Spinning Wheel Tales

A member of my Knit & Nibble group recently bought an antique spinning wheel. She's always wanted to learn to spin and when she found this wheel in a embroidery store that was going out of business, and was able to purchase it for $50, she figured it was meant to be.

The wheel is old and in desperate need of some TLC. Dry rot (and little wood chomping buggies) shattered the peg that connects the mother-of-all to the wheel. The wheel itself had some separation issues, with gaps and cracks near the spokes. But you can tell that someone loved it; the treadle is well worn where the spinner's foot would have rested and there is significant wax build up around the bobbin and other moving parts.

The new owner was looking for someone to fix the shattered peg so she could spin. And after hearing the story of the cute little wheel that was getting a new chance at life, Dick volunteered. Sight unseen. Which may have been a minor miscalculation on his part.

It seems that dry rot and termites did more damage than was immediately apparent. All the pegs are rotten and there is significant damage to other parts of the wheel. Taking it apart was a challenge it itself; some pieces appeared ready to shatter if he even touched them. But did that stop Woodshop Man? Of course not! Seriously, Dick spent the better part of today gently taking the wheel apart, drilling out the rotten pegs, fashioning new parts, and then carefully rebuilding it, piece by piece. It's not done yet, but it is looking significantly better. And barring unforeseen disasters, this little lady should be up and spinning again, very soon.
Woodshop Man is the best. (And he not only worked on the wheel, he took photos of his progress - without my asking him - so I could blog this. I tell ya. The man's keeper.)

Yarn Tails Tags:Spinning, epscraps