Dead centre lathe with gauge tools

Dead centre lathe with gauge tools and work from Egypt; one photo (photo in technical file)

This is a modern example of the type of bow lathe which has been used in the Middle East since ancient times.

At the right-hand end of the wooden base board is fixed a transverse wood block which is connected with a similar but movable block at the other end by means of a stretcher. The iron centres are carried in these two blocks and the distance between them is adjusted to suit the length of the work by moving the loose block towards or away from the other and then fixing its position by wedging the stretcher in the square hole through which it passes. A long iron bar is laid across the blocks parallel with the centres and this serves as a tool rest.

The turner sits before the lathe on a slightly raised seat with his heels on the stretcher and his toes on the rest bar. He holds the handle of the tool in his left hand and guides the cutting end by the toes of one foot. The work is rotated by means of the forward and backward movement of a bow held in his right hand, the string of the bow passing around the work so that the direction of rotation is periodically reversed. Cutting is performed only when the work is turning towards him.

Some of the wooden gauges employed and a drill for use in the lathe are shown together with examples of the kind of work done in this type of lathe. "