[Extended version] Bowl turning without electricity: on the pole lathe - Jero & Pirmin Lehr 

Thank you, there will be more in the future for sure

Thank you for your comment. We started using leather belt during the time the video was made because it is more durable and easier to maintain than the hemp cord we used before. The turning of the smaller bowl was recorded a day later in the workshop where we used the 2 cm wide leather belt, which only runs cleanly if you use a sway bar at the treadle. For the main part of the video, we set up the lathe in front of a better background outside the workshop, and to avoid having to set up the sway bar, we did without the leather belt. In the meantime, we have a only 1 cm wide, thicker belt that also works without the sway bar and so far serves very well. Traditionally, bowl turners mainly used leather straps, rarely hemp rope.

There are drawings e.g. by Sharif Adams, and videos by Owen Thomas and Lee Burton. Search for "pole lathe build". We now have recorded the building process of our new, massive lathe, only need some time to make a video from it. There are detailed videos about hook tool forging as well, e.g. by Oliver Klotzek

On a side grain vessel like a bowl you turn from the bigger to the smaller diameter on the bowl side inside to cut with the grain. The cut on the core (from which the smaller bowl is made later) is against the grain, this can not be avoided and works well with the right tools and technique. Only inside end grain vessels (mugs/cups and some boxes) you cut from the smaller towards the bigger diameter.

In this case yes, but on medieval markets we use a traditional spring pole, as you can see on some photos on our instagram account woodculture_handcarved

Thank you (although they aren't self made). Making wooden shoes on our own with traditional hand tools is a very interesting, but extremely demanding and time-consuming project for the far future.

Thank you! We’re happy that our video is helpful for other pole lathe bowl turners. We‘ve changed a lot of details since we made this video, we hope to release some new content soon, but it‘s quite time-consuming as you may know.

Danke für den positiven Kommentar! Natürlich kennen wir die Grünholz-Videos von Ben Orford, besonders sein Langholzdrehen finde ich sehr beeindruckend und die Videos dazu sind auch für Anfänger sehr gut. Die Schüsseldreh-Videos waren ja die ersten "Tutorials" auf dem Gebiet, allerdings unterscheiden sie sich bezüglich Hakengeometrie und Arbeitsweise etwas von dem, was sich in der Schüsseldreh-Szene größtenteils durchgesetzt hat und was auch wir vertreten, nämlich Innenfase und offene, aggressiv wirkende Form. Haken mit Außenfase und Zwieschnitter folgen leichter dem Rohling und sind oft schwierig in der Handhabung, finde ich.

@@holzkultur_handgeschnitzt Danke für deine interessanten Erläuterungen. Gefällt mir übrigens sehr gut, dass Ihr in der Videobeschreibung ergänzende Erklärungen zum Video hinzufügt. Diese Möglichkeit wird viel zu wenig genutzt.

Hook tools are used for bowlturning and end grain turning (cups etc.) They are not used for spindle turning like chair legs. It is possible (e.g. for turning the outside of cups, especially those with a handle) but for normal spindle turning not usual. Their advantage is the long handle, cutting edge position and ability to cut without moving your position a lot. Hook tools were used in all parts of Europe as well as in Asia. They are very old tools, maybe older than turning gouges and chisels. They can be used on pole lathe, treadle lathe or even modern electric lathes. Most modern turners use them only to reach spots they can't reach with the gouge.

@@holzkultur_handgeschnitzt thank you, very cool. I didn’t realise there was a difference between a pole lathe and a treadle one.

@@Mulletmanalive Normally treadle lathe means a lathe with a pedal, flywheel and drivebelt. It has continuous rotation (not reciprocating like the pole lathe). You don't need to wrap a cord around the workpiece. It became common in the 19th century and is much more complicated than a pole lathe