Cutting Plain Circles

We will begin by cutting just circles. The rose engine lathe is set up for face turning; the majority of circular work is face turning.

A 7 inch Rose Engine set up for face turning. The work piece is a 75mm diameter silver disc for a dial, held on a wooden block with engine turners cement or wax. The wood block is held in a two jaw chuck and centred with the double eccentric slides of the oval chuck. The oval apparatus is not in use, with the chuck locked circular. A plain circle is to be cut around the outer edge.

The touch is not engaged with any rosette. Only plain circles and arcs are possible now. We will return to this job in the next section, cutting wavy circles.

A very simple but effective design cut on a gold tie-chain disc. Just two, deep, concentric circles. Simpler still might have been just a thin border line.

By changing the direction of cut and the position of the centre of the circle, even alternating different tool profiles, numerous uses can be made of plain circular cuts.

Double eccentric cutting to A deeply cut double eccentric spiral. This is double eccentric cutting of arcs. Notice that the pattern continues over the edges to create a three dimensional design which shows off the weight of this 18ct cuff link, 3mm thick. And a small box for sweetener pills engine turned with an interlocking design with three centres which uses both vee and flute or spoon cuts to create an interesting texture in a striking design. The side of the box is also cut with the lines and flutes running cylindrically around it, and the bottom to mirror the top.

These deeply cut objects with simple motifs show off the generous weight of material used in them as well as providing original and striking designs. These pieces and many others were made in surprisingly large numbers during the 1970s, 80s and 90s as fashionable items and show how the engine turning process is utterly timeless in the tremendously free and variable design opportunities it presents.

We can also begin to see, in a very simple way, how engine turning can be incorporated into the design of an object from conception, rather than as an afterthought, so that it becomes one component in a homogeneous whole creation and the essence of good design work.