The most impressive gypsy flowers were created from wood, Elder being the Romanies’ preferred material. A short peg knife is the only tool required.
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How I built Leonardo Da Vinci’s lathe
A simple sketch by the Italian genius Leonardo Da Vinci C.1480 gives us our first glimpse of what an early treadle wheel lathe might have looked like.
Chair Turnings
Woodturning has played more than a supporting role in the history of chair making. From the ancient Egyptians, who used the lathe for turning chair parts, to the latest computer-controlled copy lathes man has endeavored to decorate his furniture and solve the practical turning problems that arise. Some of the earliest evidence of turned work […]
The toy-making village of Seiffen, Germany
The toy-making village of Seiffen in Germany is a must-visit for anyone interested in the history of woodturning and toy making.
Making a Wassail Bowl
The height of wassailing occurred during the 17th century, at a period when magnificent bowls elevated on a stemmed foot graced many a magnificent table. Wassail bowls were traditionally turned from Lignum Vitea, a newly discovered timber from South America. The function of a wassail bowl is to hold wassail, a hot punch like beverage […]
Marrakesh is so Moorish
Having ‘done’ much of Europe including some of it’s least visited areas, tasted the US and experienced Hong Kong and China, choices of reasonably priced but exotic destinations were diminishing. My wife Joan and I wanted a complete change of culture, somewhere exotic and maybe just a little challenging, definitely not just sun, sea and […]
Like Father Like Son
Fifty years ago my father Ted king was commissioned to create some new church furniture for Christ Church, Holmer Green. These heavy oak pieces were built in the living room of our house in Watchet Lane in the mid 1950s. Apart from his quire stools, this work remains in general use to this day. I […]
Tunbridge ware
Segmented turned work has had its devotees amongst woodturners both amateur and professional since the 1930s (who remembers those two toned, brick-like biscuit barrels and fruit bowls?). In recent years some remarkable three-dimensional work has been produced, much of it pushing the boundaries of what would seem possible, some of it appearing in the pages […]
Green wood inspiration: turning with wet wood
When turning with wet wood there is usually some distortion but to me it is all part of mother natures character and imparts a stamp of individuality.
