17th Century Lathe......

[froglips]

For those in the historical bend of turning, this post on Peter Follansbee's blog is interesting.

http://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/new-old-lathe/

Some plates/paintings showing some really old spring pole lathes.

The one pictured on his blog I found realling interesting. Notice how he sits. It looks like he's using his body to help hold it down?

Jim

 

[woodArtz]

... also notice how large his calf muscle is! :gar-La;

 

[Mike Davis]

And just like Dave he has his tankard of ale at the ready. :rotflm:

 

[Len]

Actually, I think it's a tallow pot. A dab on the centers kept the wood from getting friction burns.

Len

 

[Mike Davis]

you can keep tallow in your pot... :rotflm:

 

[froglips]

Now boys, lets pretend we are mature adults. Pot...hehe, he said pot.. :gar-La;

So, what do you think is next to the tail stock a gourd or a mallet?

Being a geek, I zoomed in on the "tankard/tallow pot".

I don't see a spout. Would you theroize that a tallow pot doesn't have a spout? I googled antique tallow pots, the ones I found looked a lot like teapots, with a spout.

It sure looks like a good old german tankard.

But, I might be seeing what I wanna see, which is beer.

Also ,in the 300x zoom, there appears to be a cross brace from his stool to the back post of the lathe. Sort of like he's sitting on a bed frame.

I wonder if we could get 02blues to setup a bench and test it out. I could see where not standing on one leg might make it easier to use.

Of course, this is an artists rendering of the subject, so we'll never know for sure how much artistic license was taken.

Jim

 

[LeftyTom]

... also notice how large his calf muscle is! :gar-La;

Nah, he got that from kick starting his Harley.

For the record, I owned a '57 Panhead at one time. Started on the second kick, every time.

 

[Mike Davis]

Yeah, the mallet is used to tap the wedge that holds the tailstock in place.

Actually I was joking about the tankard, It is a tallow pot, the lid keeps the flies out of it. Seems like there should be a brush or maybe you dip the dead center in it each time you mount a blank. I tried sitting on a stool at my lathe but it was not very comfortable, maybe the braced beam would work better.

Some of those old drawings were intentionally deceptive, they gave just enough of an idea what was happening but not enough detail to give away trade secrets.