details — Sandal Woods

Fellow blogger Bob Easton has started building a treadle lathe, courtesy of the weather that prevents him from working in his shop building a second boat, the “Eva Too”. In the introduction to his latest blog entry he shares some of the results of his research, including photos of various foot-powered lathes. These triggered memories of two lathes of old Sandy and I saw last October in New England.

First things first, however.

Fond memories at the lathe, making pens early in my woodworking efforts many years ago, made me appreciate the fine workmanship of superb craftsmen. Although I never really mastered the skew chisel, for example, I am always amazed and intrigued by the results that woodturners get using even rudimentary tools. My wife Sandy took to the lathe with gusto over 25 years ago. One of her early projects at the lathe was a pair of extremely long knitting needles. Made without the benefit of a steady rest for the thin form, it was a wonderful project that my Mom enjoyed for years. She used the needles until her eyesight started to fail.

During our visit to the Sloane-Stanley Museum in Kent, CT, in October 2009, we saw the following knitting needles — I am familiar with the pair in the foreground, but I have no idea what the pair of headless needles in the background might be used for (Note to self: I should check with our daughter, as she spins her own yarn, and knits a lot!):

I would imagine most readers would think these are not so special. However, the needles were next to one of the following two lathes, suggesting that the needles had been turned on a very, very old lathe. The Sloane-Stanley Museum has two old (treadle?) lathes – notice that the pedal mechanism is not visible. The first, from 1815:

The form of this lathe reminded me of the first pair of saw horses I ever made. However, the details are amazing — a massive drive wheel, huge chunks of wood and large through mortise and tenon joinery:

The construction suggests sturdy, vibration-free turning at this lathe — but no treadle mechanism can be seen anywhere; the flywheel is wide enough for a single belt, and so is the drive pulley:

Details of the tool adjustable tool rest and the centers (click on the image to enlarge):

Only two years after the American Declaration of Independence, an even earlier lathe:

This lathe is also likely to have been powered by a treadle mechanism, although I was unable to see evidence of the foot pedal anywhere:

A little closer, details of the drive mechanism — the multiple pulleys suggest a treadle mechanism; the tool rest is adjustable left-and-right, but the height does not appear to be so, unless a longer rest was used; note also the bolts to hold the centers:

My thanks to Bob Easton for triggering these still-fresh memories of our visit to the Sloane-Stanley Museum, and to the New England region at the height of foliage colors last Fall.

— Al Navas

More about the Sloane-Stanley Museum: Click on this link

From the session announcement:

Early American furniture was decorated with bold and lively carvings that are straightforward for the modern woodworker to reproduce. Find out how to prepare the material for this low-relief method and watch the tools being used to produce a simple for a chest. Close-up camera work will show all the details.

— Woodworking in America announcement
October, 2009

I first met Peter Follansbee at Valley Forge just minutes before he started his session. He was attentive and totally focused, although many people were already finding seats in the room; the room would be quite crowded before long. But he was relaxed, ready to get to the job at hand: Showing us how he carves panels in the style of 17th century craftsmen, and to share wonderful information on carvings and details of furniture of the period.

Peter was introduced by Steve Shanesy, Publisher, F&W Media, Inc., who called him a historian, teacher, one of the “wonderful people” who found a craft and has pursued it for well over twenty years. Peter works at Plimoth Plantation’s Living History Museum; he also makes and sells wonderful period pieces. I encourage you to visit his blog, where he documents much of the work he does.

Peter proceeded to give a wonderful slide show of very old furniture pieces and carvings, placing them in historical perspective, and in preparation for the techniques he would later demonstrate. Then he proceeded to demonstrate the carving techniques that result in wonderful panels, to be used in chests, stools, tables, cabinets, etc.

About the video: I hope I have given you a good sense of the terrific work Peter does in carving panels, and the joinery techniques he demonstrated for use in various period pieces. To see a wonderful carved pattern emerging from a flat piece of gorgeous, “true quarter-sawn” (riven) oak, is a wonderful thing. But to experience it in person is something else again.

Now I want to whet your appetite – this is a sample of Peter’s work, which I posted some time ago:

Details on carved box, by Peter Follansbee, Joiner.

Note: I will also be posting video of Peter’s hands-on session, which he conducted the day after I filmed this “formal” session.

Looking forward to October 2010, in Cincinnati: I also hope you will get a sense that the Woodworking in America conferences are a unique experience, where we have an opportunity to see fine craftsmen like Peter demonstrate their skill and knowledge. I hope to see you in Cincinnati!

I would love to hear from you about the following:

Please let me know if you liked this video, and the techniques Peter shared with us during this session.
Do YOU do any carving on furniture pieces you make? If you do, I would love to highlight it here!

— Al Navas

Old lathes at the Sloane-Stanley museum in Kent, Connecticut

Woodworking in America at Valley Forge: 17th century carving for furniture makers, with Peter Follansbee