Register here - as a registered user you get more features and fewer ads.
Hi Arthur. The pole lathe was in used in Bronze Age Britain according to The Handbook of British Archaeology by L and R Adkins. The principle was the same as the bow drill - ie a cord or thong tied to a flexible pole passing around the drive mandrel and fixed to a pedal. The flexible tension of the pole alternated with foot pressure on the pedal as I'm sure you know. Can't say if this bowl was made in that way - the alternative would be by carving out the interior - the same technology as for dug-out canoes. If it was "as thin as glass" - I would suggest the dug-out method as giving a more controlled result. Could have used both methods though - roughed out on the pole lathe and then hand finished. Cheers.
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road