Daily AncestorTurner
A turner was a craftsman who shaped wood, and sometimes metal or bone, on a lathe to make round items like chair legs, bowls and handles.
Anything round, from spindles and table legs to bowls and tool handles, was made by spinning the wood on a lathe and cutting it with hand tools. That was the turner's job.
In factory towns a turner might work metal on a lathe instead.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1880 to 1920 census
Jas. Moody, 33, Wood turner, Vt.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Turner." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/turner. Last checked 2026-10-01.