My First Woodturning Effort - A Table Lamp.

[Yorkie]

I'd agree with that assertion Alan - almost certainly done with angle grinders using 'chainsaw' type blades. They're used extensively by carvers of large objects to get rid of as much waste as quickly as possible. Even smaller detail power carving tools, rather like small angle grinders - the Proxxon for example - can get rid of a lot of waste very quickly, then used for fine detail as seen on the totem pole. In the US, often they seem to use 'Merlins' billed as 'the World's smallest chainsaw' - in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, Proxxon seem to be favoured.

This sort of stuff - you'll see the ferocious blade (KA-21008) further down the page:

http://www.mhcrafters.com/servlet/the-17...ing/Detail