WIP - Spinning Wheel Repair

Spinning wheels follow me home. I cAn't HeLp iT!
I see a wheel, frequently hand made for a loved one, crying out for a little bit of maintenance from a knowing hand and it just slips into the car. I can't stand seeing a tool with purpose, that can take weeks of work to build, go off to the tip for the want of a piece of leather or a drive band. Bless Skew for putting up with my obsessions.

This Saxon style, double drive, single treadle wheel appeared out of nowhere at the Kurrajong Hand Spinners. Someone dropped it off as a donation and left so we have no history for it. The design of the flywheel attachment, large brass aperture, brass fittings and heavy hide bobbin holders gave me the impression this wheel was built to work by someone who knew wheels.
All it needed, was to have the footman reattached and a new drive band. .... :doh: You'd think I'd know better by now. If a wheel is derelict, it's derelict for a reason.

My initial assessment still stands. Someone who knew wheels designed and built the pieces. But then, something happened. Either the builder couldn't finish it, or it was shipped and someone else assembled it. We don't know, but something happened to take this wheel from glory to sideshow.

a) The footman wasn't attached properly. There was no spacer between the footman and the flywheel axle. This means the axle marked the footman with every turn and would have Thunk Thunk Thunked with every treadle. At a later point it was reinstalled upside down, probably to stop the thunking or they just didn't know how it went
b) the majority of the build we think is stained cedar (it would be blackwood except it's far too light weight) but the treadle is plywood.
c) this is the biggie, the flywheel isn't aligned with the flyer whorl or bobbin.

The flywheel-whorl alignment is the heart of a spinning wheel. If it's not right, the band falls off and everything's useless. There's no way someone who knew details like heavy hide bobbin holders wouldn't know about the flywheel alignment. It's a mystery.

But "Black Beauty" as I'm calling her is well on her way to how she was meant to be. Leather for the footman attachment was found. Drive bands in a house with a spinner are never a problem. Slight repairs to the footman - axle attachment need to be made still, and shifting the mother-of-all 1cm can be done with some selective/subtle re-drilling.

I have to say though, I didn't intend to refinish her. I was just going to repair and bring the wheel back to the club. Skew insisted on sanding off the years of neglect and giving her a light coat of shellac. .... Sometimes the best blessings I receive are when my husband doesn't listen to me. I would never have guessed, never have even thought, that she could glow like that. Glorious, absolutely glorious. The pictures don't capture it .....

I don't have a double drive wheel. Maybe, she might not make it back to the club...

Hi,
The attachments seem invalid.
:(
Regards

Ann, try again with the pics.

Spinning wheels follow you home . . . much like lathes follow Skew home?

Heh yeah, he has a few. I'm not exactly a good influence on him though am i?

I have to wait for Skew to look at the thread, the images show up for me. :(

Ann you've got it bad at least Sue sold one of her wheel since we moved. Mind you IF one we saw at an antique sale wasn't $450 with history it just may have jumped into the car.

Great work on getting it up and running. :2tsup:

Will the castles holding the flyer swap sides? this would give more are for the shaft to possibly align.

I see your drowning in fibre LOL.

Great work on the restoration Ann. You would love the Bendigo Sheep and wool show Home - Australian Sheep and Wool Show
It is paradise for anyone interested in any facet of the sheep industry, from breeding, shearing, spinning, knitting and just about anything in between. It is held at the Bendigo showgrounds, and attracts visitors from all over Australia, and probably beyond.
We spent the whole day there in 2015, and will repeat the trip in 2017. Not that it would be a problem for you, but by crikey it was cold on the day we went. Didn't crack 10 degrees all day, and there was a bit of a wind to make it feel even colder. Scraping the ice off the windscreen first thing in the morning was a bit of a novelty for me, but well worth the effort in attending a well organised and well patronised event.
Do a bit of a search on the event, there is heaps of info on past events to give you a flavour of what to expect.
Let me know which day you are going to go when the event gets a bit closer, we might be able to meet up.

Now get back to playing with your new toy.:)

Alan...

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Originally Posted by wheelinround

Will the castles holding the flyer swap sides? this would give more are for the shaft to possibly align.

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The maidens? Sadly, no. I carefully "unglued" :rolleyes: the mother-of-all from it's mount, filled the old hole with an off-cut and re-drilled another to move the whole shebang over 10mm.

It worked... Annette is running the girl in, as I type. Apart from a few early squeaks and complaints it's running in nicely.

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Originally Posted by Uncle Al

You would love the Bendigo Sheep and wool show Home - Australian Sheep and Wool Show
It is paradise for anyone interested in any facet of the sheep industry, from breeding, shearing, spinning, knitting and just about anything in between. It is held at the Bendigo showgrounds, and attracts visitors from all over Australia, and probably beyond.

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Oi! You want her to take over my shed space? :oo:

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Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Oi! You want her to take over my shed space? :oo:

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Ya know what they say - Happy wife = Happy life!

Alan...

Well, a new rule shall be "Don't do woodwork if you're tired, under the weather, have a headache or are otherwise distracted. That's when mistakes are made."

When we re-mounted the mother-of-all on it's tensioner, the maidens rolled toward the flywheel a wee bit. This means when plying at a high treadle rate, the flyer has a propensity to pop out of the holders on the maidens. To be honest, it'll only be children having a rough play that would ever go that speed so I don't consider it a real issue. ... Well, small children and me pushing the wheel to extremes to make sure it's safe. Breaking the attachment a second time to remount the mother-of-all so the maidens are vertical would be a massive headache, could possibly cause permanent damage, and may not fix the issue anyway. So while it pains Andy greatly, I've vetoed the changes. The wheel works, works well when properly handled and isn't dangerous when mishandled so unfortunately the mistake stays.

I'm not familiar with how double drive wheels are supposed to feel, so 'Black Beauty' went in to the weekly Kurrajong handspun club meeting for a test run by professionals. I was lucky with my choice of day because a highly experienced weaver and fiber worker happened to be there for a demonstration. I apologize for not remembering her name, but she forwarded pictures of our wheel to another lady who's an expert and collector of Australian wheels.

Our mystery wheel is an (possibly early) Ertoel. Eric and Toela Baker were spinning wheel makers in, get this, Kilsyth Victoria, with a modest factory in Croydon up to the late 1980s. Andy was born in Kilsyth and in that era, the area was mostly bush and paddocks. So, it's entirely possible the Bakers were Andy's neighbours, but he was too young to know them. I don't know the make of this wheel, possibly a Melba, or exactly when it was made, but I find it hilarious that a wheel from Andy's neighbourhood (and possibly his childhood) followed him to Sydney for a helping hand.

The only thing now is to make a few bobbins and hand 'Black Beauty' over to the club for sale to a good home.

Catalogue of Australian Wheels including the Ertoels:
Australian Spinning Wheels: Makers A - E

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Originally Posted by wheelinround

Ann you've got it bad

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I Need A Bigger House! I've purposely avoided learning about colouring and felting because I just don't have the space. ... but they call me.

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Originally Posted by wheelinround

I see your drowning in fibre LOL.

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It's mostly from Sue XD.

Right now I'm plying a bit of that white nylon thread Sue gave me and I'm going to play with some huck and bronson lace. I have too many projects!

:o Ann whats this about wee ones ? You and Andy expecting? I mean you have mentioned small children a few times in that post.

Now thats very hysterical historical facts :p

In relation to the maiden again they may have been put in the wrong spot when someone else has had it. Some castles are leading some trailing where the flyer sits to the other side that can have a dramatic effect on a lot.

I'll pull this post up when Sue gets home so she can have a read. She is at the new spinners group this morning. Has also taken up bobbin lace with another group on Tuesdays.........now have some bobbin lace bobbins to make as soon as I assemble the Jet mini or do I just use the Nova and get em done?:rolleyes: I have some nice Ebony coming

Oh no, no kiddies lol. As much as I love Skew more, more energetic versions of him would probably send me to the sanitarium! If it were to happen we'd definitely let you know.

But the treadle on Black Beauty was missing a spacer between the axle and the footman. So the inside is damaged where it looks like little kids had fun treadling in the past.

The thought of mini skews running around!

Nice job. You should bring it to my get together in Feb.

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Watcha Dooen at Dooen - 27, 28 & 29 GTG 2017

Live to see you both there if you can make it

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

The thought of barefooted mini skews running around!

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Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

The thought of barefooted mini skews running around!

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It all seems like a good idea until you realize you're responsible for mini Skew and everything he/she gets into for 18 YEARS. I have my hands full with the adult version!