Author Topic: Spinning lessons (Read 7916 times)

Bionic · « **Reply #15 on:** September 25, 2013, 07:48:16 am »

Hope you gets lots out of it today Lesley

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #16 on:** September 25, 2013, 11:01:49 pm »

It went very well. She brought her Joy with her and I used that. I found the double treadle much nicer than the single and managed to produce some reasonable yarn. She said that I am holding the fleece too tight and I do tend to grip it so I am working on being more relaxed with it.

She also had a go on my Traveller and said it was rather stiff but works ok. I had just put a new brake spring on it so that might have helped. Also need to oil it. My new drive band should turn up in the next couple of day so I'll see if that makes a difference.

All in all, I feel much more positive about it.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #17 on:** September 26, 2013, 03:15:06 am »

That all sounds very positive

Busy this week but after the SSGF I'll take you through a step-by-step check over your Traveller to make sure it's all set up ok and moving correctly. Sneak preview, the first step is to take off the drive band and give the wheel a good spin by hand (push the spokes not the rim.) It should revolve 50 or so times before coming to rest.

I've bought a few second hand wheels now

, and the very best of them managed nearly 30 revolutions when I first got it home. The worst only did 15. I got them all up to 50 or 60 and it makes such a difference to spinning on them!

The very worst wheel I sorted out had been screwed together so tightly the wheel only turned 7 times. The spinner who was using it must have been developing seriously strong calf muscles

Anyway, keep at it, 10-20 minutes a day

and you'll soon be proudly showing us your first usable handpun

Bionic · « **Reply #18 on:** September 26, 2013, 06:09:47 am »

I'm glad it went well. Once you start to feel confident with it I am sure there will be no stopping you.

Sally, I will be interested in what you are going to say about the Traveller too. Mine had been sitting in a garage for the last 5 years after the mans wife died. It was very rusty. I have got it spinning ok but I was probably too keen to use it to give a proper going over. I will see how many revolutions I get from it later today.

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #19 on:** September 26, 2013, 10:26:52 pm »

My new drive band arrived so I am going to fit it tomorrow and do some oiling. I didn't practice today as I didn't want to put myself off again by using a stiff wheel so I'll wait until tomorrow when it's all done.

Thanks, SITN, that will be helpful. I'll try the wheel trick.

I'm desperate to get weaving again but I have a ton of beans to blanch and freeze over the next couple of days. If only my stupid body would let me do as much as I used to in a day.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #20 on:** October 24, 2013, 03:14:17 pm »

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.

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #21 on:** October 25, 2013, 12:14:45 am »

Thanks, Sally. That's very helpful. I'll try that.

Spinningfishwife · « **Reply #22 on:** October 25, 2013, 08:30:16 am »

Just for general information, here's the list of all the groups affiliated to the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers.

http://www.wsd.org.uk/guilds.htm

You can either make contact before you go or just pop in on the day, there's usually a small day fee if you don't want to sign up for the year. Some guilds run regular teaching days but if not there will almost always be someone willing to sit with you and help you out with the basics and if you join there's often equipment such as wheels and looms available to hire.

There are other spinning groups too of course, not affiliated to the main Guild. So even if you can't make your local Guild day it's still worth phoning the local Guild secretary to ask if she knows of any other local groups or classes, or even a local tutor for one to one lessons.

JulieWall · « **Reply #23 on:** October 26, 2013, 09:47:55 am »

Good plan, if you're a long way from the nearest guild as we are it's not so handy to have to drive a long way for meets. I found a group nearer to me when we first moved here that had been formed by several of the guild members just so they could get together socially. It's probably the easiest way to learn to spin if you're in a rural area too, not all classes are geographically handy.

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #24 on:** October 27, 2013, 01:06:02 am »

I do belong to a local group and several people have given me help but, as soon as I seem to be doing ok and they move away, it all goes to pot again. It's strange because when I first had the wheel I spun and plied some lovely yarn and knitted myself a hat but now it keeps going wrong.

Bionic · « **Reply #25 on:** October 27, 2013, 08:01:49 am »

Lesley, is everything ok with your wheel?
I was using the secondhand one that I recently got that had been stored in a shed. We were getting along ok and I was happy until someone said the band seemed a bit loose. Tightened the band and, hey presto, the spinning was different all together. Much nicer

JulieWall · « **Reply #26 on:** October 27, 2013, 06:55:29 pm »

I taught myself to spin from a superb little booklet by Hetty Wickens. It had little hand drawn diagrams in it and was so clearly explained that I'd recommend it to anyone.
After I discovered the Coventry guild I learned different techniques from the older ladies there and had a lovely day out once a month, which often involved a workshop of some sort or a visit from sellers like P&M Woolcraft.
After we moved up here I thought the guilds were too far away for me (60 & 70 miles respectively) although the Aberdeen guild now meets a lot nearer to us.
If you can get to a guild it's a lot of fun to join.