want to wood to split in one straight line, but when I want it to split in, let's say, three more or less equal parts. Than 3 axes are they way to go.
The tools I use for turning a bowl a so called (turning) hook tools. In geometry they are pretty similar to a spoon knife, but with a smaller blade and a much longer handle. They are not gouges or chisels, which are sharpened on the front edge, but they are knives, with the cutting edge on the side. These tools, which are made from carbon steel, are used on a pole lathe, like I do, but also on Japanese style power lathes.
One of the things that makes this kind of video enjoyable to watch is the sound of the tools working. The music gets in the way of that. Maybe try it without the music?
Not a word spoken, such a calming and beautiful experience to watch! First video of urs I’ve seen and I’m subbing. I wanna know more about that lathe (which is how I discovered you, wanna make one) and that gauge. How it’s made, parts and so on.
I really like the Design of this lathe taking up little space, seems to be created without powertools and being easy to disemble and move without larger than 1.5m parts😁 A nice pragmatic "Tool" for true craftsmenship. 👍🏼
That's correct. A true medieval lathe would have been build differently, as they were often workshop based and did not have to be transported. But the principle was the same.
I always build them without a design. I've based the first one on online images and descriptions. It worked out well from the start. Now I have the dimensions in my head and don't use fixed measurements. Perhaps there is someone in your area teaching workshops and then you could ask that person for tips and tricks. Some tips for now: -make the slot in the bed wide enough (around 10 cm / 4 inches) in order to reduce the risks of breaking the cord due to friction of the cord against the bed. -the top of the bed should be flat, so the poppets (the heads of the lathe) can be set and fixed in any position -the tips of the centers should be around 60 degrees. Too flat ( >60 degrees) might results in the bowl getting kicked off the centers. Too pointy and you'll get a very deep hole in the base of the bowl. Anyhow, it's not very hard to make one.
An advantage of using traditional techniques, to my opinion, is that it can give great insights in things like wood structure and what you are actually doing. This could later on, if you'd switch to power tools, be in your advantage.
The first turned wooden bowl is from the 14th Century BC. A lathe in thise ages was probably powered by hand. This foot powered lathe probably originates from the early medieval or perhaps even the Roman era. Many cups were turned like this for example in Viking Age York in the UK.
Well, the music, that's always hard. Sometimes I experiment a bit with, not just with wood, but also with the music. I personally thought it was a nice addition, but of course we do not all have the same taste in music. Thanks for the compliment though!
@@hetnoesteleven my plesier. (I speak Afrikaans). You're right - you cant please all the people, all the time. However, it seems to be fairly universal, that folks love the working sounds on an interesting project whereas music enjoyment is entirely individually based. I also like your shavehorse, the rustic-ness for me, is perfection.
Well, actually they are my outdoor slippers 😀. Official safety shoes when axing out my bowl blank and easy to take off for turning, as I like to turn barefoot or in socks because it makes me feel the feedback from the lathe much easier.
Super cool! As primitive as that set up looks, I’ve got a feeling it involves are fair amount of fine adjustment to get it to that functional state. I’m positive that there is a lot of operator skill and experience necessary as well.
Thanks! Well, the lathe it pretty basic indeed and there's is actually not so much fine adjustment involved. But, as you say, it does take quite some practice to reach a certain level of skill. The learning curve is not as steep as with an electric lathe. Due to the relatively low speed and the fact that one usually works with green wood, this types of lathe forces you to really improve your techniques in order to get to the shape and finish you want to acquire.
Yes, I did. At least the tools for the lathe. That's one of the interesting parts of the job, to my opinion. Learning several techniques and skills and about the history and theories at the same time.
I love that lathe design! So simple, reliable, space efficient, and easy to reproduce/repair. A lot of other channels use 1 tree sapling which is inefficient and unstable or rubber, which requires advanced chemistry. Beautiful bowl by the way!
