"Leftturning", forgotten craft or new hobby?

"Left-turning", a special technique of wood turning seems to be odd or strange to laymen. But also a skilled turner, who is not familiar with this peculiarity, is always fascinated. In the first half of the twentieth century, it was popular and ubiquitous especially in the region of the Ore Mountain along the German- Czech border. Later this handicraft was mainly replaced by mass production of small turned wooden items on automates and half automates. Left-turning is a rather efficient way for producing small and smallest items fast and pricy. Till in our days, bobbins for lace making, buttons, thin columns etc. can be produced in this way. Accessories like music instruments for wood carved miniature figures in a small number can become produced without problems. About the left-turner's late: Different to the "normal" lathe, the headstock is attached on the right side of the lathe.
The headstock is rather small and equipped with plain bearings. The shaft runs more smooth and silent in plain bearings, an advantage for more accurate turning results especially for the surface of small turning parts. The tool rest is as long as the bed of the lathe. It is fixed to the lathe in the same height and parallel to the turning axis. Behind the top edge of the tool rest, usually made of hardwood, is a steel bar mounted on which the tools are leaded. Most things produced on the left-turner's lathe are spindle work. But normally the left-turner needs no trail stock.
Turning is done in a sitting position. The left side of the body shows to the late and the left elbow rests on the bed of the lathe behind the tool rest. The tools with their cutting edges and angles are very similar to the normal turning tools. But the tool, mainly the skew chisel, is lead with both hands near to the rotating timber. The right hand holds the tool on its handle or a bit above the handle and performs the main part of the shaping process. But especially the thumb of the left hand gives a strong support to the movements. Vibration of longer thin timber can be avoided. Therefore the left hand reaches partly over the rotating wood and can apply a certain counter pressure to the wood from there and the other fingers may support the tool, too.
To work in the same way on a normal lathe, the turner has to hold his left arm over the head stock shaft and the chuck! As the left-turner works in a sitting position with both hands he reaches a high sensitiveness and skilfulness, which gives an explanation, why the technology of left-turning for producing small spindle work better and faster is, than conventional turning techniques. Skilled left-turners are able to turn the profile of i.e. antlers of toy deers into small rings. The rings can become separated in a number of sections using a knife. So. a relative high number of antlers can become produced at once.
(End of the translation)

Now read how I built my left-turner's lathe to get my footprints in that subject.