As a wood turner, I get a lot of inquiries regarding the differences between the milling profiles in my turnings. The most common confusion lies in the difference between the barley twists and the rope twists.
The rope twist looks like (should I say) a length of rope. The “bead” twists around the piece and imitates a strand of rope. It is noteworthy that the more popular rope has three “strands” but a rope twisted turning can have fewer or more “strands” based on the design. The more “strands” a rope twist has, the steeper the incline of the rope twist. The other variable of the rope twist is the size of the rope cutter. Typically, the greater the diameter of the wood turning is, the greater the diameter of the cutter head will be.
The barley twist, (the most frequently requested profile) varies from the rope twist in that there is a large exterior radius (or bead) and a smaller interior radius. I suppose the barley twist resembles a stalk of barley (you may have to use your imagination here). There is more wood removal in a barley twist cut than in a rope twist. The effect, as such, is more impressive.
Two other common milling profiles are fluting and reeding. They are, in fact, opposites of each other.
Flutes are concave cuts that are parallel with the long side of the turning much like a fluted Greek column. Their edges will occasionally touch but typically there is a space between the flutes. The width and depth of individual flutes should be proportional to the size of the work piece. It is my belief that fluting produces a turning achieving a more classic appearance than one without.
The reeding, on the other hand, is a convex “bead” that runs parallel to the long side off the piece. Another difference between the fluting is that the edges of the reeds almost always touch each other.
Hopefully, this brief article will help to be able to distinguish the difference between the barley twist and rope twist as well as the fluting and reeding.