We've moved

We have now moved our blog over to http://woodlandturnery.wordpress.com/ so see you all there:-)

Great news

Very busy day today. Did a school presentation for Big Ideas Wales in Caldicot Comprehensive.  Then back home and 2  repaired spinning wheels and another big order went out with the carrier. Out to the workshop, on the lathe and made some Mini Tapestry bobbins.. Billy was pleased - he loves being out in the workshop. Clive was busy on his lathe too. Then I came in and liaised with  (DD2) Linz to sort out our web shop. Pleased  to say thanks to Linz's help we now  have many of our items in our  new Folksy web shop 
So why not have a browse to see what is there.

Morning All

Morning All
See we had a fine covering  of snow again overnight luckily nothing much bit overcast today but hopefully the sun might try to come out today - I will have to check out what Derek the Weatherman says on Twitter.

Well another weekend is here again. Still managing to keep going with my courses and am now on the final assessment for the spreadsheet course (in only 5 1/2 weeks instead of the 10 allowed - been working a lot of odd hours on it) Web development course coming along and the Graphics and Desktop Publishing are also making their mark too as I am  developing a helpful booklet for Spinners which will, hopefully, be available soon..

We have a repaired/restored wheel going out this week to Yorkshire and   one coming in from Plymouth and possibly another too from the Midlands (I believe- if they have managed to get it boxed up) .

Whilst Clive is busy turning & making the Timbertops Wheels; I am busy re-conditioning 3 wheels and also making new spinning and weaving accessories stock as we are very low on our very popular weaving shuttles and definitely have to make 24", 21", 15" and a special order for 26".. So  if you are looking to get some of our  Weaving shuttles (they show up half way down the page) let me know what sizes, so I can make sure I get the right sizes done. Space is becoming a bit confined here lol! So have decided to put the new Ashford Elizabeth 1 as a special offer to hopefully move it on and so I have  been busy updating recon wheels page again. So if you are looking for wheel at  a bargain price that page is well worth a look.
Right better get going, lots to do today and I want to try and fit in a Reiki session this afternoon  :-)

Latest news

I have just spent a very busy weekend updating the website www.woodland-turnery.co.uk with some recent interesting news and also adding new photos and new details regarding our spinning and weaving items on our website.

Also added more events we will or hope to be attending to the events calender on right hand side of each page

So folk can now see more of our items and instantly see the prices. You can still download a pricelist to keep by you. Hopefully this will make life easier for the Customers who want to phone in with an order. Some items are on our Misi page but this will be changing shortly.

The Web Development course that I have had the chance to do has given me more confidence in making amendments to the webpage. Still a way to go yet but at least it is a lot better and a few less panic phone calls to Linz (our younger Daughter) in Scotland (400 miles away)  who set up the webpage. Now I must go and finish match staining the wheel we are repairing.

Well February is here already!

Time is flying by. February already. Still had some Snow today but luckily it didn't stick. Just a very cold wind now. Still at least the evenings are getting lighter. Don't like the dark evenings.

Busy doing some more recon wheels got the Shapwick Blaise and the Herring Bent ply ones on the go as well as a couple of Ashfords. Feel like an Octopus sometimes.. Clive is also very busy in the workshop.
I'm also busy on some part time University courses that I had the opportunity of doing as part of rejuvenation of the Welsh Valleys. Doing Web Development (to help me understand the web page better that Linz - our younger daughter- designed but she is now 400 miles away!).  Graphics and Desk top publishing for our brochures etc and also one on Spreadsheets. Definitely burning the candle at both ends at the moment but you don't get an opportunity like this very often!

Already getting wheels booked in for the wheel surgery at Wonderwool.Wales!! So busy busy! Wheel due in from Yorkshire tomorrow for repair and another couple where customers are finding suitable boxes and then I can arrange the carrier for their wheels to come in  too.
Right off to get on again

And there was snow!!!!!

And………. it is still snowing we now have over 12” on the garage roof. Lost track of how many times we have cleared the path to the workshop and the driveway. It looks pretty but it is a real pain now. So much time wasted!!

Busy trying to get wheels reconditioned, Clive has been making some of the parts for a batch of Timbertops, also we have been making spare bobbins for customers. Within a  week or two  we are arranging for  two spinning wheels to come in for repair from different places and have just had a further phone call to say another is being sent in next week. So busy time. J

It is certainly interesting, we get wheels or parts of wheels in from all over mainland UK but have also had them from farther afield, Isles of Mull, Arran and Shetland, Guernsey, Holland and even from across the Atlantic from  USA.  Just before Christmas we were proud to help with the restoration and repair of a wheel in the Falkland Islands. We have just had a progress report from the Customer in Stanley to say that all the parts have been re-assembled and the wheel is now spinning and plying beautifully. Just the sort of email we love to receive. 

Exciting news Fibre East 2013

Heard last night that Fibre East 2013 has changed venue to    Redborne community college  
Flitwick Road
Ampthill
Bedford
MK45 2NU.
and also changed date to 27^th and 28^th July 2013 and evidently it will stay as the last weekend of July now. It is also nice to know that ... to quote the Organizer "exciting things in the air for 2014 and 2015"

At least we shall all be in the dry and it looks as though it is easy to get to and not far off the Motorway either. As a college it should have good parking facilities too
Quite exciting especially as it is going to be the long term home of Fibre East. Previous venue was nice but with the global weather changing so much and it looks as though we may be having wetter summers for a bit then it is very forward thinking of the Organizer.

The New Workshop

Well here we are at last! 

For those of you who use to enjoy the "Tales from the workshop" in  the magazine YarnMaker,  we have decided to continue over here. 

So glad to be back!  Well I am writing this, it’s a good few months down the line and we have new workshops – His and Hers!   Advantage…… ‘He’ can’t ‘nick’ my chisels  J.

Let me set the scene, we are now a stone’s throw from the aqueduct where the Mon & Brecon Canal crosses the Afon LLwyd.

In a dip below the canal but above the river, surrounded by trees, we now work to the sound of ducks and herons as well as the occasional drone of the canal boat passing by. Clive has the bigger workshop as he has most of the machinery there.

Whilst Billy & I share the smaller one and we love it.  Billy now has a cosy corner (on the chest freezer). He has to ask to be lifted up (his legs are too short to jump up) but he can easily get down if he wants.           

We also have a covered patio area where we can work outdoors when we want, too.

Once we organised ourselves, we started doing repairs and replacement bobbins this has helped us get into a new routine and also helped us get used to the new machinery and tools.

Over th #e last few months we have repaired a couple of unusual wheels.

The first was a Saxony style (sloping bed) that arrived boxed with the main body dis-assembled – no problem - but with a bag of bits.

 Which, on investigation, we discovered was the flyer in two parts, 3 bobbins and an integral lazy kate. The wheel, which had some nice features, was regrettably made by a Woodturner who seemed to have no knowledge of spinning. It is such a shame that although their turning is lovely and sometimes decorative features are really nicely thought out, the wheel ‘goes round’ but does not and will not work at all in a functional way.

Frequently the first problem is that the two uprights holding the wheel are neither parallel nor were they at the same angle from the bed, as in this case. This led the wheel to point to the maiden rather that the flyer pulley and bobbin whorl. They had to be knocked out and re-positioned just right to get the correct angles, as you can imagine this took some time. Then we moved on to put new leathers in the maidens (both sets were far too flimsy and broken) and the flyer shaft had come adrift from the flyer as it had neither been glued nor pinned. The tension handle also needed some work to make it work properly, as did the bobbins and the flyer whorl, so that they could rotate properly without catching. Once all necessary work was done  together with a sand down, Danish Oil and a test spin, we were pleased to say that, in the end, it looked a lovely wheel. Although not suitable for a learner could work for someone who was an experienced spinner.

The second wheel was a very unusual antique flax wheel, .that came in for repair when we were at Fibre East. It was amazing as it was embellished with Ivory turnings, although a few were missing.  The Owner had someone who did most of their furniture repairs etc who had some pieces from an old ivory chess set that would be able to turn the missing parts. However they knew nothing about spinning wheels and so they wanted us to make the relevant missing parts so that it could be a usable wheel again. The first challenge was to get the wheel out of its ‘cage’ to enable us to seat the wheel properly as it was leaning to one side and hitting an upright. After a bit of juggling between the two of us we managed to remove the wheel and clean up its support and then reseat the wheel back into place, This actually proved harder than getting it out!!!!!  Having got the wheel itself spinning properly, Clive then moved onto another part. Now this wheel had an unusual set up on the Maidens for removal of the flyer.

It was impossible to rotate the maiden to remove the flyer as the cradle for the flyer was not leather but brass and therefore totally rigid. The small peg at the base of the left hand Maiden (below) had to be removed .Then the two maidens are lifted out and then the flyer/bobbin etc are removed as a whole. After the bobbin is changed the procedure is reversed..

First of all the two metal threaded rods down the middle of each maiden had to be removed as the threads were worn away with age and these were replaced by new rods that Clive had to thread. These were then fitted back into the Maidens. Then a new flyer and bobbins were designed as required and fitted into the Maidens and a few other little repairs were carried out, such as replacement pegs etc and a little bowl (for water) was made to fit into the recess in the top of the framework. The wheel was then ready to move back to it’s owner for the  next stage ……having the ivory replaced.

Then we had a phone call from a Friend who through ill health has given up spinning and they have decided to move their spinning wheel on and asked us over for a cup of tea to collect it. So one afternoon we collected an old Shapwick Blaise spinning wheel that actually spins quite well considering how long it has been left unloved….nothing that a bit of TLC can’t remedy

Now we had not heard the name before but then discovered that it is the predecessor of the Frank Herring ‘bent ply’ wheel that we have so often restored in the past. 

Soon after that the  carrier brought in a ‘legless’ Haldane (no it hadn't been drinking lol!.)

Happy to say that has now had new legs and treadle and gone back to it's happy owner.

Hope to add to the blog soon with photos of the new Timbertops being made.

What will tomorrow bring …………… who knows ………………. but it certainly makes life very interesting… J.