A site for sharing information on spinning, knitting and dyeing yarns.

This is the story of the Ashford double-belt traditional spinning wheel that my beloved Roketman engineered for me. God, I love that man...

I had boogered up my right knee pretty bad... and of course, as soon as I realized that I couldn't treadle the wheel, all I wanted to do was spin. Yeah, I'm funny that way.

Mike's proposition was this: motorize the wheel! OK, sez me, but I'm a preservationist at heart. I want to make sure that I can put it back to original shape with the least damage to the wheel.

So, we went shopping for a sewing machine motor, some electrical cord, a foot pedal, and the sewing machine repairman had all of it. He even had a leather belt used for antique treadle sewing machines. It cost right around $50.

Hopefully, this shows where the sewing machine motor is mounted. Mike took a small piece of wood, and mounted it between the horizontals of the wheel support. The motor is mounted to that, in such a way that the spindle of the motor points directly to the right. That necessitates that the belt make a 90 degree turn, so that it can still go around the whorl. The scotch brake remains in its usual place.

This is the view from the top, showing the motor spindle, how the belt goes from it to the whorl, and the top of the motor mount. The motor itself is not visible. You can also see how much cord my Roketguy thought I might need... I do a few demos, and sometimes the electrical source is a ways away.

These pictures don't show how I switch back to the regular treadle, for spinning wool and such. I sling the leather belt around the back post of the mother-of-all, and hang a basket from it too. That basket holds the foot pedal and all the cord and keeps it out of the way.

The REAL question you're thinking is "Does she really use this motor?" and the answer is YES! You should see it zipping right along - I can spin raw, uncarded cotton out of hand, long draw. No lie. It's also great for fine silk. Does it some out overspun? Only if that's what I'm aiming for! I did the brown cotton this way - this is how it looks after a couple of dips in the indigo vat.

- R, 10:00 PM