Turning a bowl on a foot powered pole lathe

In this video you can see the process, from log to bowl, of how I carve and turn a wooden bowl using an axe and a foot powered spring pole lathe.
The creation of this video was supported by The Cultural Participation Fund in The Netherlands. The Cultural Participation Fund aims to encourage and increase participation in the arts and culture.
If you like this video and want to see similar videos in the future, please subscribe to my channel.
Follow my Instagram (het_noeste_leven) for (ir)regular new products and a peek into my workshop.
Also take a look at my Facebook page for updates and the latest information about my products and activities: hetnoesteleven
Thanks for watching!
Like the music?
First four tracks by Jason Shaw on Audionautix. Last track by Lesfm on Pixabay.
Licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)

[@calebwilliams427]

I didn't know these existed until 20 minutes ago.. now I've got to build one myself

[@hetnoesteleven]

They're not hard to build. So, just go ahead and give it a try. Turning a bowl is something else though, but you'll manage!

[@pichivideos1]

También antiguamente había tornos de árboles. Pero se necesitaban dos personas y dos árboles. Después apareció este torno y luego otro a pedal 1700-1800 que ya era más mecánico y tenía distintos engranajes está en KZbin. Pero es el más interesante por su simplicidad y utilidad.

[@teresafierro1789]

Fantástico..lo felicito 👏

[@bobboyer9440]

As a modern day turner I am thrilled to see a true artist working with primitive tools. Great work.

[@hetnoesteleven]

An advantage of using traditional techniques, to my opinion, is that it can give great insights in things like wood structure and what you are actually doing. This could later on, if you'd switch to power tools, be in your advantage.

[@DiabloOutdoors]

Wow! I'm going to build my own cabin as soon as I can and will build a lathe exactly like you. And you're very skilled, that bowl is very nice!

[@generalrendar7290]

I love that lathe design! So simple, reliable, space efficient, and easy to reproduce/repair. A lot of other channels use 1 tree sapling which is inefficient and unstable or rubber, which requires advanced chemistry. Beautiful bowl by the way!

[@jonathanflutsch3071]

I really like the Design of this lathe taking up little space, seems to be created without powertools and being easy to disemble and move without larger than 1.5m parts😁 A nice pragmatic "Tool" for true craftsmenship. 👍🏼

[@hetnoesteleven]

That's correct. A true medieval lathe would have been build differently, as they were often workshop based and did not have to be transported. But the principle was the same.

[@ToufikToufik-qe2gw]

OK merci beaucoup pour votre

[@ToufikToufik-qe2gw]

OK merci beaucoup

[@MohsinExperiments]

This is an underrated channel. Keep making quality content.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks. It's about time I'd make another video indeed.

[@MohsinExperiments]

@@hetnoesteleven I'll be waiting for it.

[@manuelsandoval2598]

❤ Hermoso trabajo, hermoso torno, hermoso lugar, solo le falta maestro la hermosa compañía, felicidades MAESTRO 👋👋👋.

[@xariel377]

amazing, the simplicity of this lathe and work in the forest, lovely....

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks. That's what I love about it too. With simple tools and a simple lathe it's perfectly possible to make lovely things. It just takes practice

[@jrifter1281]

that sir is 50 shades of badass.

[@hetnoesteleven]

😎 thanks!

[@pedroclaro7822]

Not a word spoken, such a calming and beautiful experience to watch! First video of urs I’ve seen and I’m subbing. I wanna know more about that lathe (which is how I discovered you, wanna make one) and that gauge. How it’s made, parts and so on.

[@adamharper389]

Officially inspired... once I'm done building my workshop space I'm making one of these

[@hetnoesteleven]

Hey Adam, they're not to hard to build and once you've got the hang of it, it's really satisfying

[@patcummins6036]

Amazing!

[@tonyalways7174]

Beautiful in philosophy, craftsmanship and the final result. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks!

[@globyois]

FANTASTIC!

[@emonsahariar9292]

A thing of beauty!

[@royalmaster203]

good looking bowl!!!

[@kristonterbutt7373]

Love the skills shown here. Awesome bowl.

[@mountainman88]

Great video!

[@cathywolfe1038]

Excellent craftsmanship.

[@tomgodson666]

What a brilliant video! You make it look effortless, especially the initial shaping cuts. I can't wait to watch more of your videos. Thank you.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks! As with all crafts, this is pretty basic. But on the other hand, lots of practice makes it all so much easier and quicker.

[@tomgodson666]

@@hetnoesteleven very true! I better buy some wood and get practicing 😁

[@jd70HJ19]

Grid power is awesome , battery power is amazing .......human power ECLIPSES both, and it recharges with good meals .. it is there , day or night rain or shine. The knowledge and ingenuity of people who invented these early machines powered bu human muscles that ushered in the modern world must be preserved . Seeing the world at war constantly during my 70 years on earth , it is not pessimistic to say that someday when we get stupid enough and undo it all disastrously , no grid to run machines or to charge batteries ..humanity will need this knowledge and skills again daily to survive . Excellent video , excellent work. 👏👏👏

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks for your input. Indeed, lots of people seem to have forgotten what can be done with human power and simple tools. I'm convinced that in many ways we don't have more knowledge (and certainly skills) nowadays, at least at the individual level, than we did before, but our knowledge has just shifted to match our modern world. Even though I consider myself to have more knowledge about old skills than the average person in my surroundings, I'd probably still die within a couple of weeks, certainly in winter, if I'd somehow be thrown back into the stone age. I simply lack the knowledge and skills to survive without a supermarket. To my opinion modern day survival skills are highly overrated and (pre)historic skills highly underrated.

[@jd70HJ19]

@@hetnoesteleven Although I am trained in various trades and disciplines , I , like you , have relied all my adult life on a supermarket instead living a farmer`s life as my grandparents did, it is not an easy life . Your reply is a statement of truth that applies well to most anyone , I am in total agreement with your excellent observations , most especially the ending .

[@houseofbaboshka6456]

Amazing, thanks for sharing.🌻

[@hetnoesteleven]

You're welcome

[@semihtuncer12]

Thanks a lot

[@hetnoesteleven]

You're welcome

[@Stefan-xt5sk]

What a beautiful project. You even got a surprised laugh out of me when you used those pink plastic dividers. I did not expect those among all the self-made tools. xD

[@hetnoesteleven]

Well, I'm glad at least one person likes my dividers (or actually they were my daughters)

[@ianbedwell4871]

I am very impressed, and like others had a chuckle with the pink dividers. Did you make your turning tools or just put wood handles on some? I would have liked a good look at the end you used to undercut the inside, looked like it may have had a hook?

[@Blam8o]

This whole operation is fantastic! Thanks!

[@hetnoesteleven]

You're welcome. If recommended trying it yourself. Or perhaps not, as it's quite addictive 😉

[@markopolo5695]

Excellent video fella it's great to see this sort of thing being kept alive

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks! The physical effort in combination with the concentration that is needed, is psychologically very relaxing.

[@viqtahkorir7622]

This is so satisfying and amazing

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks!

[@bantamsescort]

Excellent set up. Love the vintage Croc's. 😊

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks! 😀

[@blakefriesen1216]

Glad to see that Jack Dorsey is taking up new hobbies since the Twitter sale.

[@carlosamor5420]

Very smart

[@josecancino2825]

Excelente trabajo, sin tecnología, nada de electricidad , solamente ingenio, gracias estimado por darme esta oportunidad de verlo, bendiciones de parte de Dios, un abrazo.

[@mjmayo970]

Excellent!!!👍👍and no fancy tools needed! All stuff you made yourself I like it! God gave us hands to be creative 🙏

[@hetnoesteleven]

That's what I love about crafts. They're basically all really simple. Simple methods with simple tools. To become good at it, now that's something different. That takes a lot of practice.

[@mjmayo970]

@@hetnoesteleven I'm sure it does, but like anything if the interest is there you will keep going until you teach yourself how to do it properly/ learn new skills through practice. Their is Something really beautiful about hand made objects, and watching them being made, it's how it's supposed to be.

[@stowasser11]

simple and beautiful design.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks!

[@JamesCouch777]

Very ingenious 👍

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks James

[@FelixMacleod-vn4kp]

Hermoso trabajo, hermoso torno, hermoso lugar,

[@hetnoesteleven]

Gracias!

[@raybellows9851]

Well done.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks Ray

[@guyrinaudo9110]

👍👏😉👍👍♥️bravo beau travail je suis admirateur guy Rinaudo 70 an merci

[@hetnoesteleven]

merci Guy, j'apprécie ton compliment!

[@calvinderuiter2033]

awesome video cheers

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks Calvin

[@Serg_Hawk]

круто

[@psidvicious]

Super cool! As primitive as that set up looks, I’ve got a feeling it involves are fair amount of fine adjustment to get it to that functional state. I’m positive that there is a lot of operator skill and experience necessary as well.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks! Well, the lathe it pretty basic indeed and there's is actually not so much fine adjustment involved. But, as you say, it does take quite some practice to reach a certain level of skill. The learning curve is not as steep as with an electric lathe. Due to the relatively low speed and the fact that one usually works with green wood, this types of lathe forces you to really improve your techniques in order to get to the shape and finish you want to acquire.

[@eagledaan-maakt]

Ongelofelijk wat je eigenlijk kan maken zonder stroom :) Mooi stukje werk

[@hetnoesteleven]

Dankjewel! Ja, we hebben ons als mens millennia weten te redden zonder en als je kijkt wat er bijvoorbeeld al in de bronstijd voor moois werd gemaakt.... Ik vind het o.a. veel prettiger omdat ik zo veel meer met het materiaal bezig ben dan wanneer ik machinaal werk.

[@anagramconfirmed1717]

Subbed. Beautiful piece.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks 🙏🏻

[@PIGmalioun]

Бесшумно и экологично, однозначно лайк 👍

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks!

[@ajwilsenach]

❤

[@pyrostar69yt]

Amazing, I have been wanting to make a spring pole lathe. I absolutely love yours. I see you forged your tool yourself. Any chance you can make that spring pole lathe in a video?

[@hetnoesteleven]

Perhaps one day I will, although there are a couple of videos that show how to mature a pole lathe online already.

[@andrewcoyle6989]

Beautiful work. Love the set up and atmosphere of your workshop ;) What carving axe do you use?

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks! For bowls I often use a right handed Gransfors carving axe, but the Robin Wood large carving has been used for many bowls as well.

[@thebodgingbigfoot4014]

Not bad..ill give ya a sub. Keep it up dude

[@user-dx1qo1ic9v]

👍👍👍

[@elpela4226]

🙌👏👏👏

[@kornkraker]

New subscriber! Interesting process and nice job, how do dry the finished bowl with out it cracking? Looking forward to seeing more of your videos.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks! In winter I just put them indoors on a shelf, but in summer I keep them in the fresh shavings for a few days first. Especially in summer it's important to keep them from direct sunlight and out if the wind. So in a shady place in its own shavings for a few days will do the job. Then you can take them indoors to dry further. Just don't force it.

[@driftlesshermit9731]

Awesome job! Did you make your own cutting tools as well?

[@hetnoesteleven]

Yes, I did. At least the tools for the lathe. That's one of the interesting parts of the job, to my opinion. Learning several techniques and skills and about the history and theories at the same time.

[@tomasr64]

Its only pine trees where I live. I am trying to decide if this tool would be useful with pine, since its not too soft, not safe to eat out of pine bowls and spoons.

[@hetnoesteleven]

I never use pine because of the resins and because it's quite splinterly and I have other types of wood available. On the other hand it can be turned of course. I'd like to hear when you've decided what to do and why.

[@Ivegotwormsinme]

Would you mind discussing your decision concerning your choice in location for your chisel while turning? Was it selected due to the lathe's counter clock-wise/clock-wise rotation? I admit that I was quite skeptical of your methods when I began the video, but I have to say that the results speak for themselves.

[@hetnoesteleven]

If it would have been a regular chisel, the position would have been completely different. One always works above the centers than. As the tools that I use here (traditional pole lathe tools) are in fact not chisels, but actually knives that have been sharpened on the side edges in stead of the front, this has an effect on how they should be used. With these tools you always work below the centers, so that you don't push into the wood as with chisels but its more like a pulling motion. Like this you have more control over the knives and the tools are less likely to catch. If I were to use a chisels to do spindle turning on this lathe, I would use it in the 'regular' manner. I also have a video in which I'm turning a cup. For the outside of the cup I use a gouge and a chisel, above the centers. Hollowing the cup is done with these so called hook tools again, below the centers.

[@Ivegotwormsinme]

@@hetnoesteleven This is a wealth of knowledge. I had already watched your cup video by the time you left this comment, and I have to say that your use of what looks to be a 1 1/2in flat chisel as a skew was beyond words. Such a clean, fine cut. Thank you!

[@williampayson3677]

what type of wood did you use. are you cutting in both directions or just the down strole

[@hetnoesteleven]

This bowl was made from birch. With this type of lathe one can only carve when the treadle is pushed downwards, so oy half the time. This is due to two reasons. First of all the spring is only strong enough to rotate everything backwards with no pressure applied to the bowl, and second it would not be possible to turn your knive such that the cutting angle would be correct on both the downward and upward stroke.

[@williampayson3677]

@@hetnoesteleven Thank you. I have a spring pole lathe but am now planning to make a great wheel for it, The spring you have on yours is simple but effective, I might try that set up..

[@rosehawke2577]

This was great! Except for the pink plastic compass at the beginning.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Ha ha, you don't like pink?

[@garyhamlin425]

Great job on all all talk but lathe are and the shop none even saw your shoes my gramps showed river stones to help with the sanding and finish

[@SprotKala]

Interesting that you clean up the inside face before. Haven't tried that. Any particular reason you do that?

[@hetnoesteleven]

Do you mean the top face of the bowl blank? I do that so that I can make the top rim first. Then, when I turn the bowl around to shape the outside of the bowl, I can directly aim for that rim I've just made. For me it's easier this way to get a nicely shaped bowl directly, without having to do too many adjustments later on. Else the top rim might eventually end up much lower or with a smaller diameter than I expected, which could make the outer shape of the bowl feel unbalanced.

[@defective6811]

I know theyre klogs (or similar), but my brain keeps trying to tell me im watching a man in his house slippers

[@hetnoesteleven]

Well, actually they are my outdoor slippers 😀. Official safety shoes when axing out my bowl blank and easy to take off for turning, as I like to turn barefoot or in socks because it makes me feel the feedback from the lathe much easier.

[@gondebas]

Do you cut on the upstroke or downstroke of your foot step?

[@hetnoesteleven]

Always on the downstroke, as there's more power in the downstroke. The spring is strong enough to pull everything back up again, but if you'd try to carve at the same time, you'd probably prevent the backward rotation, especially when carving with some force.

[@gondebas]

@@hetnoesteleven Thank you, very inspirational video.

[@mrb4849]

Is that a historical pole lathe or did you invent it? Is the rope that goes across springs?

[@hetnoesteleven]

No, I did certainly not invent this. The original historical lathe (over 3500 years old) was a bit different. Or actually there have been several designs. The first one was probably operated by two people. One person operating the rope by moving it forwards and backwards and the other person carving. Later on, the Romans added a bow so that it could be operated by one person, one hand on the bow and the other for carving (just like a bow drill or a bow for making fire). Than later a long rod was added that would act as a spring. The so called spring pole lathe. Now the foot would provide the reciprocal movement and you'd have both hands available for carving, while the long horizontal rod was the spring. The lathe I use here is a different version of this spring pole lathe but with two vertical springs in stead of the historical one horizontal spring. The rope is just a rope. So the force is only applied by the two uprights. However, this construction is quite weak (the uprights tend to break quite quickly, although with another type of wood it might work). So, usually I use the more historical version (see my other video in which I'm turning a cup on a spring pole lathe) or I use two stronger uprights with a horizontal bungee cord in between, in stead of the horizontal rope.

[@mrb4849]

@@hetnoesteleven where did you get the idea for two spring poles?

[@hetnoesteleven]

@@mrb4849 many people use the one with two sturdy uprights and a bungee cord, but I wanted something that could have been made historically (so no bungee cord) but is easy to transport (so no 5 meter / 15 feet long pole). So I came up with this combo as an experiment.

[@mrb4849]

​@@hetnoesteleven interesting, I already have one with the pole below attached to an arm lever but Im going to build one like yours or one that uses a bow.

[@mrb4849]

If you use Elm they won't wear out or break

[@kristonterbutt7373]

Are there any good Designs out there for a foot Pole Lathe?

[@hetnoesteleven]

I always build them without a design. I've based the first one on online images and descriptions. It worked out well from the start. Now I have the dimensions in my head and don't use fixed measurements. Perhaps there is someone in your area teaching workshops and then you could ask that person for tips and tricks. Some tips for now: -make the slot in the bed wide enough (around 10 cm / 4 inches) in order to reduce the risks of breaking the cord due to friction of the cord against the bed. -the top of the bed should be flat, so the poppets (the heads of the lathe) can be set and fixed in any position -the tips of the centers should be around 60 degrees. Too flat ( >60 degrees) might results in the bowl getting kicked off the centers. Too pointy and you'll get a very deep hole in the base of the bowl. Anyhow, it's not very hard to make one.

[@Ehsan.999]

🙂🌷💜💛💙🌷🙂

[@davidlee4576]

Is this possible with no metal pieces?

[@hetnoesteleven]

I guess it should, but I've never tried. Of course the center points should be (much) harder than the wood you're turning. So you'd need very hard wood for that. Or perhaps stone or bone/horn/antler

[@davidlee4576]

@@hetnoesteleven thank you. I’m fascinated with the simplicity.

[@idkname]

how you price this handcrafted thing.

[@hetnoesteleven]

Well, that's a hard thing indeed. For me it's based on the average amount of time it takes to make such a product. Or actually an estimation of how much time it would take after so many of the same products. So for me, I don't charge the time it costs to develop a new product or skill. And than still, one cannot charge an average hourly rate as the products would become too expensive for most. And I don't want to make products that are only for the more wealthy people. But of course I still cannot charge the same price as Ikea, as it takes quite a lot of time to make a work of craft by hand. So, yeah, it's difficult and also sort of a quest to find something that is nice to make, that people appreciate and that you're able to make in such an amount of time that people still want to spend their money buying it. And as you're not Ikea, a story and demonstration, which will raise the appreciation, do help.

[@user-lh5td3ow6s]

Please tell me us about your handle saw

[@hetnoesteleven]

It's the 3 foot saw from Garlick And Sons from Sheffield, UK

[@user-lh5td3ow6s]

@@hetnoesteleven thanks

[@monikamarczewska5777]

KURE TO TYLKO MISKA LE ZROBINA W " CNC" I TO Z NOŻNYM ZASILANIEM SZACUN !!!!

[@moothgames3216]

Century 21, wake up😂

[@user-iy2un9ud8b]

Сырая берёза хорошо обрабатывается, но трескается после высыхания

[@hetnoesteleven]

I usually don't have any problems with birch. But of course you should let it dry slowly. Especially in summer. I let it dry in wet shavings then.

[@josephbartier9986]

That cant work there's no Jet sticker

[@hetnoesteleven]

My leg acts as a jet engine. Does that count?

[@user-gx6oq7pi6z]

Красота

[@hetnoesteleven]

Thanks!