There are several reasons why this simple machine has been in use for thousands of years. From a practical point of view, the lathe can easily produce truly round objects, invaluable in making wheels for carts and parts for mills and pumps. Turned spindles can also be easily assembled into complex objects such as chairs, beds, tables, etc. This same machine also simplifies the making of woodenware for eating, drinking, and storage. From a more aesthetic perspective, turning can create a sort of surface decoration impossible to achieve by hand alone. The combination of mechanical simplicity, versatility, and decorative appeal has made turning a steadily practiced trade throughout European culture.







The idea of the lathe is simple: a piece of wood is made to turn on an axis while a sharp tool cuts or scrapes the wood into a desired shape. In the 17th century, Joseph Moxon described it as,







Any substance, be it Wood, Ivory, Brass, etc., pitcht steddy upon two points (as on an Axis), and moved about on that Axis, also describes a Circle concentric to the Axis; And an Edge-Tool, set steddy to that part of that Aforesaid Substance that is nearest the Axis, will in a Circumvolution of that Substance, cut off all the parts of Substance that lies further off the Axis and make the outside of that Substance also Concentrick to the Axis... This is a brief Collection, and indeed the whole Summ of Turning...(5).







One of the earliest reliable references to lathes is Theophilus' "On Divers Arts," probably written in the 11th century by a metalworker named Roger of Helmarshausen. In this treatise, he mentioned two lathes. The first is a hand-cranked lathe for turned heavy bell cores. The other is a pewterer's lathe, which he describes as "set up in the same way as the one on which platters and other wooden vessels are turned.(6)" This lathe is pulled by "a boy," presumably pulling back and forth on a cord wrapped around the piece being worked. Such reciprocol motion is charactistic of most early lathes, particularly those used in woodworking.