72 Australian Wood Review
A piece of elastic cord is then
stretched between the two poles to
again provide the spring you need.
I much prefer this design as I can set
it up in the shed in winter, and then
move it out to the garden as things
get warmer. No extension
cord needed.The final thing to make is the treadle.
This can be made from a forked
branch, or in my case hardwood
tomato stakes attached to a wide
piece of wood for you to stand on
while pedalling. The hinge is just
made from pieces of leather nailed to
the base and treadle.How to bodge
So let’s use this thing. Grab a straight
log, green hardwood is best, and
split it into four pieces (photos 4–7)
before shaping one of the wedge
shaped pieces into a cylinder using an
axe or drawknife (photos 8, 9, 10).The turning tools you need are sharp
and simple. For marking centres I use
an awl (photo 11); stick it in, twist
(photo 12), and then add a drop of
oil to the holes.When roughing out I use a basic
carver’s gouge (photo 13). I’ve used
numerous sweeps and widths and
they all work well if they are sharp.
Use a gouge to turn a thinner section
(photo 14); when the cord wraps
around this it will spin the blank
faster. Photo 15 shows how it also
holds the cord in place which helps to
prevent slicing it with the tools!For more detailed shaping I use a
spindle gouge (photo 16) and skew
chisel (photo 17, 18, 19). I use
specific turning tools for these two
as I find the longer handles give me
more control. And that skew chisel,
the much feared woodturner’s tool
that enjoys wrecking near-finishedpieces, shed walls and the occasional
turner, is reduced to a gentle, but
cheeky, puppy on a pole lathe
because of the slower speed and high
tech braking mechanism (you stop
pedalling if it catches).For smoothing flat surfaces a simple
flat and wide chisel (about 25mm+)
will do a fine job (photo 20); it will
also do the job of a skew chisel if the
last one you used is still embedded
in the wall.Using the tools is perhaps the
trickiest part to get right. Commonly,
when people are getting started, they
tense their upper body and pedal
using short pushes. Try instead to
ever so slightly lean into the rotating
blank as your leg pushes with long
and confident movements on the
treadle. As your leg returns, lean back
and pull the tool a millimetre or two
away from the blank.10 12
11