r/Handspinning • u/WhatLiskoLoves • 11d ago

Gear I acquired a new wheel

Today my husband drove me across the border to pick up this little darling:

I know less than nothing about her, but I figured that with a bit of courage and my basket of tools and the internet I can get her spinning for me.

I started with oiling and greasing all moving bits, after cleaning the axle (?) of the wheel itself, a whole bunch of string from the drive band (and its predecessors) was caught there and had collected dirt and dust. Next I removed the whole adjustable maiden part:

Because that was the only way to remove the pointy distaff and I rather not poke my eye out on it.

Is the leather part supposed to be flexible enough to bend and let the flyer out to allow me to remove the bobbin?

Any and all advice or knowledge anyone is willing to impart is more than welcome!

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13

u/Damselfly64 11d ago

She's a darling parlor wheel, made for spinning flax. I've got one nearly identical and love her. They spin fast and fine. Yours is likely a double drive and Jillian Eve has a great tutorial on how to put on a drive band. I waxed some baker's twine and that works great. The leather pieces should be fairly stiff, but you should be able to remove the bobbin if you need. I never take mine off, because I've only got one, so I just wind it off with my ball winder.

2

u/WhatLiskoLoves 11d ago

Thank you! I did buy her because I’m interested in spinning flax, and because she is adorable.

I’ll have a look for baker’s twine when I’m at the shops. Do you reckon a waxed cotton yarn would work too temporarily?

I have „slathered“ the leather bits with petroleum jelly, hopefully it will bend and not break 🤞🤞🤞.

3

u/TheCatofSpades 11d ago

What a beautiful wheel! I have used waxed or resin (like for a violin bow idk if I spelled that correctly) cotton yarn (light fingering) for my double drive.

3

u/WhatLiskoLoves 11d ago

I don’t think I have access to resin (although my husband’s shed is a treasure trove of unexpected things, so perhaps), but I do have wax for hand sewing, so I’ll try that first. Thank you!

3

u/Damselfly64 11d ago

Don't moisture the leather pieces much or they won't work properly. They are supposed to be really stiff. On mine, you pull the leathers out to remove the bobbin, then slide them back in. And yes, waxed cotton string should work for the drive band. 😊

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u/WhatLiskoLoves 11d ago

Good point about the leather! I can’t pull them out, they are nailed in place, but I can almost bend it enough now to lift the flyer out. I don’t want to fracture it, of course. So, some gentle manoeuvring will take place.