Just realised I never did write up the step-by-step checks like I promised.
If you're still having problems with stiffness in the wheel, try this:
I have found it very helpful, as well as oiling everything pretty much every time I sit down, to always do the following checks:
- drive band off, brake band off, does wheel spin freely? Ashford say that if you give it a healthy shove (push the spoke, not pull the rim), it should do 50-60 revolutions before it stops.
- drive band on, brake band still off, does the flyer-and-bobbin spin freely when you treadle?
- Now brake band on, just enough tension that you can see it in the elastic band or spring (whichever you use), does the flyer spin freely (with the bobbin staying static) when you treadle?
As to what and where to oil, there's
a video of Richard Ashford showing you where to oil a Traddy, which it's pretty easy to translate to a Traveller. The only thing is he shows using oil on the treadle pivots, which many people say can cause the wood to swell, so it's better to use candle wax, sillcon wax or even Vaseline.
Another tip is, when replacing the bobbin it’s all too easy to not get the maidens absolutely perpendicular again. So always check they are parallel to the wheel.
Very old bobbins can get gummed up and need any old oil and gunky mess cleaned out with Isopropyl alcohol (IPA), meths or white spirit and a pipecleaner. Very very old bobbins are wood right through, and you may need to ream out the shaft if they are not spinning freely on the flyer shaft.