Improved Spindle Jim

While I always liked using my Spindle Jim, many of its little problems really bothered me. The spindles would sort of jog up and down, and they would swing back and forth - even with the tensioning string. When I use it, I like to stand as far away as I can, so as to allow the twist to even out over a distance, and the little problems meant that I'd have to walk back to the spindle jim to solve the issue, then away from again. All of this back and forth would frustrate me, and I'd end up mad - every time.

Recently, there was a discussion of this very topic on Ravelry, and a genius with the user name of TobeyL suggested this idea, and it WORKED! It works spectacularly! And, such an easy fix, too.

Gosh, such genius! Thanks so much, TobeyL!!!

Here are the pix - -

First off, please forgive the book - my camera insisted on focusing on the piano instead of the spindle jim, and I was getting frustrated. The book was right there, and provided an easy remedy.

It doesn't look too much different from the original photo, does it?

What's different is that this little arrangement was added between the bottom of the spindle and the floor of the spindle jim.

I put an eye hook in the floor, under the spindle, and I attached to it this little conglomeration of parts - reading from the bottom up - a swivel, an eyehook and dowel, and a bit of plastic tubing. The alterations took less than 30 minutes to execute, but gosh, what a difference!

I had to rearrange the top of the spindle jim because the additions at the bottom means that the snaps make the whole thing too long. I just opened up the eye hook and threaded the swivel onto it, then closed the eye hook again. I left the snap part hanging because finding wire cutters is sometimes more trouble than it's worth, heh heh heh.

What a difference! The spindle twirls very calmly, with no jumping up and down, and with no swinging back and forth. The yarn just peels off with no problems whatsoever!!!

Since the spindle now spins freely, there is no need for the little drinking-straw-seatbelts, which was an absolute necessity of Version 1 of the Spindle Jim.

All of the hardware simply stays in place for storage.

This picture might give you a better idea of the parts which are at the bottom.