While “spool” or “spool-turned” is the common term, a more accurate description might be “ball-turned” or “button-turned.” The former refers to the distinct round shape of the turning, the latter refers to the lathe technique used by button makers (in which a rod was shaped into a series of small balls and then sawn apart). Over the years, however, a variety of descriptors and motifs have been tossed into the spool bucket, including bobbin, knob, sausage, and vase-and-ring turnings. What they have in common is their mimicking ornate, hand-carved English and Dutch pieces of the 16th and 17th centuries. American efforts included three-legged, ball-turned “joint” stools common in 17th-century homes, as well as squarish Cromwellian chairs with a tacked leather back and button-turned legs and spindles. More elegant styles superseded spool turning in the 18th century.