Fixing an old spinning wheel

Otterfy wrote

on Mar 19, 2012 8:29 PM

Hi,

I was recently given (through a friend of a friend who was cleaning out her deceased grandmother's house) a "home made" spinning wheel.  I have no idea if I can get this working again, but I'd like to give it a try. 

The problem is that I know very little about them.  I've used a spinning wheel before, so I have a basic idea how they work, but the details are escaping me right now. 

The problem I'm working on right now is that when I treadle, the bent nail/spike that goes from the footman into the post that the actual wheel is on, slips.  I don't think it's supposed to do that.  I feel like it's supposed to be in there firmly and not slip.   right now when I get to the top of the circle, any downward pressure on the treadle makes the nail slip and I lose any ability to impart more energy into the system. 

That's really the only thing that's stopping this from working.  But I wanted to get some reassurance before I did something that might wreck the wheel.

debbier wrote

on Mar 20, 2012 6:09 AM

I would suggest doing a bit of research via the internet...look for similar wheels to see how they work....maybe there's a 'sister' to your wheel out there somewhere.  Post/send pictures to folks that sell or fix wheels and get their opinion.  If you do fiddle with it, be sure you take pictures so you can put everything back the way it was if Plan A didn't work....then go to Plan B.

It sounds like maybe the footman is fine but the 'wheel/crank' connection is "stripped"?  See if you can get something inside to grip the nail/spike against the wood--even a rubber band for starters....some type of filler will be needed if it works.

And be sure the bobbin and wheel are aligned correctly--or your cord will pop off constantly.  Oil is your friend.

Best of luck to you....antique wheels are history worth saving!  

Bushed wrote

on Mar 9, 2013 8:10 AM

We had a similar issue with my wife's spinning wheel which served well for many years but developed slippage between the 8mm dia axle shaft/crank and the wooden hub of the fly/drive wheel. 

My first solution was to drill a 3mm hole in the 8mm dia steel axle, into which I jammed a 2" nail (trimmed to leave a few mm protruding on each side) to act as a pin to prevent the axle turning inside the hub. Had to use a galv decking nail to provide a tight fit because a plain 2" steel nail was loose. (See first pic)

In the hub I drilled out a slot (of sorts!) so when the axle was re-inserted, the axle and its new pin fitted snugly inside the hub, though only just below the outside face of the hub. (See 2nd pic)

This fix worked for a while until the axle worked its way out sufficiently for the 3mm dia pin rotated, scouring the surface of the wooden hub.

The problem with this was that the axle slid out a bit, causing the steel pin to be exposed which in turn damaged the face of the wooden hub as slippage commenced again.

Presently trying to research out a more elegant DIY fix.  This could be to embed the pin deeper into the hub and fix a circlip on the axle on the other side to restrain the axle from sliding laterally out of the bore of the hub.

Have you solved your problem?

Ed