This is specially for all the spinners in the group
Just to make me life a little easier, I am posting the note I posted to all our Guild members as I wrote it. Hope that is OK
This story is about an old home made spinning wheel, that Otto fixed.
Hello all spinners:
Jytte, came by last Saturday and asked Otto for help with an old spinning wheel, that she saw at the Shawnigan museum. She told Otto that it was a very interesting wheel, and that she had never seen one like that before, however she could not make it work, was he willing to have a look at it. Otto went the next day and got the spinning wheel. It is a very different wheel from what we have ever seen before.
We might think that a Wooly winder is a great invention and the latest in hand spinners technology. Well think again. This wheel has an automated wind up, and was made around 1918.
The wheel is contained in a square wooden frame work, made from odds and ends that were available around the house, by a very creative craftsman. The drive wheel is made of solid wood. There is a second wheel or rather rachet, with a pall moving it along. It works some levers to move the bobbin along the spindle or axle, in and out of the flyer. It is the most inventive part of this wheel a very unusual flyer and bobbin assembly. The flyer is rotating in place with the bobbin sliding back and forth on the spindle, moving in and out of the flyer arms embrace, while they are both turning. This will automatically wind up the yarn that is spun. It is the most amazing thing to watch. There are many other interesting parts on this wheel, that I have never seen on any of the wheels we use.
The wheel is from the beginning the twentieth century. It comes from Saskatchewan. It and was home made, by French Canadians who had moved to the United States to work in the textile mills. They were not very well treated and at that time they were drawn back to Canada with the promise of free land on the prairies.
I think that some of the ingenious constructions of this wheel, where learned in the textile mills in the States. It would be interesting to see, how the spinning machinery worked in those places, just to compare notes
I took some pictures of the wheel, to keep a record of how it was put together. Otto took it in the basement and worked on it for a couple of days. It was obvious that the wheel had been moved around quite a bit with some of the pieces not put back together the right way, and some pieces missing altogether. With some new parts and a bit of cleaned all the turning parts, giving all a drop of oil, the wheel was ready for a trial run. After a couple of bad starts, with several adjustments made, little tightening here and there, It is spinning very nicely.
Naturally you are all welcome on RCTY to come and see this wheel. LOL Just take out your brooms and come on over. Otherwise I have just put these on my website, go have a look there.
Els