This is specially for all the spinners in the group

Just to make me life a little easier, I am posting the note I posted to
all our Guild members as I wrote it. Hope that is OK

This story is about an old home made spinning wheel, that Otto fixed.

Hello all spinners:

Jytte, came by last Saturday and asked Otto for help with an old spinning
wheel, that she saw at the Shawnigan museum. She told Otto that it was a
very interesting wheel, and that she had never seen one like that before,
however she could not make it work, was he willing to have a look at it.
Otto went the next day and got the spinning wheel. It is a very different
wheel from what we have ever seen before.

We might think that a Wooly winder is a great invention and the latest in
hand spinners technology. Well think again. This wheel has an automated
wind up, and was made around 1918.

The wheel is contained in a square wooden frame work, made from odds and
ends that were available around the house, by a very creative craftsman.
The drive wheel is made of solid wood. There is a second wheel or rather
rachet, with a pall moving it along. It works some levers to move the
bobbin along the spindle or axle, in and out of the flyer. It is the most
inventive part of this wheel a very unusual flyer and bobbin assembly. The
flyer is rotating in place with the bobbin sliding back and forth on the
spindle, moving in and out of the flyer arms embrace, while they are both
turning. This will automatically wind up the yarn that is spun. It is
the most amazing thing to watch. There are many other interesting parts
on this wheel, that I have never seen on any of the wheels we use.

The wheel is from the beginning the twentieth century. It comes from
Saskatchewan. It and was home made, by French Canadians who had moved to
the United States to work in the textile mills. They were not very well
treated and at that time they were drawn back to Canada with the promise
of free land on the prairies.

I think that some of the ingenious constructions of this wheel, where
learned in the textile mills in the States. It would be interesting to
see, how the spinning machinery worked in those places, just to compare
notes

I took some pictures of the wheel, to keep a record of how it was put
together. Otto took it in the basement and worked on it for a couple of
days. It was obvious that the wheel had been moved around quite a bit
with some of the pieces not put back together the right way, and some
pieces missing altogether. With some new parts and a bit of cleaned all
the turning parts, giving all a drop of oil, the wheel was ready for a
trial run. After a couple of bad starts, with several adjustments made,
little tightening here and there, It is spinning very nicely.

Naturally you are all welcome on RCTY to come and see this wheel. LOL
Just take out your brooms and come on over. Otherwise I have just put
these on my website, go have a look there.

http://homepage.mac.com/omaels/PhotoAlbum5.html


Els