Replies

1. 
   geedubbee | Aug 02, 2020 03:22pm | #1

   Indexing system?

2. 
   _mj_ | Aug 02, 2020 04:44pm | #2

   I think that's a good guess... Try to find a forum that serves woodturners... please come back and tell us what you find out.

3. 
   rob_ss | Aug 03, 2020 04:43am | #3

   Although these legs are often held in a lathe, the barley twist is carved by hand.
   Those marks were likely made by a lathe and are not evenly spaced so are probably not indexing marks. Indexing devices are also not usually connected to the workpiece, but to the lathe shaft.
   If you watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGaFR5ZxuE you can see the process - in this case a candlestick, but the principle is similar. The leg is turned end over end and his drive spur leaves marks that are similar in type, if not in shape to what you see. It is not inconceivable that the legs you have were turned on a device that had nubbles that left the shape you see. There are circular drive spurs, but they are usually a lot bigger than those marks. As a lathe is not required, this could easily have been a shop-made jig or even home-made jig that allowed the piece to be rotated slowly against a cutting tool.

   It would be interesting if anyone could post a picture of such a device though.

4. 
   user-7659826 | Aug 10, 2020 12:58pm | #4

   Interesting video. I hadn't thought about the possibility of a home-made jig, and you may be right about that... they are surely not common tool/bench marks. Thank you for the answer!