Left to right. Ed Long, Guildmaster, Dick Toone, lathe builder and Rowland Cadle, Master Horner and Founder.

Dick Toone, project leader of the spring pole lathe project, displayed the lathe at the HCH’s Fifteenth Annual Meeting at Fort Roberdeau. It was very close to completion. Once it is complete the lathe will enable the user to turn all of the parts for a screw-tip horn using only human power much the way it was done in the 18th and the early 19th Centuries.

Dick Toone is sawing out the slot for the boom to pivot on with best tool for the job, an original bow saw.

Temporary Mandrel

Here is the the temporary mandrel (with the rope around it) supported on a fixed center point at right and the bearing end in a temporary support of wood. When finished the mandrel will be made with a short piece of octagonal rifle barrel with a brass bearing on the end to the left and a wooden spool where the rope will turn it. The rifle barrel end protruding from the bearing will have coarse external threads that various fixtures (face plates) will thread on to to hold screw tip horn parts for turning. Also shown is a mandrel with a fixed drill bit installed made by Erv Tschanz. Several fixed tool mandrels will be employed to do various functions in the manufacture of a screw tip horn.

The next installment will show the finished Portable 18th Century Spring Pole Lathe.

By the way, I urge you to go to Dick Toone’s website, Living History Shop, to view his museum quality 18th Century reproductions.

Regards, Rick Sheets HCH Webmaster