Medieval Living

I was certain that there must be more information on Medieval era lathes . . . and here is a website that is probably the most imformative I have seen yet. Historic Games has a section of their site devoted to woodturning. Included in their site are bow lathes, spring-pole lathes, continuous motion lathes, ancient lathes (Egyptian, Indian, Roman), and turning tools. There is also a webpage of related tools, such as a bow-operated drill, button maker’s drill, and pewtersmith’s lathe. Their discussion of Medieval games is also worth reading!

The previous article included some very detailed and informative articles on the mechanics of timberframing. This next website provides some wonderful background for the use of timberframing in England and Wales. The History and Construction of Medieval Timber-Framed Houses in England and Wales contains just that – the history of Medieval timberframing. Included among the very informative text are a glossary and photo gallery. Cruck construction and box frame construction are discussed, along with the use of wattle and daub to infill the spaces between timbers. A very nice bibliography and links section lists print sources for more detailed information on the topic of timberframing. I look forward to seeing if the references in the bibliography are available at my local bookstore – hope so!

Anyone interested in constructing Medieval buildings would benefit by looking at this. While the site is contemporary in much of its discussions, the concepts are surely based on centuries of timberframing experience. The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training out of Natchitoches, Louisiana, has some very good resoures on its site. Of particular interest were some pdf files of TIMBER FRAMING: Journal of the Timber Framers Guild. Some of the articles include how to raise the structure - modern techniques to be sure, but useful for anyone wanting to lift timbers into place and so on. Another deals with using geometry to properly calculate the angles needed to join various roof members together. Complicated but very worth looking at! A third article deals with various types of joinery. Although the focus is on early-American structures, the joinery would be very similary to that found in Medieval structures. The diagrams in the text are extremely well done, and the discussions accompanying each are very well written. In general, some excellent materials for anyone contemplating building a timberframed structure. I hope you find these articles useful and worth reading!

I admit I had not heard of this group before. I happened upon their website while researching for living history groups. This particular group, Regia Anglorum, is a serious Medieval history organization – emphasis on authenticity! With a focus on the period from 950AD to 1066AD, Regia Anglorum takes a hard-nose approach to Medieval reenactment. If it isn’t documentable, it isn’t allowed. Period.

Now while I enjoy the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), I realized that the “anachronism” part allows for drifts from historical accuracy. An encampment item might look like a wooden chest, but inside one will find a Coleman ice chest. Practical, yes; authentic, no! Such a contrivance would not be allowed with Regia Anglorum.

One of the items of interest was the construction of a late Anglo-Saxon period manor house. Within a one acre ditch-and-bank enclosure is a historically accurate longhall. Measuring some 20 meters by 10 meters by 10 meters high, this construction project spanned 6 to 7 years in site develpment and erection of the timbers and trusses. Using primarily dovetail joinery to hold it together, the structure is made from locally grown oak trees. I am going to borrow a picture from their site – I hope they don’t mind.

Anyway – a very cool site – lots of pictures and informative articles and links.

Well now that’s a mouthful – been a while since I took Latin! This is a very cool book available online at the Smithsonian Institution Library, entitled Theatrum Instrumentorum Et Machinarum. By Jacques Besson, it is a 1578 text and drawings of some very incredible Medieval machines, including some lathes (of course), a hand-powered saw mill, horse-drawn carriages, cargo cranes and much much more. Very interesting – but of course, the text is in Latin.

In my previous post, I mentioned that Charles Oakley had a plan for a Medieval German Wheelbarrow, but that the links in my previous source did not work. Well . . . stubborn person that I am, found the link for Mr. Oakley’s wheelbarrow! Titled “A 16th Century German Wheelbarrow“, his article is complete with descriptions, photos, and construction plans.

I’ve had several people ask me about Medieval Wheelbarrows. I’ve not made one myself, but the folks from Blood and Sawdust show some very nice pictures of their 16th Century wheelbarrow, including documentation for the design. Their discussion includes the box barrow, hand barrows, the fenced barrow, and basket barrows. Research apparently was done by Karen Lardsdatter of Medieval Material Culture fame – I’ve come across her work several times before. Her research on the wheelbarrow is found here.
Charles Oakley is supposed to have a webpage showing his plans for a 16th Century German wheelbarrow, but it seems the link no longer works. If someone has a current link for his work, please let me know and I will post it here.
While I am pleased with the references listed about, I am very disappointed that there isn’t more available on the web – something we woodworkers will have to work on!!!
Till next time!
Visit my website! Medieval-Living.com

Well actually, part 3 . . . I had a short entry earlier about woodturning. Anyway – I was interested in learning more about early lathes and came upon a couple of good articles on how to make one. The first article is from Howard Ruttan, a self-proclaimed woodworking zealot. The article on his site, In the Woodshop, is from some earlier publication and is entitiled “How to Build a Boy’s Lathe”. Don’t let the title fool you – it’s a wonderful design for a treadle lathe, with some very interesting ideas on construction – a good, solid, turn-of-the 19th century discussion. But the design is very applicable to Medieval and Renaissance era designs.
The other article provides a more contemporary pattern and design, although still a treadle-based machine. From VintageProjects.com, is an article called “Build a Treadle Wood Lathe from Scratch.” While much of the mechanization is mid 20th century, the basic concept is still 16th or 17th century. (Some may say that the ideas were found earlier . . . as in Da Vinci’s spinning wheel . . . just haven’t seen any primary source evidence that they were used prior to the 16th century.) One of the ideas I really liked about this plan was the forming of a concrete flywheel instead of the traditional wooden one. I don’t know why that would be a problem for the Medieval enthusiast. I would think a stone wheel would be very appropriate and viable for 16th century wood workers.
At any rate, I thought both articles were full of great ideas . . . and they were free as well! Of course, many folks would be more interested in bow lathes and spring pole lathes . . . maybe when I return to the keyboard next Monday I will see what I can discover. But I think my next project in the woodshop will be a treadle lathe – something based on both designs, plus a few innovations of my own. Things such as an outboard drive for turning very large diameter bowls, plates and whatever, and also adding a grinding wheel to the treadle so that I can sharpen my tools. Not new ideas . . . I have seen the later one already in someone’s design (don’t remember where) . . . but the outboard drive is my own idea for a treadle lathe – I’ve seen this done in contemporary lathes, of course, but not in the hand/foot operated ones. We will see . . . if and when I complete such a project, I will be sure to include many photos!
Happy turning!

As I’ve said before, one of my many hobbies is woodturning. A friend of mine is a professional turner, and so . . . well, I now have a mini-lathe set up in the garage, along with other woodworking tools, i.e. tablesaw, bandsaw, planer, drill press, and so on. Of all the tools I have, the lathe is by far my favorite – there are so many cool things one can do with a lathe and the proper scrapers and such. While looking for an article on Medieval woodturning, I came upon a very interesting site – my French is rather rusty but I can get the gyst of what is being said. . . but the picture are absolutely incredible.

The man featured in the website turns things on a tree trunk. Jean-Paul Rossi, of L’ARGENTERIE DES BAUGES does some truly incredible work on this rather bizarre looking tree lathe. The picture is from his website, and I give full credit to him for it – but I don’t think someone can truly appreciate what a “tree lathe” would look like until they see one. He includes a brief history of early wood turning techniques (in French, so if you’re rusty like I am, you might want to ask someone fluent in French to help you). He also has a six-minute video posted on youtube where he shows a little of his technique.
I highly encourage you to visit his website, even if you don’t understand French, the pictures alone are worth it!!!

One of my myriad hobbies is woodworking. A few years ago I received a lathe for a birthday present – what a marvelous tool!! I also have the good fortune of having a professional turner as a friend and neighbor. With my association with the SCA, it was only natural that I work on some “Medieval” pieces. I’ve acquired several nice books (some I need to return to my friend – Bill, remind me to do that). There are also some interesting sources online. One of those is Blood and Sawdust – a very nicely done website that discusses Medieval lathes among other things. This isn’t just a site where someone “talks” about Medieval woodworking . . . these people are seriously involved in it.

Many wonderful photos of completed projects and some nice “how-to” articles. I especially liked the one on 16th century wheelbarrows!
There is also an associated blog for Peter Follansbee, who does 17th century joinery – another very nice resource!