Woodland Antics: Polelathe

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Polelathe - Bowl

I've been very keen to try turning another bowl on my lathe in the shed. At the bodgers ball I had the opportunity to try a lathe properly set up for bowls with tools and fresh sycamore and it gave me a better feel for bowl turning on the polelathe.

Recently I managed to find enough time in between other turning to make a start on the bowl using some sycamore. It's about a 9 inch bowl. The evening sunlight was low enough to light the lathe and bowl through the open front of the shed/

I couldn't finish it in one go so I packed it in shavings in a plastic bag to minimise drying. Today I managed to finish the bowl and separate it from the core.

I've learnt a lot from this bowl and finished with oil it looks good, but it's not perfect and I'd like to do even better before long. But before I do, I need to tweak my tools and the tool rest just a little bit. Special thanks to Paul Atkins for allowing me to make a mess of the blank on his lathe at the bodgers ball and with great patience pointing me in the right direction.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Looks great and you can be justly proud of a fine achievement!

By the way, the first photo is not visible for me - just a space where the photo should be with the annoying little red cross - anything different to the other photos which as Donald Pleasance in The Great Escape would say....'I can see. I can see perfectly'; 10 June 2009 at 08:39
Woodland Antics said...: I can see. I can see perfectly! And I thought it was Punt and Dennis!

Thanks for letting me know - I've inadvertantly deleted the original as well as a copy on picasaweb without realising it - I can still see it for some unknown reason.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible; 10 June 2009 at 09:23
Seanhellman said...: Great bowl Mark, hope you take a load of photos at the scythe festival; 10 June 2009 at 22:14

Post a Comment

My Interests

Most of the posts on this site will fall into a few themes. I'll try to fit the title to the crime. But some posts and interests just won't fit into a box no matter how hard I try.

Polelathe - posts about polelathe turning and related topics.

The polelathe is a traditional foot operated wood turning lathe. You might have seen one in use at a show or a museum, in fact you might have seen me demonstrating one. The turners who used these lathes for making chair-legs were sometimes referred to as Bodgers. I have been a bodger all my life, but its only since 2005 that I have taken up bodging on lathes. I spend as much time turning as I can, and during the summer months it is my main employment, though I mix it with a number of small jobs of a woody nature.

I am fascinated by all traditional crafts and trades, especially those working with wood. For millenia woodlands have provided us with an amazing range of products for everyday use. It is only very recently that we seem to have lost touch with woodlands and their uses.

I only use local wood, very often it is wood that I have cut myself and would normally be an unwanted by-product of managing small, local woodlands or heathlands.

Commons - posts about the Lynchmere commons. The commons were purchased from the Cowdray estate in 1998 by The Lynchmere Society, a local trust, which now manages about 340 acres of mixed heathland, woodland and adjoining fields. The commons are located between Haslemere and Liphook on the Sussex, Hampshire borders. I first got involved with helping the society to manage the commons in 1999 and since then have gained a lot of experience working on the commons as a volunteer. I prefer to work as a woodsman but I also help to manage the commons.

I am very keen to manage the commons in a sustainable way and as a part of this am trying to use the traditional crafts and ways of working that helped to shape this landscape.

Greenwood - Posts on woodland and woody topics not covered in polelathe and commons posts. Greenwood is unseasoned wood, but I shan't be too choosy and will cover all manner of only slightly woody topics here

I have a tendency to be a jack-of-all-trades although I try to focus upon pole-lathe turning, charcoal burning and besom broom making. As a woodsman I help to care for local woodlands in the Western Weald. I often work at or teach tree felling, coppicing and chainsaw skills.

Landrover - I restore, maintain, use and abuse a number of slightly eccentric old landrovers. I will post about working on them and related classic (and not so classic) car work.

Crafty - covering a range of traditional crafts not immediately related to wood and my interest in brewing, baking and preserving.

Woodland Antics

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Polelathe - Bowl

3 comments:

About Woodland Antics

Woodland Antics Wordpress Site link

Blog Archive

My Interests