[CENTER][COLOR=“DarkOrchid”][SIZE=“5”]I made a Spinning Wheel !!![/SIZE][/COLOR]
:woot: [/CENTER]
See more pics here, I couldn’t get them to all load.
Tia, can you explain how you made your spinning wheel?
I’m working on writing up the details with pics and drawings. I tried to keep a record as I went, the problem is, I kept changing the way I was doing it as I learned what worked and what didn’t. I hope I can remember what all I did and bought, I may have lost a couple receipts.
I’m still tweaking a couple things. The drive band material I ordered is still coming, and the treadle cord (leather) keeps stretching out on me. I’ve already changed the whorl from what is pictured now.
Once I get it all figured out, I’ll put it all up on my blog. Might take me a few weeks. I’ll post the blog address when it’s up there.
What a great thing! Way to go! 
Thanks Shandeh!
On 2nd thought, I don’t want my directions getting ‘stolen’ and sold, so if you are interested in the directions, pm me and when they are ready, I’ll email them to you.
That’s awesome !! I was looking at this forum b/c I was at a fiber festival this weekend and it was so much fun to look at all the fleeces and roving. I kept thinking…if only I had a spinning wheel. There is NO money in the budget for a wheel and the hubby said… get me some pictures and I’ll build you one. At the time I sort of blew him off, but maybe I should put his 14yrs of college to good use…
Tia, you win the female empowerment award, this is so cool. Economic creativity! You are truly an inspiration!
Take a look on eBay under “Spinning Wheels.” There are several listings of plans for making your own wheel. Here’s one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Plan-Build-Classic-Antique-Spinning-Wheel_W0QQitemZ350255295818QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518cd7ad4a
Alternative: Start with a spindle. There is nothing you can spin on a wheel that you can’t spin on a spindle, and for some things (extremely fine laceweight, for instance), a spindle is actually better than most wheels. I worked at becoming proficient on spindles for two years before investing in a wheel. And even though I love my wheel, my spindles are still constant companions.
Any new modifications to the wheel since this thread was posted up here?
Very cool project btw.
Actually yes! Sorry, I haven’t been on here in ages. I finished the wheel with the larger movie reel as the main drive wheel and a knitting needle as a spindle. It worked, but I didn’t like just having a spindle, I wanted a flyer with bobbins. I tried making my own, but it wasn’t working out so well, so I purchases an Ashford jumbo flyer set and matching bobbins.
I did create my own adjustable mother-of-all on which to attach the flyer and it all worked pretty okay, but it was somewhat hard to treadle and it was all very fiddly. So I sadly took off the movie reel and made my own wooden one using a 15" pine tabletop from Lowe’s. Now it works great! It’s very smooth…if may rock a tad, but as long as I keep on the rug, it doesn’t ‘walk’ across the floor.
I’m sorry to say I don’t have plans written up for it. I started to, but kept changing things and making updates, etc. that it got impossible to keep up with.
Here are some photos.
Very cool! Thanks for posting update and pics!
You are an amazing talented woman.
Very clever and innovative, Theresa. Kudos to you.
I do have one question, tho. I noticed you put a hole in the round top you used for your big wheel. Lendrum does that too. What is that for? Can’t be balance, and I don’t see anything attached there. I keep wondering what that hole is there for.
But really a great job. My woodworking skills are confined to building bunny hutches. Lucky for me the bunnies don’t evaluate caprentry skills.
Donna
Actually it IS for balance. The idea of it is that you place the hole at a point where you want to start the wheel, i.e. where it is conventient to start the treadle. The hole makes the bottom of the wheel heavier, so no matter when you stop treadling the wheel stops where the hole is at the top. Makes sense?
The trouble is with my wheel, I didn’t make the hole big enough, so it doesn’t work. And I used pine, maybe a heavier wood would work better. I have to use my hand to position the wheel correctly before treadling. But at least the hole let’s me know where to position the wheel. Also a lot of commercially made wheels will use weights at the bottom of the wheel that help it to stop with the hole at the top.
Hope that helps.
[COLOR=darkorchid][SIZE=5]I made a Spinning Wheel !!![/SIZE][/COLOR]
[CENTER][SIZE=5][COLOR=#9932cc]I [/COLOR][/SIZE]would love to have a look at your plans and use them for a spinning wheel. Have been looking for a long time for plans and yours are the simplest by far. Even I got the idea of what you were doing.[/CENTER]
Am not sure how to private message you. Or I would have put this in a private. Or this could be a private… I just don’t know! heheheh
Thanks if you answer this.
NancyO
This is just wonderful, Tia!!! :cheering: :yay: