Just to kill a little time between football games today I thumbed through and old turning book I have. "Turning Wood" by R. Raffan, published in 1985. If your club library has it check it out. For you turners who have been turning for only a short time you may be surprised. Raffan's Union Graduate lathe, made in the UK was ahead of it's time in some ways such as a 19" swing. It still used a belt change for 4 speeds. No Reverse and a lot more. The standard way to secure a piece to the lathe was with a faceplate. Raffan used a bowl gouge but with a square ground nose. There's a lot more that's interesting.
Any of you old timers remember other "old" methods and tools of those days? I sure do. We've come a long way in 30 years.
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