"Arch" wrote in message
...


charlie b asks. "What say you?"


I say, thanks for asking, Charlie. I couldn't agree more with your
premise. Your list of "variations on a round & brown theme" as with all
your contributions to woodturning here and elsewhere goads us into
thinking beyond the R&B baseline along with you. Well, a little behind
you.


I say it's a good thing to push beyond the limits of our fixed
headstocks, in line spindles and hand held freely applied cutting tools.
True, the "standard" machines, tools and techniques in most of our shops
continue to offer tremendous opportunities for innovative art/craft and
are nowhere near the limit of their possibitities, but there was a time
of almost no face turning and spindles ruled, not that far removed from
the days of the bodgers. Woodturning must grow or it will shrivel.



Maybe there is no limit with using what we have in our shops today,
especially with the adaptions of readily available ancillary modes and
devices such as charlie's use of electo-mechanical aids to stretch the
limits. That said, I wonder if it's not time to consider making
equipment from other turning disciplines affordable additions to our
present armament. I mean cross slides, various automatic feeds, tilting
and thrusting headstocks, programmable chucks, ornamental devices etc.
etc. Why not? Probably cost.



Holtzapffel lathes are among the most complex mechanical contrivances on the
planet. Not counting the BC bronze "Laptop" found a few years back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holtzapffel

And be sure to look at the references. Particularly:

http://holtzapffel.org/