I am baffled.
My previous spinning was on an asford.
After years of nagging my dad transferred my great grandmother’s wheel on to me. Its a saxony style wheel, about 100 years old and well built. My g.grandmother was a social worker and received it as a gift from a church for starting a poverty relief project getting people to start spinning. I understand only 15 or so wheels were imported to South Africa from Germany. Custom order. No brand. No date. Only a name plate with my g.g.mother’s name and the church that prsented it.
Two things baffle me.
Enigma 1: the brake system.
It looks like a Scottish type but has an additional lever arm with a small brass pully.there is a hook on the end of the lever, and on the feame a hole alinged with it.
I insered a temporary screw in the hole and set up a tetnsion system between my screw and the arm with cotton steing and and elastic band.
I also attached a loop of thick fishing line (cotton threat is too bulky) between the braas pulley and the bobbin wheel.
The system works, but tension does not, except for ultra soft takeup.
2nd enigma: the wheel has two grooved like for a double drive wheel. But three things dont fit for that setup:
I. The brake tension lever arm then becomes redundant.
II.The wheel and the bobbin does not line up (mother of all could be angled to help but this does not look like its intent)
III. The bobbin diameter closely matches the largeest spindle pulley giving a 1 to 1 ratio guaranteeing zero take up.
I will appreciate any help with my enigmas.
