Each week we bring you a round-up of interesting and entertaining woodworking content from the Woodworkers Institute and the web, including handy tips to help you get stuck into your next woodworking project.
How Woodturning Started
Woodturning has a rich and fascinating history that stretches back thousands of years. It is widely accepted that the earliest known woodturners were the ancient Egyptians, around 1300 BCE. As depicted on uncovered tomb paintings, they developed a basic bow lathe that was operated by two people: one turning the wood with a bow, and the other carefully carving with a tool. In a sense, one individual was the lathe, and the other person was the turner.
From its cradle in ancient Egypt, woodturning spread across the world. The Greeks and Romans took the craft further, refining techniques and developing foot-powered lathes that utilised the elastic properties of natural materials. This was a significant development as it enabled one person to both turn the wood and carve it simultaneously. By the Middle Ages, woodturning had become a staple industry across Europe, with craftsmen using it to make everything from furniture parts to beautiful decorative pieces.
When the Industrial Revolution arrived, woodturning saw yet another leap forward with powered lathes. Suddenly, production rates increased dramatically, and skill sets tended to be compartmentalised, where a worker would focus on a single production task. This was the formation of the production line.
Today, woodturning is a craft that’s both traditional and modern, practiced by hobbyists, artists, and artisans around the world who each put their own spin — literally — on a technique that began thousands of years ago.
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Woodworkers Institute Articles of the Week
NEXT WEEK: Screen and Blind
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