Bowl turning without electricity: on the pole lathe [short version] - Jero & Pirmin Lehr

In this video, Pirmin Lehr shows how the bowls from "woodculture_handcarved" are made, in fact, two from a single blank. We use only traditional hand tools: a side axe, a compass,turning hook tools (here only with a straight shaft) and our self-built foot-powered pole lathe, much like it has been used since the Middle Ages.
This is the first German video here on YouTube about pole lathe bowl turning.

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This video is a short version of the manufacturing process. All in all, making the two bowls took us ca. 2 hours, of which 1 1/4 hours were needed for turning. You can find a more detailed, longer version here:
   • [Extended version] Bowl turning witho...  

Sustainable - useful - beautiful:
"woodculturte_handcarved" is the family business of twin brothers Jero Lehr and Pirmin Lehr.
We produce near Berlin, Germany, in historical handcraft from regionally sourced timber unique items for daily use: hand-carved spoons and bowls as well as bowls, plates and boxes of various kinds turned on the foot-powered pole lathe.

By buying our products you support the preservation of historical craftsmanship and receive long-lasting unique pieces (shipping only within Germany!):

http://www.holzkultur-lehr.de

You can find our full range of products at selected markets in Berlin and Brandenburg.
You can also donate via Paypal to [email protected] or via bank transfer instead:
Jero and Pirmin Lehr GbR
IBAN: DE93 1101 0101 5104 5489
BIC: SOBKDEB2XXX

Our aim is to revive and preserve traditional craft techniques and to create a new awareness for a manual way of life close to nature.

CONTENT:
To begin, a piece from a fresh birch log is split in half and cut to length on both sides with a one-man crosscut saw. The wood around the pith of the log is removed, as it is prone to cracking, and the top is hewn flat with a single-beveled axe so that the outline of the bowl can be circled. The same axe is now used to hew the blank into a roughly hemispherical shape, first hewing away the corners from below, then working out the outline.

A "mandrel" with iron spikes is now hammered into the axed blank, around which the cord (hemp cord) of the pole lathe is then wrapped, which is connected at the top with a rubber cord (traditionally a long wooden pole), and at the bottom with the treadle. After mounting in the lathe, the turning of the outside can begin. We use well-sharpened hook tools with which to cut on the downstroke.
During the roughing-out the blank is turned round until all axe marks have disappeared, further shaping and turning of the surface follows with a thinly ground, freshly sharpened hook, with low advancement.

The bowl is then unmounted, turned over, remounted, and the rim turned off and chamfered. This is followed by turning out a channel about an inch wide, primarily with a right-ground hook ("tip down"), with which the core is undercut further and further. The wall thickness is checked by feel and with the aid of a caliper.
Finally, the bowl is polished with shavings, unmounted and separated from the core by splitting it off with a bent gouge, so that a smaller bowl can now be made.

To do this, it is axed off at the bottom, centered, turned on the outside and hollowed out on the inside, just like the larger bowl, but only a thin core is left standing, which is then broken off. (While turning, you can see a leather strap here, which is more durable than the hemp cord). Again, the centers are cleaned by carving, outside with the gouge, inside with a large hook knife ("twca cam").
Finally, you'll see the carving of the maker's mark of "woodculture_handcarved", a simplified tree of life with a K for "Kultur" attached (German for "culture").

The two bowls are now allowed to dry for about 2 weeks and will later be oiled with organic linseed oil.

Chapter:
00:00 Opening credits
00:12 Splitting, sawing, hewing and compassing
00:50 Axing the blank
01:22 Mandrel, mounting, roughing out
02:38 Turning the surface
03:24 Remounting, edge, hollowing
04:16 Undercutting/nesting
04:50 Polishing, splitting off, carving
05:51 Centering and turning smaller bowl
06:29 break off core, re-carve, maker's mark
07:11 Finished bowls and credits