BW's signature ax handle legs are turned on a century old replicating lathe.
This Ax Handle Lathe was made by the Klutz Machine Co. of Cincinnati, OH in approximately 1920. It is designed to make copies of complex shapes such as ax handles and gun stocks. I bought it from Coopersburg Handle Works when they went out of business in 1987. At the same time I got from them another similar, but longer machine which I use to turn bedposts and other long parts. These machines are now considered obsolete in industry as more computer based machines do this work. But as an artist, I've been able to push these machines in creative ways. They create a unique surface texture, which would have been sanded down on the products of their original use, but I have utilized it to become my signature "look".