I have a new head!

I'm getting ready to do a whole lot of spinning, so I wanted to make a new head for my junky-garage spinning wheel. While the old one worked very well, it was loud, and the spindle was stuck in place. I wanted to reduce the noise, and to make it so that the spindle was interchangeable, so that I could work on more than one project at a time.

Here it is - while it isn't a thing of beauty, gosh, it works great.

Back side - notice the strips of plumber's tape to reduce friction. These strips also reduce the noise - this head is soooo quiet.

I put a little guide for the drive band - it's a bit of bicycle innertube, held in place with two O rings. That's it. It works great - it provides traction for the drive band, and it keeps the needle/spindle in place. Without this guide, the needle wanders back and forth, and there is much slippage as the needle is pretty slick.

Wheel side -

I don't know what the strings are - something from in the junky garage. They seem to be some sort of nylon? I'm not sure. I can't find my bag of cord locks, so I improvised with these T pins, with the thought that I'd use the cord locks, once I find them. Forget that - these pins work a zillion times better! They are infinitely adjustable, and they hold really well. (I have no idea why there's a knot in the string on the right. It was there already, and I just didn't untie it.)

I can loosen the strings, remove this spindle and replace it with another one. This way, I can have more than one project going at once. Nice, yes?

The clamp works like a giant clothespin - it makes for quick adjustments. When I'm taking a break from spinning, I take the drive band off of the wheel, and point the needle straight up, so that someone won't run into it. When I quit for a longer spell, I just take the head completely off of the upright portion, in the interest of safety.

I am going to make one change - I'm going to wait until the strips of teflon tape (aka plumber's tape) wear out, then I'll replace them by wrapping the tape around, horizontally, all the way around the little upright bits of wood, going across the string-holes. I'll poke holes in the tape, and then fish the strings through the holes. I think that this will work better, although it does work well the way it is now.

I still like using Pony Bead Lacing for my drive band, but I was at the hobby store the other day, and I couldn't resist this acid green S'getti String lacing - it works great and I love the color! It seems more durable than the Pony Bead Lacing but it's too soon to tell, as I've only just started with this green drive band.

Cheers!

Rosemary