Thread: The latest spinning wheel fix

Memo to all the woodworking partners,
If your sig other joins any sort of fiberwork group. Wheels WILL follow them home. It'll start with one and slowly over time an improv collection of one offs, oddities and tools in need of a home will start to build.
Just a heads up.
I'll put up pics of my latest acquisition once the brass is a bit more polished.

But this little gentleman, ( I have no idea why I get the impression this wheel is male where my 3 are female. Sheer Whimsy.) was a request by a friend. Her husband started making it for her, but became unable to finish and passed away. Most of the pieces had been generally shaped and in place, if rather over generous in girth. ... Ok, it weighed a ton and needed some shape.

So after a significant weight loss program, Skew got down to the mechanics. The wheel flyer alignment was out, the wheel was out of balance until he trimmed it down, one of the maidens and one of the legs were trying to occupy the same hole in the table and effectively split the table in half, the flyer fell to pieces under it's first taste of centripetal force.... the list goes on. B's husband did an excellent job for a first attempt. But spinning wheels are one of those machines that seem simple until you get down to the mechanics. Then it's a whole lot of nuances and necessary accommodations in the human-tool interface.

But several months of weekends later he's pretty much there. A bit of fine tuning, bolt tightening, furniture polish and buffing to make him shine and he's ready to go home. It's been a long hospice but I think a good one. With care, this little guy will spin merrily for years to come.

Timbers are a mix of Blackwood, Tazzy Myrtle, Blue gum, American Oak (it's what we had on hand when the flyer fell to pieces) and an unidentified 'sort of like merbau but not merbau'. Finish is an orange shellac with furniture wax on top.