tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-302197462011-12-14T18:59:26.719-08:00Spinning on a DimeHow to spin on a dime! Well not exactly... It's my adventurous side building a found items spinning wheel.
So essentially it's how I'm attempting to build a spinning wheel for far less than $10 :)KnitWitnoreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153635260645041192006-07-22T23:13:00.000-07:002006-07-22T23:14:27.480-07:00Sample KnittingSo here's a sample of knitting from my little center pull muffin :P. Believe it or not, I've barely made a dent in the ball of yarn. Nevertheless I want length more than width, so when I finish this, if it's not long enough to wrap round my neck, I'll just have to frog it and start over with fewer repeats. No prob :D.KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153624988761176182006-07-22T20:16:00.000-07:002006-07-22T20:23:08.773-07:00New Yarn!Yep-yep, I made yarn:D. This time on the wheel. This is the first experimental bit of silk. I've saved about 3/4 - 2/3 of the coccoons/mawatas. But this is the resulting yarn :). I think I can get a thin decorative scarf out of it. Nothing functional nor impressive, but still, pretty :) Yep-yep. Seafoam stitch I reckon.From this to this to this in about a week :)KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153336419266318922006-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:002006-07-19T12:13:39.266-07:00Well the Crank WorksIt works. For now. Without the footman or treadle. Gonna put those on in a minute. So yeah, about $10 total not counting glue. Not too shabby.KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153257638467295522006-07-18T14:17:00.000-07:002006-07-18T14:20:38.480-07:00Crank was a bust yet again. New plan, to screw the crank into the hub to create a kind of cross-bracing connection to the wheel. Google keeps burying this poor blog. :(( It's not fair. There's a zillion blogs mentioning spinning on a dime in passing, or just featuring the lyrics to a Belly song which contain the words spinning on a dime. Sorry, but how many blogs have to point out those KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153167873053288222006-07-17T13:23:00.000-07:002006-07-17T13:24:33.063-07:00OMG crank feels tight :) Secure even. So I gave it a test spin, and spun an entire mawata with ease. So now to put on the footman and attatch it to the treadle and crank. Fingers crossed, wish me luck :).KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153158741251968452006-07-17T10:49:00.000-07:002006-07-17T11:02:21.200-07:00Flyer in ActionHere's a bit of video showing the flyer in action. Pauses are where I had to work the silk a bit, from bits of cradle that didn't stretch as much as I'd have liked, and the occasional bug bit that wormed it's way into the fiber. The clickity-clacking is from the bobbin whorl being taped on + the drive belt having 2 knots(still trying to get the size just right).After reviewing KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153100349713576022006-07-16T18:36:00.000-07:002006-07-18T13:22:09.723-07:00Silk Yarn & Wheel Pics!Trying to get crank to sit stable and secure in the hub. Don't think that's gonna stop me from making yarn!Check these out :DClick to see full size versions :D. Did u see that? Not spinning on a dime, but rather, a dime on spinning! LOL I only just caught that!KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1153020978880658402006-07-15T20:32:00.000-07:002006-07-15T20:36:18.893-07:00Well it WorkedCriminy, I tried to solder the new crank(this time from a bent dp, which was already bent, thus useless, or so I thought). Solid aluminum, doesn't bend easily, so I figured would make a much better crank than the tube that broke.Well, solder isn't very strong. Tried to avoid glue. But should be gr8 by tomorrow. Since I had to drill out the glue b4 when the 1st crank broke. So KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152815680247351382006-07-13T11:32:00.000-07:002006-07-13T11:34:40.256-07:00It Works!Holy Crap! This thing actually works! Mechanically it's sound. Of course I fully expect to have to tweak it for whorl size, but after using a bit of wire to make a nice sliding hook for the flyer, and another bit of wire(it's copper) to make an orifice hook. I totally managed to thread a "leader"(actually it's some string but don't burst my bubble), and it winds onto the bobbin :).KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152709291154034162006-07-12T05:48:00.000-07:002006-07-12T06:01:31.163-07:00Got a Skewer? Got Some Cotton Balls? You Can Spin!Good news! I have the maidens/mother of all in place and most of the way cured. The orafice is looking spiffy(gotta trim it though). Not counting tweaking of whorls, the wheel's just about finished!Now on to the headline. Well, I got good news that the twisted cotton ball is indeed yarn! Ooh-la-la, I feel fancy! Wait, there's more! So KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152360956607885512006-07-08T04:50:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:20:00.886-07:00Take a look at these prime examples of hit or miss scanning The black & white pic's of the bobbins I got today, and I'm oh so grateful and giddy to have them. The pink's what happens when I get my grubby mitts on a cotton ball.KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152321894595910602006-07-07T18:11:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:20:18.003-07:00Woohoo! Free Bobbins!That's right folks, free plastic bobbins for yarn, ribbon, whatever the heck you wanna wind onto them, they're yours for the asking. Want free bobbins? Need free bobbins? If you're building your own spinning wheel the answer is yes to both questions. If you bought one, then the answer is yes to the first ;). So here's how you go about gettin' 'em.Haul your butt to the KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152269354138941452006-07-07T03:33:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:20:36.316-07:00Woohoo! I'd say I'm about 3/4 finished!I'm going to venture a guess that I'm approximately 3/4 finished. If you take a gander at either one of the newer Louet models(S40 though cute, need not apply), or the Ashford Kiwi, you'll understand how far along I am. Since all my biggest pieces and the balance of it seem to be in place, I can now focus on the mother of all(which right or wrong, I use asKnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152188959314403512006-07-06T05:22:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:21:03.063-07:00Ooh I Think I've Got It!So I've managed to secure a bearing into the center post using industrial strength glue. I also made sure the wheel spins freely in the bearing. Yep-yep. Smooth quiet spin. It's a wee bit wobbly, but I'll wait till the whole thing's assembled to make any adjustments for wobble. I'm convinced the driveband alone will either make it wobble more, or make it wobble KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1152085703282558562006-07-05T00:46:00.000-07:002006-07-26T05:31:39.026-07:00I Messed UpI totally messed up. I used this industrial grade glue from elmer's to glue in the bearing. Managed to glue the bearing still:((. So trying again. This time it's totally different, and I've got a nice tight fit for the bearing. Good luck to me :D.KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151978963675503722006-07-03T18:30:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:21:52.910-07:00Angels are singing a chorus and radiant beams of light shine down on my mental image of the mechanics of an Irish tension spinning wheel. So the mother of all. It's this high-fallutin' toilet paper holder. The bobbin's just that cardboard tube of the toilet paper roll which you stick on the tube that hooks/snaps onto the holder on the wall. Heeeheee. I know, not 100% of that's true. But KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151931054582973872006-07-03T05:33:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:22:36.033-07:003 of 8 felloes finished. I'm all yippeee! On account of figuring out that I can build a spinning wheel using fellows and dowels(so even if this one doesn't work out, there's still hope!Ooh! I ground the hole in the center of the cake stand top. Started out drilling, then grinding, then grinding some more, but with my technique of holding the rotary tool between my knees(and I'll prolly get KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151909320647541612006-07-02T23:44:00.000-07:002006-07-02T23:48:40.656-07:00Screwed the pooch! What the? Ground down the acrylic too much and so sharp and jagged I managed to cut my thumb:(.All is not lost. I located a free woodworking pattern for building a wooden wagon wheel. Said wheel would be freakin' enormous if made of wood. I'm just using the pattern pieces for the felloes. So I traced out 8 of them, which btw print up on regular letter sized paper. Then KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151843528875867212006-07-02T05:16:00.000-07:002006-07-02T05:32:08.890-07:00OMG! I Think I Can Use My Acrylic Wheel!"Holy freakin' crap!" That's what Peter Griffin might exclaim. I'm just ecstatically shouting out "YIPPEE!" but inside my head. I started using a diamond burr bit to try and grind a hole in the edge of my acrylic wheel(it's really a cake stand, but I won't tell if you don't ;)). Disastrous! Just made lumpy dends because the wheel's so much larger than KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151831488835934782006-07-02T02:04:00.000-07:002006-07-02T02:19:58.103-07:00In an attempt to get more hits, I've improved my keywords. That said, whatever device used to troll through web pages might not understand context and how the keywords relate to my blog. So this blog is about building a DIY, Cheap Spinning Wheel, Out of Acrylic Sheet. A person would use this $20 spinning wheel (it should cost less, but we'll see) to spin fiber into yarn! Okay, not a person, KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151820834158789122006-07-01T23:07:00.000-07:002006-07-01T23:13:54.166-07:00LMAO cause at a forum I made it sound like building a spinning wheel is a piece of cake, when I know better.Okay, on to more pressing issues with the wheel. Still LMAO cause I totally was giving myself more work than necessary. 3-4 layers of acrylic sheet makes a very nice rigid board(not unlike when working with 2x4's. So why then, was I trying to cut perfect long pieces * like 100 when I KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151702033336211802006-06-30T14:03:00.000-07:002006-06-30T14:14:06.116-07:00Update: Footman's almost complete. Here's a pic! As you can see; it is in fact much longer than it needs to be. This is intentional. Since it's so very tricky to make perfect plans for found parts, I'm winging it. Measuring to size as I go. The crank is a success! It softened in the oven, but I just reheated over the stove again, and bent a bit extra for a longer "handle". Then once KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151664914805696332006-06-30T03:51:00.000-07:002006-06-30T03:55:14.813-07:00update: The glue is set and seems rather sturdy(I did a couple of really fast sample spins on a bamboo stake to see if the crank would hold up). Right now the whole wheel's in the oven @ 250° farenheit. I used some sculpey to try and make the bump on the back of the wheel nice and sturdy. Why I did this instead of just cutting off the bump is beyond me, but I did so oh well, will wait and KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151656341399361932006-06-30T01:29:00.000-07:002006-07-26T05:34:30.586-07:00Well it turns out a scanner works pretty well for close up detailed pics of fiber. So here's a looksie at some of the mawatas I stretched and dyed from bombyx cocoons. You can click them for a closer look:).I love the way the colors look together, but that's personal preference. Now imagine me fitting the wheel in progress onto the bed of the scanner. Now imagine the scanner breaking :P.KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151313575081924212006-06-26T02:12:00.000-07:002006-07-26T05:34:18.946-07:00If You Think I'm Crazy, Check Out These Links!I'm pretty sure anyone reading this blog would think I'm completely mad! So I decided to share a couple of links with you...$2.50 Spinning Wheel and $10 Spinning Wheel. So if I'm off my rocker, so are those folks :D Yeah we're crazy, crazy like foxes:PCheck it out, I'm so close to finishing the base and whorls of my wheel I can taste it! It's not KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30219746.post-1151200525497981002006-06-24T18:40:00.000-07:002006-07-26T05:34:07.653-07:00About me, Well, I'm in the process of building a found items spinning wheel. It does include purchased pieces, but 99% of the project is made of found parts. I have an absolute ton of acrylic sheeting, so with the help of my trusty wishes it was a Dremel I'm fabricating almost all of the would be wood parts out of acrylic. Spinning is kind of a funny craft/hobby/artform. In theory, you KnitWitnoreply@blogger.com0