OT: "Every gentleman should own a lathe."

"Every gentleman should own a lathe."

Does anybody know the origin of that quote? Or of any simlar?

Thanks,
Tom

Origin = you ?

Nope, not me.

I remember seeing mention here a few months ago about a writer or inventor (or such) who was a proponent of widespread lathe ownership (IIRC, shortly after the turn of the century). Searching for it, I came across a few instances of that quote, but without accreditation.

Peter the Great had one installed in his study. Not sure if he is the originator of that quote.

That would be like President Bush having a Monarch 10EE a couple of doors from the oval office.

So, would you be saying then that Peter the Great didn't know what a lathe is?

Of course,Peter the Great was an unusual ruler. He was very interested in mechanical things. Even worked in the shipyard some,didn't he? Was it Louis 14 who was a lock maker by recreation? He did some very nice work. Another one was Archduke Ferdinand of the Tyrol. He had gathered the very best craftsmen into his castle.Had their workshops installed near his rooms so he could hang out with them a lot.

Whoever said it obviously has a poor grasp on the global stupidity pandemic. Hospital overcrowding FTL.

Could the origin have its roots in the expression *well turned*,
Sir Limy or Master Norman might step in for a say.

as in:
precise, expertly rounded, or turned and shapely.
Or as in a "well turned out" woman, as descibed above...
well turned also implies cylindrical body parts to a controlled configuration,
being generally cylindrical, with a fair ogive and all that.

Based on the above, every gentleman should own a lathe.

If I were elected president of the United States I would insist that all households would have a Lathe, Mill, and a Bead Blaster. Vote for me. That is all thank-you. John

But then,all the good old stuff would be sucked up!

I hear Cooter Brown had a lathe but he was too drunk to use it well. Kept getting wandering threads.

Lenny

"Peter the Great had one installed in his study. Not sure if he is the originator of that quote.

That would be like President Bush having a Monarch 10EE a couple of doors from the oval office" Maxim..... while I think I know the point you are trying to make, this statement would be a insult to Peter...... he not only had quite a number of lathes and he actually used them to make things some of which are housed in the Hermitage....... also one little detail I vaguely remember from his biography that in one year he had his bed brought to his turning shop and dismissed his valets for the evening so he could turn late into the night.... he did this over a hundred times in one year as I recall...... Bush goes to bed early by his own admission.

Bush goes to bed at 9:00,according to what Mrs. Bush said at a banquet.

Believe the saying came from the (wealthy)ornamental turners of yesteryear. And of course all gentlemen are wealthy, are they not. Except me.
John Burchett
in Byng OK

Regardless of who said it I don't see how anybody gets by without one.
I don't think much of people who only have a car and a lawnmower in their garage.

No space for a car at this time in my garage, and I carefully planned ahead to make sure I'd never have need for a lawnmower.

Garages are for tools and motorcycles.

cheers,
Michael

It would seem that the origin is Ornamental Turning which is way out of my sphere(laughs).
As far as I aware, Peter the Great owned a Holzapfell OT lathe. You would expect that this would be German or similar but actually it was a London based company. I also believe that Fenn was another firm. Today, there is a Society of Ornamental Turners in London and it seems very active. Gawn CNC( whatever that is)

Returning to what little I know( more giggles), the rich had their OT lathes with the family crest moulded into the legs of the lathe stand.
The cost( then) was supposed to equate to a street of houses and these gentry worked in exotic hardwoods as well as ivory. Having said all this, you got things called rectilinear chucks and a mahogany cupboard full of tools.
Now it so happens that I have the Holzapfell OT books which were reprinted and you can build your very own 'goniometer'. Now, I have a mate who built one--- he did, I tell you.
Now it also so happens that I have a family crest ( Gawd knows where) but
whether I can get some daft idiot to do a spot of casting is doubtful. Having carefully considered the matter, it would be an improvement and I could possibly twist my varicose veins into the family escutcheon( whatever that is)

Well, you did ask- and it serves you right.

Norm

Greetings omnipotent one, another fine posting if I may be so bold my liege, as to the original question, I haven't a clue.

Sami.

"As far as I aware, Peter the Great owned a Holzapfell OT lathe"..... not true..... Peter died in 1725...... Holtzappfel didn't start making lathes in London till the 1790s.

What Peter did have was a number of very complex lathes, including medallion engines all built in his shop mostly by a man named Nartov.

And sincerest greetings- Good my page!

I think that the answer goes back - hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. If we read the Book of Kings- said he rolling up a trouser leg and exposing a blue vein, King Solomon had dear old Hiram Abiff casting the two pillars in brass in the desert( Coo!) And they were called--- better not,eh? Unquestionably, HA along with KS and Hiram, King of Tyre were the only ones with the real secrets then. None of us riff raff were permitted.Blah, Blah!

Then came the building of the stone pillars in cathedrals and we had to catch flying buttreses- and they were turned.- or something like that.
They required infinite skills- they really did and one in my native Durham is great but look again, it's wrong! Then we have dear old Leonardo da Vinci pulling over galleys- and that.
The dear old Peter the Grate who got burned or something and all these ArchDuke fellows are recent stuff.
Which brings me back to the family crest- and you think that this venereal old plonker hasn't got a crest- and I don't mean a toothpaste one
( cease the sniggers, you villeins.
Surprisingly, it is the Ravensworth one-- Oh, yes.
The Liddell Family one complete with two spotty dogs and a load of diagonal thingies.
And, matey, it is also the name of my Masonic Lodge No2674 in County of Durham. Being a member of a Oriental whatever was a reward for stuffing myself with 15 courses at the Year of the Dog thing.
Any wiser? well, if you must ask the village idiot- what do you expect?

Norm

As a PS, I stand corrected about the Holzapfells and Peter the Great. However, the situation is that H. did sell to the nobility of Europe.
I am merely going off what I came across in the first half of the 20th Century. At that time, one Russian was the same as another. If the bugger had snow on his boots, I was ordered to shoot him! Did I?

Norm