Articles on Ornamental Turning

Magazines, periodicals and articles on OT

The Society of Ornamental Turners Bulletin is the primary publication on ornamental turning, with more than 115 issues dating back to 1948. Besides the SOT Bulletin, there are a variety of magazines and periodicals that have occasionally featured ornamental turning lathes, tools and artists, as a related topic to their central focus.

• The Society of Ornamental Turners Bulletin. More than 115 issues, 1948 to present. Available on DVD
• Ornamental Turners International Newsletter. Find out more
• OTGA Newsletters. The Ornamental Turners Group of Australia has published nearly 50 newsletters since 1993, which are also available in PDF format. Find out more
• American Woodturner magazine. The quarterly magazine of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) Articles list
• Woodturning magazine. Articles list
• More Woodturning magazine. Articles list
• Woodwork, June 2008. "Ornamental Turning" by Jon Sauer. p. 80. A brief overview of the history of ornamental turning. Includes three color photos of contemporary OT work.
• Woodturning Design, Winter 2008. "Faux Ornamental Turned Box" by John Lucas.
• FMR 5, 2005. Oversize, 11" X 12", softcover, 136 pages. 25 pages dedicated to the the works from Rosenburg Castle Collection, Kugel Collection, Castle of Friedenstein Collection, and the Benedictine Abbey Collection. Color photos.
• Sur les Spécificités des Décors Guillochés Main et Industriels, SSC Bulletin No. 47, December 2004. In French. Download PDF
• Lapidary Journal, Vol. 58.2, May 2004. Feature on Lew Wackler. Includes photos of guilloché work and rose engine machines. Also on cover.
• International Wristwatch, Issue # 73 Nov 2003. 194 pp., 8 & 1/4" x 1 & 1/2". Magazine is illustrated with both black-and-white and color photography. Has two articles on the custom watches of Jochen Benzinger from Pforzheim Germany. (pp. 144-125) Benzinger specializes in the art of engine turned dials & gears to create skeleton watches.
• Model Engineer's Workshop, Dec. 1998 "Turning for Pleasure" The Society of Ornamental Turners celebrate 50 years with this feature, pp. 35-37. Color and b/w photos.
• Wood magazine, "Turning Back the times, ornamental turnery from the days of Queen Anne", Issue 110, December 1998. pp. 51-55. Amid computer chips and laser technology, a select few craftsmen are now returning to the mechanical marvels of the industrial revolution. One of those is New England surgeon Fred Armbruster, who has created a reproduction of a Holtzapffel ornamental turning lathe. Illustrations and photos. Download PDF article
• Lapidary Journal, May 1995. "The Master's Voice" Feature on Lew Wackler.
• Pen World, May/June 1995. Vol. 8.5. "Guilloché Craftsmanship: Harmonizing with Computer Technology" by Andrew Lambrou. Article on the custom guilloché pens made by Murelli Factory in France. Magazine is illustrated with both black-and-white and color photography.
• Glass on Metal, December 1994. pp. 116-119: "Translucent Enamels - Guilloché"
• Aurum, #27. "Guilloché – Engine Turning" by Jochem Wolters
• Turning Points, publication of the Wood Turning Center. Summer/Fall 1992. Review of 1992 national meeting of the ornamental turners of America at RIT in Rochester, New York, by Ken Wurtzel and Mark Krick.Also "Ornamental Turning Brief" by Frank Coggins. Includes photos.
• Ornamental Turners of America Seminar Booklet, edited and published by Frank Coggins, Parlin, NJ. 1992. The booklet contains photographs and transcriptions of the lectures during the ornamental turning seminar at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, August 1992. Speakers included: Daniel Brush, Bob Baker, Dale Chase, Fred Armbruster. Demonstration of HaWk Computer OT Lathe by Dave Hardy, Ken Wertzel, Mark Krick. Demonstrations on Holtzapffel lathes.
• Traditional Home, February 1991, pp. 74 - 109. "Heir to Fabergé" Feature on Robert Whiteside, guilloché and enamel.
• Society of Ornamental Turners Seminar Booklet, edited and published by Frank Coggins, Parlin, NJ. 1991. The booklet contains photographs and transcriptions of the lectures during the ornamental turning seminar at the Venango Museum of Art, Science and Industry in Oil City, PA, April, 1991. Speakers included: Walter Balliet, Kener Bond, Daniel Brush, Dale Chase, Roger Davies, Bonnie Klein, Ted Crom, George Shaw, Robert Whiteside, John McNaulty.
• Popular Science, April 1989:116-120. "The Ultimate Lathe" by P. D. Ungerer. Features Daniel Brush, Frank Knox, Ray Lawler and Holtzapffel lathes. Illustrations and photos. View on Google Books
• FMR America, International edition, December 1989. 9" x 12" total of 128 pages. Pages 68-96 are dedicated to "Ivory Towers" feature on the Coberg ivories. Full color photos with text by Kirsten Aschengreen Piacenti.
• The Museum of Ornamental Turning, Ltd. Newsletters, 1987-88.
• Fine Woodworking, Nov/Dec 1985, No. 55. "Holtzapffel Revised".
• Metalsmith Magazine, Vol. I #4, Fall 1981. 80 pp., 8 & 1/2" x 11". Magazine is illustrated in black-and-white. Has two related articles. The metalwork of Albert Paley by Robert A. Sobieszek. Rose Engine & Ornamental Lathes by Kener Bond. Covers Holtzapffel lathes to engine turning rose and straightline machines.
• Fine Woodworking, Fall 1976, Vol. 1.4:46-49. "Ornamental Turning" by John Kelsey. Features Frank Knox, including numerous B/W photographs of his work, Holtzapffel lathe and related apparatus.
• Woodworker, April 1976. pp. 106-110. "Tubal Cain Runs Up Against Some Unexpected Problems in the Restoration of a 170 Year Old Holtzapffel & Deyerlein." Walshaw details the history and various aspects of restoring Holtzapffel No. 484. Includes several B/W photographs and drawings with detailed measurements of the lathe's wooden bearer and pedestal joinery.
• Country Life, 1958. "The Art of the Ornamental Turner."
• American Machinist, November 10, 1952. pp. 119-121. "Great Grandpa Did Contour Turning" by A. V. Reed and Norman Tweddle. An introduction to the Holtzapffel lathe from a somewhat mechanical perspective, including measurements and angles of various precision components. Also details the geometric chuck. Several B/W photos of various apparatus including a 4-part and 7-part geometric chuck, plus a few examples of OT work.
• The Woodworker, Issue No. 179, Vol. XIII, November 13, 1909. "Some Notes on Ornamental Turning" by H. P. First-hand account from an ornamental turner at the turn of the century. Refers to earlier article in same magazine, "Ornamental Turning" by Mr. Goldsworthy Crump, as inspiration for taking up the craft. Gives a brief account of modifying lathe to accomplish ornamental turning techniques. Includes a photo and detailed description of an ornamental vase and candlesticks made by the author. (The Woodworker was published until about 1929.)
• Model Engineer, 1923- . Articles list
• Engineering, 1886-1953.
• English Mechanic & World of Science magazine. Published in London. Issued weekly from 1865-1926. More than 72,000 pages total. Available on DVD

"Some Recent Improvements in Apparatus for Ornamental Turning" by J. H. Evans. English Mechanic & World of Science No. 1080, Dec. 4, 1885, pp. 271-3. View on Google Books

• The Quarterly Journal of the Amateur Mechanical Society, 1871-1887.
• Mechanics, 1823-1872.