Fine lathe work

[Yorkie]

The amazing thing about the bo- lathe turner is the quality of the finish he gets 'off the tool' when lesser mortals would resort to sanding to get a good final finish. Also, apart from the fact that using a skew is in itself an acquired skill, he uses just the one tool to turn every detail, even including a captive ring. Of the few captive rings that I've turned, like most turners, I've used a captive ring tool made for the job. I dare say that the bow-lathe turner made his own skew, probably from scrap steel. The wood looks like iroko or something similar, so no wonder he doesn't resort to sanding - the dust from iroko is just like snuff. Of course, the video shows only one of the chessmen - he turns a full set, so as well as being a skilled crftsman, he must be an imaginative designer. It' not too difficult to make two items that look similar, but its very difficult, especially just by eye, to make several which look identical, as he must have to do.

Thanks for the pics of the birdcage and the scooter Gary - excellent examples of the turner's skill. There are quite a lot of woodturners and woodcarvers in Germany and shops selling their artifacts. They seem to make quite a big deal of Christmas decorations in wood, including often very elaborate 'carousels' with a wooden vaned 'fan' on top, which revolves the carousel with rising heat from little lights. A couple of years ago when we were in Dresden, (East Germany), I bought a little 'Santa' model (about 3 inches tall) that I couldn't resist. Very nicely turned, and quite whimsical - Santa has a Christmas tree in one hand, and an axe in the other. A lot of turning went into it, and the proportions need to be just right. I think it's quite attractive but my wife thinks it's plug ugly, so it's not on display as I think she wants to deter me from turning one that looks similar! There's a shop in York that sells a lot of this sort of stuff, especially around Christmas time.