After the encouragement about the wheel I've kept it out in the living room and practised whenever I sat down for a moment and thought about it, Today I had a break through. I was struggling to ply the merino that I had been working on, cursing myself and the beast when the foot pedal thing started squeeking. So I stopped and thought about it and remembered a tube of something that had come with the wheel. After five minutes of digging in my bottomless desk drawer of horrors I found it and it WAS a tube of lubricant! So I squirted some on the hinge thingy and decided to try forr just a little longer. OMG! One of my biggest problems was that I couldn't treadle slowly because there was a spot that it would kind of stick and if I wasn't going super fast then I couldn't get the wheel to keep going no atter how much I tried but as soon as I oiled it all of the sudden treadling got soooo much easier! I can still feel where it wants to stick but all in all it has made things so much easier. I am thrilled! I finished plying the merino and feel rather pleased with myself. The beast has been given permission to stay in the living room for now. I still haven't fixed my biggest problem though, the drive band keeps popping off.... I shortened it multiple times and it got somewhat better but it's still a big problem. It seems to happen the most when I start to feel the wheel stick when I am treadling slowly but there are plenty of times that it will just pop off for no reason that I can find. It is so fustrating and I don't know what's wrong. Besides that I still don't fully understand what the different size things on the bobbin that the drive band sits on are for. I use the middle sized one because it seems like a good choice but really I have no idea. Either way, today I find myself hating the beast quite a bit less than normal and I am actually considering giving it another go with the plying. Oh! and I got Tigerlily halfway plucked last night! I am setting aside her primest prime (the select wonderfulness that she produces that is about 6-7 in. long) and instead of saving it for myself I am going to gift it to some lucky person who orders from the shop! I think I will give it two weeks or so and then just randomly pick someone. Or maybe I should do some kind of contest? There's not a huge amount of it but it is awesome.
1 comment:
Ok... so
1. The little wheels on the bobbins are your ratios. For thick yarns and wool, the big one should do... the middle for finer weight yarns, silk, angora etc... and i have yet to use the small one.
2. I have a similar wheel... same makers... ford4him (fidelis,) but my drive band only pops off when the take up (tension) is too tight... which is that little belt thing that holds the part with the orifice down... when plying, i barely use it.
Also, it's happened when the edges of my bobbins that sit on the drive shaft aren't oiled or get fiber build up on them...
And, make sure you oil the little plastic edges where the drive shaft sit on the wheel frame.
If you're spinning alot, you may have to do a little more maintenance on your wheel than you expect. I've had mine since Jan 28th and last night, I've already had to take it apart, clean the fibers out of everywhere and oil it back up. (And tighten the nut that hold the wheel on the frame.) Took about 20 minutes. And now she's happy again.... :) and so am i!
I hope this helps! And... I found a fiber mill down by Austin, Tx. I don't know if you have one around you, but if you'd like the info, lemme know!
jane
Post a Comment