What is "pole lathe"

Pole \Pole\, n. [As. p[=a]l, L. palus, akin to pangere to make fast. Cf. Pale a stake, Pact.]

1. A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been removed; as, specifically:

   1. A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which the carriage is guided and held back.

   2. A flag pole, a pole on which a flag is supported.

   3. A Maypole. See Maypole.

   4. A barber's pole, a pole painted in stripes, used as a sign by barbers and hairdressers.

   5. A pole on which climbing beans, hops, or other vines, are trained.

2. A measuring stick; also, a measure of length equal to 5? yards, or a square measure equal to 30? square yards; a rod; a perch.
   --Bacon.

   Pole bean (Bot.), any kind of bean which is customarily trained on poles, as the scarlet runner or the Lima bean.

   Pole flounder (Zo["o]l.), a large deep-water flounder ( Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), native of the northern coasts of Europe and America, and much esteemed as a food fish; -- called also craig flounder, and pole fluke.

   Pole lathe, a simple form of lathe, or a substitute for a lathe, in which the work is turned by means of a cord passing around it, one end being fastened to the treadle, and the other to an elastic pole above.

   Pole mast (Naut.), a mast formed from a single piece or from a single tree.

   Pole of a lens (Opt.), the point where the principal axis meets the surface.

   Pole plate (Arch.), a horizontal timber resting on the tiebeams of a roof and receiving the ends of the rafters. It differs from the plate in not resting on the wall.

n. A simple form of lathe, or a substitute for a lathe, in which the work is turned by means of a cord passing around it, one end being fastened to the treadle, and the other to an elastic pole above.

A pole lathe is a wood-turning lathe that uses a long pole as a return spring for a treadle. Pressing the treadle with your foot pulls on a cord that is wrapped around the piece of wood or billet being turned. The other end of the cord reaches up to the end of a long springy pole. As the action is reciprocating, the work rotates in one direction and then back the other way. Cutting is only carried out on the down stroke of the treadle, the spring of the pole only being sufficient to return the treadle to the raised position ready for the next down stroke. Modern pole lathes often replace the springy pole with an elastic bungee cord.

While the action of the pole lathe and the skills required are similar to those employed on a modern power lathe, a requirement is that the timber used on a pole lathe is freshly felled and unseasoned, i.e., green. The angle that the tools are ground is closer to that of a carpenter's chisel than that of a power lathe tool. Using power lathe tools on a pole lathe is safe, but hard work. Using a pole lathe chisel on a power lathe risks serious injury, since the forces are such that the blade is likely to break.

The pole lathe's origin is lost in antiquity; we know that Vikings used them from the archaeological finds at Jórvík, the Viking settlement discovered beneath the modern city of York in England. The use of pole lathes died out in England after World War II. It has seen a return through the increased interest in green woodwork, although the majority of practitioners are at the hobby rather than professional level. Around Britain there are regular courses for learning the art of pole lathe turning and associated skills, culminating in making chairs or simpler items.