TURNERY, TREEN and calligraphy on wood.

B ecause I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

he information on these pages relates to what I used to do, but not since selling ‘THE BEAST’, my monster, 3-phase Wadkin lathe. Most of the inscribed work I did was on turned wood but I also inscribed ‘flat’ items such the lectern. The inscriptions were permanent. Names, dates, places, quotations, heraldic and other armorial devices, logos, and horoscopes were all grist to my mill. I mainly worked with scripts using the Roman alphabet, but I did inscriptions in Greek, Russian, Persian and Sanskrit.

I used two basic types of FINISH. OIL FINISHED pieces, such as the bowl at right, could be used for serving hot or cold food and are hand washable. Such pieces should not be left to soak, nor exposed to prolonged strong sunlight, nor washed in a dish washer. They are easy to maintain. All they require to keep them looking good is the occasional very light application of any edible oil - not the stuff you put on your bike! I used sunflower oil applied sparingly and left overnight before wiping off the excess - of which there should have been none! The platters and bowls we use at home get treated about once a year if I remember. If oil finished bowls are not going to be regularly washed they will gradually take a good wax polish.

L ACQUERED items, such as the Kingfisher dish, while damp resistant, should not be washed. They can be wiped with a damp cloth if necessary. The advantage over an oil finish is that lacquered items need even less maintenance, requiring only dusting or polishing depending on their use. Lacquered items look shinier than oiled but have a half matt or satin finish. Their shine can be increased by wax polishing.

W ooden PLATTERS, BOWLS, GOBLETS, DISHES and other ‘foody’ items are all practical, non toxic, non tainting, usable utensils - including those with inscriptions. They may (and should!) be HAND WASHED . But don't put them in the oven to warm up as one dolt did! Tests comparing the hygenic properties of wooden kitchen utensils with plastic things show wood winning hands down. There is apparently an enzyme in wood that engages bacteria in mortal combat whereas plastic harbours filth.

A ll my turnery was made from solid timber NOT from little bits of tropical hardwood stuck back together with toxic substances like the cheap, nasty imports that abound. I used no foreign, French or tropical hardwoods, only home-grown, British timber, much of it rescued from firewood merchants. Orang-utangs had nothing to fear from me!

I made quite a number of horoscope bowls based on the date, place and, ideally, the time of an individual's birth. The examples shown used the Placidean house system. Other systems were also used depending on whether the customer preferred Equal House, Quadrant or some other exotic system. Needless to say, no two were ever the same and I believe I was the only person on Planet Earth doing them. There's probably a reason for that, especially the ebonised ones.

S ome liked ‘em ‘white’ and some like ‘em black. The black horoscope is the same dish as the ‘white’ one but after it had been ebonized. Ebonizing cost extra because it was messy, laborious, tricky to execute and caused discontent and frequent profanity among the staff.

E ach horoscope, apart from the basic ‘chart’ and zodiacal signs, included the sun, moon and 8 major planets plus all the major aspects. In spite of Pluto's demotion from planet to asteroid, I continued to use it unless asked not to. Other objects such as the Node (shown in the image in the same house as the moon - at 7 o'clock!), the ‘Part of Fortune’ and more-or-less any asteroid the customer might want could be included. The ‘engraving’ was permanent and could either be OILED , making them suitable for food etc, or LAQUERED in which case they were not washable but needed little further care other than wiping with a damp cloth if necessary. Ebonized dishes were not washable and were always lacquered.