I’m curious how common they are in Scotland, is it still something that a lot of people do or is it more of a niche thing for eccentric history buffs like myself?

Also, I may be wrong, but I think the turnips you have in Scotland are more like what we usually call a rutabaga, so they’re a bit bigger. I did actually do a rutabaga lantern one year and carved it all out by hand to have the experience, it came out well but made me appreciate how fast it is hollowing out my little turnips with a drill.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any picture of that one so it’s lost to the ages.

Yeah, after doing these for a few years you definitely get to appreciate how convenient pumpkins are.

My forstner bit method does make it goes a lot faster though. The first time I did it I think I used a spoon and a pocket knife and it was slow-going.

The simple green is because I was cleaning some stuff outside earlier in the day and forgot to bring it in

The picture the other commenter linked does show a forstner bit.

A lot of them do have teeth around the edge sort of like a hole saw, but not all of them

The main thing is that they scrape away material from the center of the hole, while a hole saw just cuts around the circumference. If I used a hole saw I’d have been left with a cylinder of turnip still stuck to the top unless I cut all the way through, a forstner bit removes all of the material