The Lathes of Old Sturbridge Village ALAN LACER and FRANK WHITE
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A LOOK BACK The lathes of Old Sturbridge Village ALAN LACER AND FRANK WHITE EDITOR’S NOTE: Last year, Alan Lacer comers to this process of shaping has been turned on such lathes as met Frank White, an historian and cura- wood by spinning it about an axis. those pictured on these pages. tor at the living museum, Old Stur- When working at the lathe the con- For centuries reciprocating lathes, bridge Village, in Sturbridge, MA. Like venience of the electric motor con- driven by a spring pole, a bow, or Lacer, White also happens to be a turner ceals the fact that until quite recently even a cord powered directly by an and an active member of the AAW. Old the turner, an assistant, or water assistant, were the basic machines for Sturbridge Village possesses quite a provided the power to turn. On the woodturning. Even in technologically number of lathes from the 18th and 19th other hand, looking at the lathes in advanced England well into the twen- centuries. Unfortunately, the majority the Old Sturbridge Village collec- tieth century, spring-pole lathes con- are in storage and not available for pub- tion, one is struck by how little has tinued to be preferred by chair lic viewing. But White treated Lacer to changed in the last few centuries. In bodgers and bowl turners. Bodgers an illuminating peek at these treasures, fact, comparing these lathes with liked these lathes because of their and they agreed that they deserved to be those made by such turners as Ed portability and the ease with which shared, hence this article. Thanks to the Moulthrop or Ken Sager, it is appar- they could be set up at the job site, the receptiveness, cooperation, and historical ent how similarly turners have gone forest where chair stock was cut from perspective of the museum, and to the about satisfying their equipment standing trees into turning billets. authorial partnership struck by Lacer needs. Foregoing the purchase of a Bowl turners preferred them because and White, we finally have a glimpse at ready-made machine but rather uti- the reciprocating action was ideally these fine tools. lizing ingenuity and local materials suited to their practice of turning to construct your own is nothing nests of bowls with hook tools. The HIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT OUR ROOTS. new. After all, neither the customer reversing action of the lathe cleared T When looking at an exhibition of nor the wood cares much about the the chips and shavings from the tools, contemporary turning it is hard to process of making. Plenty of fine alleviating the loading and binding remember that we are all late- work, including museum-quality, that characterized continuous-motion A treadle-powered bench lathe from mid-19th-century central Massachusetts features a stepped pulley, capable of produc- ing high speeds, and a bank of tool and accessory drawers. Photos: Rick Mastelli 30 AMERICAN WOODTURNER SEPTEMBER 1996 Copyright 1996, 2016, American Association of Woodturners. All rights reserved. www.woodturner.org This early 19th-century treadle lathe from Easton, CT, is powered by a heavy flywheel made of a locust log cross section. lathe work. (For more about pole Central Massachusetts, rials did. Catgut had one disadvan- lathes, see American Woodturner, mid 19th century tage: the risk of being eaten by ro- March 1992 and March 1994). The lathe pictured on the facing page dents if left on the machine Continuous-motion lathes, driven is a lightweight, treadle-driven bench overnight; therefore, it was often by a hand-cranked great wheel and lathe from central Massachusetts stored in a secure place at the end of later treadle-operated with fly- with a 15-inch swing and 33-inch ca- the day. wheels, gradually gained popularity pacity between centers. With a pul- over spring-pole lathes in the 18th ley ratio of about 12 to 1, relatively Easton, Connecticut, century, although the technology for high speeds were possible in the early 19th century continuous-motion treadle lathes turning of small objects. Ash is used The lathe pictured above is a heavily was available centuries earlier. Their for most of the construction, with the built treadle-driven lathe with a 17- increased use is attributable in part exception of the poppets which ap- inch swing and 57-inch capacity be- to improvements in design but prob- pear to be birch or maple. The bench tween centers. Square shafts and ably more to the growing demand of this lathe has been customized “tombstone” ends on poppets and for mass-produced turned parts for with drawers for small parts and post suggest it was built in the early chairs, furniture, treen, textile-mill stock, and a later addition of the tool 19th century. The heavy flywheel is bobbins, tool and implement han- rack at the back. made of a locust log cross-section dles, and other items. Because con- Although this example is probably clad in pine staves. The iron tool rest tinuous-motion treadle lathes were mid 19th century, based on the com- is blacksmith-forged but with jury- quickly and easily adapted to water- mercially made round shafts and rigged wooden screw and spacer power, their use dramatically in- cast iron pulley and flywheel, John blocks. This portion of the lathe is creased the rate of production in Jacob Holtzapffel noted in 1881 that probably a replacement of an origi- turning shops. (For further reading this type of lathe with stepped wheel nal wooden bar rest. about early lathes, see John Jacob and drive pulley was in general use The headstock pulley would ac- Holtzapffel, Hand or Simple Turnings: in England around 1800. The earlier commodate both a flat belt or round Principles and Practice, London: examples had a wooden rim on the belt step-pulley arrangement. This Holtzapffel & Co., 1881. Reprinted flywheel. option may be of later origin, as by Dover Publications, NY, 1976. Sometimes cord or round leather there is no evidence of how the step And for an overview of the history of belts were used as a drive band on pulley would be utilized. turning see Christopher Wilk’s “An these lathes, but catgut was preferred Interestingly, the tailstock support Historical Perspective,” in American because of its strength and stability; post allows insertion of the tailstock Woodturner, June 1996. ) it did not stretch the way other mate- center for longer materials—in prac- SEPTEMBER 1996 AMERICAN WOODTURNER 31 Copyright 1996, 2016, American Association of Woodturners. All rights reserved. www.woodturner.org The components of this lathe were made by a blacksmith/machinist in Southbridge, MA, between 1835 and 1850. tice, giving the lathe two tailstocks, indicative of early machine work. Foster, Rhode Island, one fixed and one moveable. The headstock shaft rides in a split 1850–1860 Originally well made, reputedly brass bearing on the inboard end A cast iron headstock, tailstock, and by a carpenter in Easton, CT, it and is supported on the outboard tool rest are mounted on a massive has been extensively reworked over end by an adjustable iron thrust chestnut stand, photos below. Each its lifetime. In the mid 20th century bearing. A typical two-spur drive wooden bed rail is approximately 8 1 it was used again by a custom center fits into a tapered square by 12 inches and 8 /2 feet in length. cabinet/furniture maker. socket in the end of the shaft, which Driven by waterpower, this lathe is also threaded to accept a faceplate. was used about 1850–1860 in a car- Southbridge, Massachusetts, The tailstock center is adjusted by a riage/vehicle manufactory in Foster, 1835–1850 crank and screw and locked in posi- RI. The very plain, undecorated cast- The cast iron headstock, tailstock, tion with the handled nut on top, al- ings indicate a mid-to-late-19th- and tool rest pictured above have lowing for rapid loading and century manufacture. The three-step been fitted to a new stand of tradi- unloading of stock. wooden pulley was originally paired tional design for exhibition use. The Cast iron components, which me- with a stepped pulley on a counter- lathe has been equipped with fast chanics or turners could fit to a shaft for speed control, and the coun- and loose pulleys, suggesting it was wooden stand for treadle or water- tershaft was linked by a second belt connected to a waterpower source. power operation, were becoming to a waterpower source. Currently The iron components were made by readily available around 1810–1820. equipped with a cast iron faceplate, Henry Coburn, a blacksmith/ma- In New England they were increas- the lathe was primarily intended for chinist in Southbridge, MA, between ingly used by production turners heavy spindle turning with a nomi- 1835 and 1850. Nicely detailed cast- making furniture parts, bobbins for nal swing of 12 inches and capacity ings on headstock and tailstock are textile mills, handles, and the like. between centers of 6 feet. The bed Cast iron components are mounted on a massive chestnut stand in this lathe from Foster, RI, 1850–1860. 32 AMERICAN WOODTURNER SEPTEMBER 1996 Copyright 1996, 2016, American Association of Woodturners. All rights reserved. www.woodturner.org This lathe from mid-18th-century Cape Cod is of rare design, featuring a wooden gear drive. Note the “chicken claw” drive center, left, the crotch bracket, center, and the adjustable wooden tool-rest bar, right, locked in place with a wooden screw. below the faceplate has been relieved wheelwright, as the headstock- which the turner could support him- in a 3-inch-wide shallow arc to in- geared hub and flywheel have many self while treadling.