hand turned?

[Wes Ramsey]

What is the accepted criteria for claiming a piece was 'hand turned'? Would that be any piece turned on a lathe using only hand tools to create the final form, or does it also require the use of a human-powered lathe?

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

I would say on a lathe using only hand tools.

[Steve Huffman]

Honesty, using hand tools to carve, hand sanding, hand finishing, I would say hand made. I see signs around many places, "hand made pottery" but they are also made on a spinning or turning table. I have seen plenty of that in Taos, New Mexico.
If you could set a block of wood on a lathe, push a button and have a bowl or form come off finished, I would then say machined. BTW, my lathe is human powered, I have to plug it in before I start!!!!! :D Ok that part was dumb.

[Thom Sturgill]

A powered lathe is fine as long as its not computer controlled, and I am not speaking of the motor speed controller. However, I do feel that some distinction should be made for 'assisted hollowing' as compared to hand held hollowers. A line has to be drawn somewhere and that is mine, others are free to disagree.

A quibble, I know, but then again I had neander leanings BEFORE I started turning. ...

[Alan Trout]

A powered lathe is fine as long as its not computer controlled, and I am not speaking of the motor speed controller. However, I do feel that some distinction should be made for 'assisted hollowing' as compared to hand held hollowers. A line has to be drawn somewhere and that is mine, others are free to disagree.

A quibble, I know, but then again I had neander leanings BEFORE I started turning. ...

Yep I freely disagree completely. Captive rigs to me are more about safety then anything else. You can go through the side of a piece just as easy sometime easier with a captive rig. I know I have done a lot of both hand and captive hollowing. As I have gotten older I have realized that having your arm in a arm brace or with a long handle stuffed under your arm stuffed in a hollow form in a machine with a 3hp motor is not the safest idea in the world. If it is a tool guided by you versus a computer that is a legitimate distinction in my mind.

[Thom Sturgill]

...As I have gotten older I have realized that having your arm in a arm brace or with a long handle stuffed under your arm stuffed in a hollow form in a machine with a 3hp motor is not the safest idea in the world. If it is a tool guided by you versus a computer that is a legitimate distinction in my mind.

I don't use a brace and the handle is generally not tucked under my arm. I hold my long handled tools the way David Ellsworth teaches and find that it does not 'beat me up'. I will concede that using a captive rig is still hand turned, I just have a strong preference for hand-held.

[Wes Ramsey]

That's what I figured. I'm donating a piece and was writing up a brief description yesterday and got to wondering if I could legitimately call it hand-turned. Thanks guys!