GermanMart.com offers a wide variety of wood crafts like the traditional German incense burner (incense smokers) and candle holders. All these items are crafted by hand in traditional ways that date back centuries. GermanMart.com imports all woodcraft items directly from small family owned craft stores in Germany. Each item reflects the family tradition inherited over generations. All of the pictured wood items are produced on a Lathe. By rotating a piece of wood, the Lathe allows the craftsman to scrape the wood while it is rotating. This technique produces a round wood object familiar to us in many items such as table and chair legs. Many artisans and craftsmen in Germany are specialized to the creation of items on a Lathe. The best examples are the traditional incense burner figurines (incense smoker) and other handmade items you will find in our wood crafts section.

The Bow Drill
The string of a bow is wrapped around a round piece of wood. This instrument was used to drill holes into wood. The tip of the drill was sometimes prepped with stone to allow the work on harder materials. The bow drill is the origin of today's lathe technology.

The Early Version Of a Lathe
One of the early predecessors of the lathe is this instrument. This was the first instrument where the object itself was turned in order to be carved. The string was wrapped around the object similar to the bow-drill. Now tools could be used to carve the wood and to create round and even objects. A relief found in the grave of the Egyptian priest Petositis ( 300 B.C.) show that this method originated in Greece.

The First Lathe
The historical lathe is still in use, in its original form, in many Asian and oriental countries today. The picture to the right shows an Indian using a historical lathe. The object is turned with a bow whose string is wrapped around the object. The right hand holds the bow while the left hand holds the tool resting in the right foot.

The First Foot Driven Lathe
In the 13th century, Europe was the region which further developed the lathe technology. The bow was replaced with a foot controlled mechanism. This new method allowed the craftsman to use his tools with both hands. This allowed easier control of the tools and more complicated designs. The only disadvantage was, that the object could only be carved at every second motion.

The Lathe with continuous rotation
The foot driven Lathe with continuous rotation was introduced in the 18th century. Initially used by royalty, the Lathe eventually found its way to the all the craftsmen. The Lathe was built out of wood and later the wood was replaced by metal frames. For nearly 200 years the Lathe remained unchanged. In the early 20th century the foot driven Lathe was replaced by a water driven Lathe.

The modern Lathe

Today's modern Lathe is driven by an electric motor. Even though the modern Lathe is motor driven, the techniques used to carve the wood remain the same as centuries ago. The creation of a small wood figure or statuette and accessories still requires immense skill and talent.