Page 70 - Australian Wood Review №103 2019

WOODTURNING

3

as your body guides the tool into the
cut with the down stroke and then
relaxes on the up stroke.

Mike Abbott, an English green
woodworker who is largely responsible
for rekindling a love of these peculiar

contraptions, had a setup that used
this forward and backward motion to
gently rock his children to sleep when
they were young and in a pram; not
something you would try with a three

phase lathe!

A speedy machine

But while sleeping children are bliss, a

lathe that only works for half the time
you are using it is surely inefficient.
Not so.
1
The secret of how a pole lathe ploughs
1. A closer view of through wood so easily is down to the
the workings of
some traditional and type of tools used and a technique
minimalistic technology that relies on slicing across the grain,
which is still highly
efficient. releasing flying ribbons of wood.
2. The axe is an important
tool for bodging – use it I remember seeing Mike Abbott
to fell, split and shape releasing such ribbons from his lathe just
blanks, and to access
the bowl of a lathe over 20 years ago, and my jaw dropped
made spoon. at the speed and efficiency of a pole
3. Cranking the poppet lathe and bodger in action. Mike told
centre into the blank.
us of a curious contest held regularly in
4. Grab a straight log the UK: the Log-to-Leg race in which
(green hardwood is
best), and mark it into competitors would start with a green
four pieces. 2 log, split out a billet, roughly shape with

an axe and drawknife before mounting it
on a pole lathe to turn a perfect Windsor
chair leg. Mike could do this whole
process in eight minutes.

70 Australian Wood Review