Pole Lathe Turning: Plans, Tools, Videos & Workshops
We are excited to offer resources for more folks to enjoy this wonderful craft of turning bowls, cups, boxes, plates & more on a foot powered lathe (aka a Pole Lathe or Svegsvarv in Swedish). You can follow the buttons above or read on with a bit more details on each resource and a bit of our background.
In 2017 and 2018 we, Oliver and Raleigh, started turning on a foot powered Pole Lathe. We were and are both strongly inspired by a collection of highly talented makers breathing life into this craft over the last decades including but not limited to Mike Abbott, Robin Wood, Jarrod Dahl, Yoav Kafets, Amy Leake, Matty Whittaker, Sharif Adams, and many more. It didn’t take long to get hooked (pun intended). Over the last few years we have built 10 lathes in California with Nick LaHaise for Hearth Folk School (closed now), 10 in Germany with Daniel Rieker for Von Hand Festival, and now 14 in Sweden for our own business Wild Crafted Home. For the last 4 years we have been teaching workshops as we travel Europe and the United States. These days you will find us settled in the Swedish countryside where we host workshops, craft retreats and gatherings.
Craft and skills have been an anchor point for our work, passions, and friendships the last years and we are thrilled to see Pole Lathe turning and other traditional crafts growing each year. If you are just starting to turn, curious to try it out, or have more experience and would like to connect or need some help please get in touch.
Foot Powered Lathe Building Plans:
Coming Soon! We are working on making some plans of our lathes that explain the purpose of each piece and how to make one yourself. In the meantime you can find some other Pole Lathe Plans through google. Some of our teachers and friends will pop up with great instructions.
Tools:
To purchase our tools go here.
The tools used to turn bowls, cups, plates and boxes are unique and different to those you use on an electric lathe. We make all of our own tools ourselves and sell them to makers around the world. We are happy to offer finished hooks, as well as tool blanks at various levels of finishing so that you can customize them yourself. If you would like to learn to make your own we also teach forging workshops throughout the year.
Hook Tool Reforging Service:
Send your broken tools to us to give them new life.
Depending on how much work they need they are 20-30€ plus shipping to and from our workshop.
Email us to inquire about this service - info@wildcraftedhome.com
Videos:
How to Turn a Wooden Bowl on a Pole Lathe with Raleigh Klotzek
How to Forge a Hook Tool for Pole Lathe Bowl Turning with Oliver Klotzek
Workshops:
See our current workshops and retreats here.
Join us at our craft gathering Von Hand Festival.
Join us at Borkfest in Sweden which we co-organize.
Contact us to book a private workshop or group craft retreat.
We are always looking for new places to teach. If you would like to host a workshop or have a venue suggestion for workshops get in touch.
Other Resources:
Find other Pole Lathe turners near you and around the world or add yourself to our registry via this blog post.
Festivals & Gatherings around the world for Craft including Pole Lathe Bowl Turning:
One of the best ways to learn and connect with other makers is to attend a gathering. Some of these gatherings are guarenteed to have turning and some may have it some years and not others. If you have a gathering to add please let us know.
The Northern Bowl Gathering, Durham, England (End of April)
Borkfest, Östergötland, Sweden (Early June)
Slöjdfest Seljord, Southern Norway (Late June)
5080 Camp, Sierras, California, USA (throughout summer)
Slöjdfest, Göteborg, Sweden (Mid July)
Täljfest, Säterglantan, Sweden (every three years early August - next in 2025)
Von Hand Festival, Western Germany (July/August - varies year to year )
Snittefest, Denmark (August)
The Great Scottish Craft Hoolie, Scotland (early September)
The Bowl Gathering, Herefordshire, England (Mid September)
