Thread: balance jig

Originally Posted by Kathyscott

I need to balance drop spindles I make- is there a jig or something to do this?

The equipment to dynamically balance things like car tyres are expensive and unsuitable for your purpose, anyway.

I'm not aware of any small scale device or jigs (but they may exit) that would do or assist you with this.

If I was to do it manually I would spin and observe the wobble then apply some Blu-tack to counter the wobble. Then spin and observe again and adjust the position or amount of Blu-tack and keep repeating this process until I got balance. Next step would be to remove the Blu-tack after marking its position on the spindle and weighing it with sensitive scales. Then replace the Blu-tack with whatever I will use (eg thumbtacks) to permanently balance my spindle with the same weight and position as the test piece of Blu-tack.

All the best in finding a ready solution.

Eli Avisera, the master turner from Israel, has a very simple technique to support and balance very thin spindles. I could not even turn something that delicate myself, but I have seen him do it at a Masterclass at the Queensland Woodturners in Pine St Greenslopes, Brisbane.

He turns a piece of timber with an M2 (or whatever your lathe uses) at one end, then it widens out to a cup with four nails pinned into the edge. On the nails he winds a waxed linen thread, which loops around the spindle and supports it. I'll post some images. BUT, these are Elis's ideas not mine so please acknowledge him if you use the idea.

IMG_2556.JPGIMG_2555.JPG

The end of the spindle is housed inside the cup, with the thread supporting it. Works a charm. I have seen other people use their fingers!

I don't understand how this works/ is used!

Originally Posted by Kathyscott

I don't understand how this works/ is used!

I think that Xanthorrhoea has assumed that you are looking for a jig to hold your spindles while you are turning them. I assumed that you were looking for a way of balancing them after turning them.

That's amazing, thanks for the share!

DN
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Splitthelogs.com

Originally Posted by Kathyscott

I don't understand how this works/ is used!

Here's how http://eddiecastelin.com/yahoo_site_...t.54183933.pdf

In addition to an end support, you can also make C shaped intermediate supports (with similar nails and string support) too, that bolt down to the bed. Some examples are shown here String

Hi Kathyscott,
I have made 100's of Drop Spindles, 2 piece, & have never had to balance any of them.
If you have the right wood, no Knots, there should not be a problem.
I make them from all sorts of wood, being heavy & light wood, big 3in. & small 1½in. for Cotton.
Have never had a problem selling them either.
Went to a wool show many years ago, took 26 Spindles, sold them all on the Fri. & had to take orders as well.
I have always let the Ladies decide what they want, but in latter times they asked what weight they were, & again I said it was up to them, as I just make them.

What sort of balancing issues are you having? Come to that, what type of drop spindles are you making? (Just me being curious. )

If you're selecting the timber for the whorls carefully, they shouldn't be unbalanced and most of any wobble is from the shaft and how you've designed the 'hook' end. I call it the hook end even though on many types of drop spindles there is no hook at all.

Even if you have take the time & effort to perfectly balance it, in use there'll almost always be a 'top-end' wobble, because the hooked end of the spindle is very, very rarely centered immediately under the end of the attenuated fibre. This is 'cos most drop spinners loop the fibre so it's laying along the side of the shaft end.

I've offset the hook ends, etc. so that it will centre the thread... but in practice it's so fiddly to use that the user reverts to old methods. Who wants to attenuate yarn for 30 seconds, wind on for 5, then spend 2 minutes recentering the thread before the next draft?


But if you make jig that is basically two dead-straight knife edges that are perfectl level and parallel to each other, then you can rest the spindle on it - one end on each edge - and it should roll so that the heaviest side is to the bottom.

Remove some material from that side (drill a small hole, sand the rim, whatever your method of choice is) and test again. Rinse and repeat until no matter how you place it down it no longer rolls.

Be aware that a poorly made or even slightly out-of-level jig can make a beautifully balanced spindle roll and appear to be unbalanced in this test! (The attached pic is the type of jig I mean, but this is for much larger pieces of kit, such as electric motor rotors. You'll want something a tad lighter I think, although this one works quite well with drop spindles. )

When I made them I cut the disc drilled a hole in centre, I then cut bandsawed shaft blank.
I then turned the shaft to a tough cylinder and sized shaft for whorl hole 7mm leaving a shoulder for whorl.
Then removed from lathe and glued whorl on and left to dry
The next day I turned the drop spindle between centres
I used European beech and they weighted 32 grams
I delivered 20 to the guild and he had his scales ready and said they were the best he had bought on the south coast after he randomly test some
This is just my process that worked for me
If it's turned on centre with seasoned quality timber it should be balanced