Studio of Bill Ooms

Bill Ooms

Art in Wood -- Ornamental Lathe

Ornamental lathe work was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Because of the complexity and expense of the highly specialized machines, ornamental lathe work was often the hobby of nobility. Most ornamental lathe work was done with ivory (no longer an option today). Very few of the original machines are in service today. Most of the surviving machines are in museums (see photo on left).

Today, there is a renewed interest in ornamental lathe work. With the newer materials available to us today, one can build a simple machine that can make high quality work at a reasonable cost.

I built my first machine in 2008, and it gave me a foundation in the required skills to make a precision machine. Now I'm using my second machine which I started in 2009 and I continue to make modifications and refinements.

In general, the work is held in a chuck and rotated at fairly slow speeds (less than 3 rpm). The patterns are cut with a high speed cutter that is mounted on a stage that can be precisely positioned. Although the machine rotates the work, it is the artist that determines where the cuts are to be made to make a pleasing pattern.

Ornamental work is very time consuming, and most pieces are small. A single mistake can ruin an entire piece. Often, one must make many "trial" pieces to develop a pleasing pattern. Only certain very dense hardwoods can be used for ornamental turning.

Click on any thumbnail for a larger image.

Swallow's Nest Castle

8" High

African Blackwood & Red Mallee Burl

This small castle is modeled after the main tower on the Swallow's Nest Castle in Crimea. It was constructed from 14 separated pieces. The main portions have threaded joints that can be dis-assembled.

Gazebo Box

6.5" High

African Blackwood & old Ivory

The windows of this delicate box are made from recycled piano key ivory (legal to buy and sell in the U.S.). The lid is loosely fit and can be opened to reveal the interior decoration.

Award Winning Egg Cup

5" High

African Blackwood & Red Mallee Burl

This Egg Cup won one of 4 awards at the Ornamental Turners International bi-annual symposium in September 2010. The judges consisted of an international team of ornamental turning experts and art critics.

The features that attracted their attention was the over-all shape and balance, the decoration on the screw-on lid, and the detail in the stem.

For more information on the awards, see the OTI Article by Albert LeCoff.

Goblets

6.7" High

Pink Ivory & African Blackwood

6.7" High

Boxwood & African Blackwood

5.4" High

Cocobolo & Holly

A series of goblets made from different woods. The stems have a spiral pattern that pierces through an outer layer of wood to reveal a different color wood on the inner core.

Cryptex

6.7" High

African Blackwood, Bubinga, & Maple

By aligning the 5 code rings properly, the box opens. It was inspired by the movie "The DaVinci Code". The onion dome top is inspired by St. Basil's cathedral in Russia.

"Cricket Cage" Box

3.8" High

African Blackwood & Rosewood

This lidded box was inspired by the oriental cricket boxes. It's actually a bit small for keeping a real cricket in. The onion dome top is inspired by St. Basil's cathedral in Russia. The top is loosely fit and easy to remove.

Box with pierced lid

2.2" High

African Blackwood & faux Ivory

The pierced lid (made from faux Ivory) is pierced with the same pattern on both sides. The pierced portion is inset in the screw-on lid, and is visible from the inside as well.

Pierced Box

2.5" High

Bubinga

A very delicate box with a snug-fitting lid. The sides and top are about 0.060" thick.

Bracelet Box

3.2" Diameter

Cocobolo, Red Mallee Burl, Maple

When the lid is removed, the center portion of the box can be removed and is a bracelet. See the larger photo for a view with the box open.

"Spiral" Cube Box

2" High

African Blackwood

This lidded box is hollowed out round in the base with a snug-fitting lid. The sides and top are decorated with a spiraling pattern.

"Rose Pattern" Cube Box

2" High

African Blackwood

This lidded box is hollowed out round in the base with a snug-fitting lid. The sides and top are decorated with an 8-petal "rose" pattern.

"Pearl in an Oyster" Cube Box

2" High

African Blackwood

This lidded box is hollowed out round in the base with a snug-fitting lid. The sides are decorated with a pattern resembling ripples in a pond. The top adds a clam-shell pattern with a fresh water pearl.

Double Pierced Bowl

3" Diameter

African Blackwood & Holly

The inner bowl (made from Holly) conforms to the shape of the outer bowl (African Blackwood). The inner bowl is free to rotate and is held captive by the Blackwood rim.