At our local club's Woodturning Symposium in 2018 Mike Hosaluk was demonstrating and he was talking about his beginnings doing demos in the 1970s or 80s. At one of those early gatherings the discussion of lathe tools came up and one of the other presenters said almost any tool wth an edge can be used for turning and he picked up and axe and turned with it. It isn't a new thing and has been done for some time. I would bet your Bodgers were doing it centuries ago. Now what would be interesting would be to see someone do it with a flint axe. :wink:
Pete