Roy Davi
Roy is an accomplished pole-lathe green wood turner who creates unique wooden household utensils and furniture.
Roy is known as The Leura Bodger. What is a bodger? This term was common in Medieval England where bodgers were skilled itinerant wood-turners who moved from town to town with their pole lathes to turn chair parts for furniture factories.
A pole lathe, also known as a springpole lathe, uses the elasticity within a long pole as a return spring for a treadle. Pressing the treadle pulls on a cord that is usually wrapped around the piece of wood being turned.
While the action of the pole lathe and the skills required are similar to those used on a modern power lathe, the timber used for a pole lathe is usually freshly felled and unseasoned, that is green.
Roy travels around NSW demonstrating this unique Medieval craft at festival events and art events. His one off pieces which he sells at events are certainly! He also holds workshops where he teaches others this age old skill.
Roy Davi talks about himself:
Pole lathe greenwood turning is my passion.
My enthusiasm for this ancient craft began many years ago when I first came across ‘bodging’ – the traditional craft of greenwood turning. Bodging was developed in medieval times and later used for creating fine furniture including the classic Windsor chair.
More recently I have broadened my interests and now create my own style of greenwood furniture as well as traditionally crafted wooden household utensils.