New, as in, new to me. It's actually a very old antique. It came up on eBay a month or so ago but I wasn't feeling like spending the amount asked. It was relisted a few weeks ago at almost half the original starting bid, so I went for it and was the only bidder.
It arrived via FedEx yesterday, from Vermont. The spindle is looking pretty sad. First thing I did after unpacking it was remove the spindle and give it some TLC.
This is a table top spindle wheel called "Purcells Improved" dated June 4, 1874. I've never seen one like it before and searching the webs comes up with nothing, nada.
Spindle wheels are an advancement from hand spindles, which go back to Neolithic times and maybe further. Spindle wheels are much older than flyer wheels, which I believe were invented in the late 15th century. Spindle wheels are quite simple: a drive wheel, a drive band, and a straight spindle. The straight spindle is the type that Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on (in the Grimm brothers version), despite so many illustrations depicting what look like flyer wheels. Great wheels are spindle wheels as are Indian charkas (made famous by Gandhi). They can spin very fast which makes them ideal for spinning short-length fibers like cotton or yak. They are also good for spinning "long draw" from carded wool.
Today, I cleaned the hardware (nuts & bolts and washers) by soaking in white vinegar for a couple hours then putting them in my small ultrasonic cleaner with a Simple Green solution for 8 minutes. Worked very well. Got rid of all the rust.
I cleaned the spindle and yarn guide with Gojo (mechanics hand cleaner--the one without pumice) and fine steel wool.
I cleaned the wheels with sewing machine oil (it’s surprising how well sewing machine oil is at cleaning).
Treated the wood with boiled linseed oil. I tested over the lettering first to make sure it wouldn’t destroy them.
The spindle still needs a little bit of straightening out, but it works pretty well, even if not perfectly straight.
I made a little demo video (it's only 2 minutes long) of what it can do so far. I have no idea if I’m using it as was intended, but it seems right.
I’m very happy with the result so far!
Best watched on Youtube...
That is very cool! Pretty, too. Can you explain what the 2 crank wheels do? Small one for spinning, what happens with the other one?
ReplyDeleteYes. The smaller one is direct drive to the spindle and creates a 1 to 16 ratio (one turn of the drive wheel spins the spindle 10 revolutions). The larger wheel compounds the smaller one: One turn of the larger wheel spins the spindle 104 revolutions. There is still a much smaller wheel with a drive band groove but no handle, that can engage with the large wheel as well. I don't know what that one is for.
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