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.
