# Which wheel to choose?



## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

All of this is WIHH's fault, she showed that picture of her CPW and now I just gotta get one! Of course it would have to be something common on the other side of the planet and unheard of here, but what's life without a little challenge?

So, after hours of online slogging, it's down to two and possibly three Canadian Production Wheels. (Also known as Quebec wheels or Tilt Tension wheels) One of them is in Canada and the folks were going to box it up and send it to me, but I've not heard from them for almost a week, so that deal may have fallen apart. They are in Canada and Canada Post is insanely expensive to mail a large package from there to here. Like over $1K expensive to mail it. So, I think that deal is in limbo if it isn't already dead. The wheel isn't expensive, but the shipping is. It is also a screw tension wheel instead of a true tilt tension so it's almost but not quite an official CPW. So, that's deal #1

The second wheel is $250 and looks like it needs a bit of work:









Do you think the wheel is rubbing on the base or is that a trick of the camera angle? Well, even if it does, it's fixable. This one is close enough to my brother's house that I can probably talk him into going over there to get it and box it up to send to me. Merely $250 for the wheel and $150 for the postage. That's deal #2.

The third option is to just suck it up and pay $500 for a reproduction CPW, but that would be $500 for the wheel and then $150 for shipping and I'd not be able to get it until we were on vacation this summer since the seller won't pack and ship but would hold it for me until we got there. So, that's deal #3. A plus on this one is that it would use Ashford double drive bobbins. I have loads of single drive bobbins, I don't know if they are interchangeable or not.

Any one with any thoughts on which would be the best way to go?


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

The Ashford bobbins aren't interchangeable, on Ashfords. Idk how they would or wouldn't work on other wheels.

Overall #2 sounds the best to me.




P.S. Im looking for a CPW. I blame her too! :hysterical::bow::heh:


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

What area are you in? I could forward all the ones I find in your area. Most folks won't ship them and I can't get to the mainland to pick them up.

I'm looking for one with the metal foot treadle (the Christmas tree pattern would be awesome, but I'll settle for the "regular" cast iron treadle pattern), one that has the metal MOA connector or at least a tilt tension and one with a little bit of lathe work on the spokes. Translate that to "I want a pretty one". It would also be nice if it worked! But that is probably fixable.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Thank you Hotzcatz!

Im in Az. I might have found one on Ravelry. Shes going to see if she can sell it at an event that's coming up in her area. If she cant, then she will sell to me.

Im not looking real hard. I just liked the one on Rav. Plus she doesn't really want to ship & is going to tack on an extra $2-300. Im still kinda thinking it over.

Im betting its gonna sell at the event though.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

hee hee :teehee: I am just here to help you spend your money! :teehee:

I have to say- I think it was FRAZZLEHEAD that is responsible for all this- since it was SHE that posted a picture of HER CPW and got things rolling. 

#2 sounds and looks like a really good possibility, HotzCatz. Photos can really be deceiving and I sincerely DOUBT that the drive wheel is dragging on the table. Have you posted that photo on CPW Lovers on Ravelry? With the three quilt rim and double beaded turnin and the two supports (I see a near side one so that likely means there is also a far side support) the Fleur de Lis treadle, and the Jetson spaceship finials, with my rudimetary understanding of wheel makers- I would suspect that is a Laurence wheel. 

And it looks like it is in good condition- for the old man that he is. I would hope you get pics of the flyer and the bobbin and the whorl since those are the things that takes a beating and can be more costly to replace/repair than anything. 

Personally,I would hold out for the tilt tension rather than the screw tension- it s just such delight to only have to "tap" the maiden for a little more tension- I love it. And to me, thats part of what makes a CPW a CPW. And a metal treadle. 

Good luck with this new excting addition to your wheels!

I LOVE my "Vrombisassantes vieux grincheaux du Ste. Hyacinthe avec un poulet l&#8217;ecrou". 

Little known fact: You can actually feel a backdraft from these large 30" wheels when you spin. Instant air conditioning!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I love threads about "which wheel should I choose."  

WIHH...I have the sneaking suspicion that one day we will allll have CPW! 

I miss Frazzlehead. I hope she is okay.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

Kasota, I am sure she is fine. Just finished up another book? I think, several patterns, and is in the middle of springtime farm chores and farm babies!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Back online again, yay! Apparently the cable wire did something evil at the pole so it wasn't even our fault. But the cable went down for several days in the middle of trying to acquire a CPW, ack!

However, in those several days of downtime, I've not heard from the folks in Canada who were supposed to have had the wheel boxed and were going to find out how much to mail it. It's been about a week now since the last I heard from them, and the two small inquiries for updates that I had sent have still not gotten a response. I'm guessing the deal isn't happening anymore. 









Wheel #1

The picture is really small, but I think that this is a screw tension wheel so maybe if the deal falls through it will be okay.

On wheel #2, which is pictured in the first entry of this thread, I'd contacted the seller and gotten a reply from her before the internet went down, but hadn't gotten a phone number. Fortunately, I don't believe in "the cloud" and try to keep everything on the computer and not out in space, so there was enough information to pass to the youngest brother to go on the hunt for me. He doesn't have wheel #2 yet, but he has contacted the seller who is saving it for him. Yay! So, Monday or Tuesday he's planning on going to get the wheel. Then it needs boxing and mailing. Anything other than the US mail will cost way to much so it has to be boxed up in a box smaller than 31" x 31" x 16". Even then, it's gonna be $135 to mail it. UPS Ground (if that's even an option) is $390. FedEx is $330, if ground is an option, otherwise it will be more. So, hopefully, he can fit it into a box acceptable to the US Post Office. I need to go find at least a case of macadamia nuts to sent to the youngest brother. 

So, it's not a done deal yet, the wheel's not even officially acquired yet, but it is looking very promising.

On wheel #3, it's still listed for sale on eBay and there's no bids on it yet with a day and a half to go. Merlin Tree on eBay It's a repro CPW and has Ashford bobbins, although possibly not the same type that I already have. The price is rather a bit high, but it's a new wheel and if everything else falls through, it could be picked up on vacation this summer, although it would still cost $150 to bring it back on the plane. 

So now it's all Frazzlehead's fault?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Aha! _*And it is Door #2!*_ The youngest brother went holoholo this afternoon and gathered it in! Woot! It is now at least in the family. He wants to box it up and get it out of his house right away so he's hoping to send it on within the week! Yay! He's not at all certain why I'd want such a thing and says it's the first spinning wheel he's ever touched. He said all the rest of them that he's ever even seen have all been in museums. Ha! Not that it matters, I've always pretty much been the crazy sister in Hawaii so nothing is new. 

He said the wheel diameter was 31". Were they ever that big? 

So, it's not here yet. It's not even on it's way yet, but it's most likely going to appear!

Thank you, Frazzlehead! Thank you, Wind In Her Hair, too! Next time you visit Hawaii drop in and spin a bit. There's always bunny hair around here and with a CPW maybe we can keep up with the little furballs now.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

yee HAW!!!! 

We were just down tidying the basement yesterday and I saw the crate my drive wheel was shipped in as well as the huge box that held the table, legs, flyer, etc. Wish I could get that wooden crate to you and yes, 29-3/4 to 31" is how big those drive wheels are. BIG!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Congrats Hotzcatz!!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Whoooo Hoooooo! What fun to have something so awesome to look forward to!!! 

I am so happy for you!!!! (((hugs)))


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Even after it gets shipped, it's gonna be weeks getting here. Sigh! It will go slow boat, no doubt. I really hope it gets here before our vacation! Otherwise our house sitters will have to pick it up at the post office. I'll have to give the post office a paper giving them permission, I guess, if it's not here before we go.

Still, I haven't a clue how to put on a double drive band and it will probably need a few more bobbins made. Looks like some sort of refinishing and refurbishing will be in order. What's the best thing to use to clean these up? Murphy's Oil Soap? Followed by lemon oil/beeswax? Are they finished with shellac? A lot of furniture of that era was finished in shellac. 

I'll see if I can find out things about Laurence CPWs, WIHH. How did you find out all the CPW stuff? And "Jetson Spaceship" finials? Whoot! What's with the "grumbly chicken nuts"? I should learn French, I guess if there's gonna be a CPW nearby.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

> "grumbly chicken nuts"


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

I dunno, it seemed something like that. I'm no good at French. If it were in Hawaiian I'd have a better chance of translation. How would you translate: "Vrombisassantes vieux grincheaux du Ste. Hyacinthe avec un poulet l&#8217;ecrou". "Grumbly Saint Hyacinth with chicken nuts? It's WIHH's wheel and she named it, so I dunno. I barely read enough French to decipher a menu, heaven forfend I should try to pronounce any of it.

I kinda like the idea of getting a nice breeze while spinning. I wonder if little cards could be clipped to the spokes like we used to do with bicycle spokes to get more wind going by? Summer is coming up and a bit of extra tradewinds might be nice.

Guess I should meet the wheel before it tells me it's name, huh? The Ashford Traddie here doesn't have a name but all the bunnies do so maybe the new wheel will get a name. Are all these wheels grumbly?


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

Vrombisassantes vieux grincheaux du Ste. Hyacinthe avec un poulet l&#8217;ecrou

actually means 

"Grumpy Old Man from Ste. Hyacinthe with a Chicken Nut" :grin:

He is a grumpy old man because, well, he definitely has a masculine voice that is sort of rumbly - like thunder - when he spins and he can be kind of crotchety and grumbly, but in an endearing sort of way. Right now he and I are having some disagreements about drive bands. : And he wants things HIS way. These wheels were made by the gazillions in the Ste Hyacinthe region of Quebec Canada and this guy has what is affectionately known as a "chicken nut" on his tensioning clam shell - the wing nut has a distinctively "chicken" shape to it. Can you see the beak on the right and the tail on the left?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

That is an odd nut indeed! Nothing like it in new nuts! Those two nuts are even decidedly different, too. The one on your wheel has big wide shoulders and the other more chickeny looking nut has very narrow shoulders. 

Now while I was looking for other pictures of oddball wing nuts, I somehow ended up on this page: antiquepatternlibrary.org which has fascinating really old patterns. Loads of crochet, embroidery, lace and cross stitch although there are also knitting patterns as well as a few really oddball things thrown onto the pile, too. 

Somewhere on the way to that page was someone who had a wingnut that looked like a turkey that had a "B" stamped on one wing. There was also a lot of wingnut jewelry, too, which I thought was a bit odd. But, if you have more wingnuts than CPWs, well, there's an option for extra chicken nuts.

So what do you call your wheel for short? Or is he formal and always require his full name?


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

hee hee I call him "Grumpy" or "Grincheaux". 

Those CPW guys and gals at ravelry are AMAZING - you will learn TONS about these wheels there.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I just found out that someone I know has a CPW sitting in their shed. Heaven only knows what condition it is. She's going to go out and look. She wants to just "get rid of it" and give it away. 

Oh heavens...


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Hi!

CPWs are awesome! The double drive band isn't hard to put on, its just one long band that goes around twice, one strand in the bobbin groove, one in the whorl.

And you don't need more bobbins. You need a ballwinder.  just wind off your singles to balls and ply from those, it is really fussy getting bobbins to fit ... I have expertly made spares, but I only ever use one. 

So which one did you end up with?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

"Grincheaux" at least sounds a bit more polite than "Grumpy", but doesn't your wheel speak French? I've started reading the CPW refurbishment thread, but it's ninety some odd pages long so it's gonna take awhile to wade through it. I also don't have the wheel yet so I don't know any specific problems yet. Looks like it's gonna need a lot of cleaning and probably some refinishing, too. Perhaps "restoration" would be better than "refinishing". I'll try not to take it down to bare wood if it has a finish on it. Shellac would be the most likely candidate for the finish if it's not had anything put on it since the day it was made. Were they all finished when they were made, though? 

Woot! Kasota! Are you gonna get it? How could you not? Yay!  (Ha, FrazzleHead & Wind In Her Hair Strike Again! Are they enablers or what?)

This is the one, Frazzlehead! 










Can you tell me anything from that picture? I don't know enough about CPWs to have much of an opinion on what I'm seeing.

No wheel yet, no name yet and all I have is this one picture which is the one the seller put on Craig's List. I've been really polite and not called the youngest brother to ask for a progress report, although I think I should call him this weekend if he doesn't get back to me before then. I was kinda hoping he'd take pictures, but I'm just glad he's packing and shipping it for me. He's not really exactly sure why I'd want such a thing, but he's willing to pick it up, pack it up and mail it to me in exchange for all expenses paid plus a lot of macadamia nuts.

From what I can tell from the poor picture, the wheel seems complete, well, at least the parts in the picture. The flyer is there and has at least one arm. All the spokes seem to be there, there seems to be some damage around the rim. Haven't a clue if it spins true or not. Haven't a clue if it even spins! But, it's a starting point and these things are eminently fixable.

I've never spun on a double drive, this should be interesting. If it ever gets here, of course. But it's gonna be several weeks in shipment, no doubt. Sigh! This is when folks around here always chime in with some sort of homily about "the Price of Paradise". Humpf!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Hi, Frazzle! Good to see you! We've missed you! 

Hotzcatz, I have no idea if I will get it or not. Probably not or at least not to keep. It kind of made me feel sad to think of a wheel languishing in a shed. Perhaps it is broken and beyond mending. Perhaps it's in awesome shape. I haven't a clue. If it's ok or fixable I'd love to get it into someone's hands who would do something with it rather than have it succumb damp and rot. I honestly don't have room for one. 

I am in the market for a wheel for my sister...so I keep sleuthing.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

CPWs dying in a shed! Oh, the horror! Gather it in and post pictures here and on the CPW thread on Ravelry. It will find a new home where it will be properly cared for. Maybe it will be waiting for you in your next incarnation when you have more room for spinning wheels. 

Hey, have your sister learn to spin on a CPW. And take videos, too!


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Kasota, Philip says I can have another spinning wheel if you decide to rescue that CPW but don't want to keep it... :teehee: I'm sure we could work something out for your work of rescuing it.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

> Hey, have your sister learn to spin on a CPW. And take videos, too!


Wouldn't that be mean? I have heard they are not for beginners. LOL! 

Svenska, if I can get my hands on it and decide there is no way I can cram a third spinning wheel into my wee home then you are at the top of the list! You would most likely make far better use of it than I would! My house is soooo tiny. The main floor is all of around 600 square feet and the second 1/2 story where I have my room is even smaller...and with the roof pitch there is only a section of about 5 or 6 feet down the middle where I can actually walk upright...and I'm only 5 foot 3.  

I just don't want it to die and ugly rotting death....


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Well, then give your sister your wheel to start on and keep the CPW for yourself. That should give your sister a reason to work hard to be able to upgrade. Or re-home the CPW with Svenska, she'd post lots of pictures of it!

I'm surprised you don't already have a CPW, Svenska!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

> Wouldn't that be mean? I have heard they are not for beginners. LOL!


 If she has never spun, Im not so sure it would be harder to learn on that vs. any other wheel. If she did learn on it, she might have a heck of a time with any smaller wheel after that. :hysterical::hysterical:
Those larger wheels spoil you once you get used to 'em.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

I am so looking forward to being spoiled! The poor little Ashford Traddie is so slow these days. Maybe I should make a smaller whorl for the flyer. Hmm, come to think of it, I could dig that lace flyer out of where ever it went. That would be a quick fix!

I learned spinning angora on a spindle, so the wheel was a treat after that. I'm sure folks have learned how to spin on CPWs, haven't they?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

PROGRESS!! The brother gathered up the wheel from a Craig's List seller a week ago. Then it sat languishing in his living room. He found a box for it, but the box wasn't big enough. So, this morning he called and said he had found another box. Yay! The magic shipping numbers are: 34" x 29" x 19". He says if the wheel is put in on a diagonal, then all the parts will fit into the box. AND the box will be an acceptable size for the US post office to mail it! It may be in the mail tomorrow! If not Friday, then hopefully on Monday. This sounds hopeful. It might actually get here at some point. Now we can hope it gets mailed tomorrow (or at least Monday) and we can hope it doesn't get overly squished in the mail. This is another one of those wretched lessons in patience. Ick!


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

So happy to hear progress is being made!


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

How very exciting !!! Thoes are gorgeous wheels !


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

So when do you think it will get there? 

I feel like I'm on maternity watch with a good friend who is about to give birth....


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Well, the new revised shipping report is that the second box he found didn't fit. Well, it did fit, but he didn't like the wheel at an angle. So he went out and found box #3. 31" x 31" x 13" and 42#, and according to the post office website, it should be just under $140 to ship it.

He mentioned it was "rough" when he was reporting about the boxing of it. Although I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that. But, it should be in it's new box and he said it was huge and taking up a lot of space in his living room and he wanted it gone. He was planning on mailing it on Monday since he didn't get it out on Saturday. However, I didn't hear anything from him about it being in the mail yet. Oh wellos! Sigh! More patience! I'll rattle his cage tomorrow and see if there are any further developments.

I'm hoping for a tracking number so I'll be able to "watch" it travel across the country, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna go by slow boat. It could take up to five weeks to get here.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

can't wait for the update. Aren't those CPW guys and gals on ravelry a hoot? Such a wealth of knowledge!!!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

They are amazing! There's another CPW which just popped up in Spokane, someone on the group is probably going to go rescue it from it's Craig's List seller and redirect it to a spinner. I guess folks use them as decorative items or something. Why anyone would want a spinning wheel to just look at and not play with, I haven't a clue!

I'm expecting to get tons of information about the wheel when it finally gets here and can be photographed properly. So far I only have one terrible photograph to look at and the yougest brother's assessment of "it's rough". Oh wellos! It was one I could get shipped to Hawaii, that really limited the choices. 

As far as spinning wheels go, though, the CPWs seem like a fantastic deal. You can get them in Canada for a couple hundred or so. What other spinning wheels can you get for that amount? Even used Ashford Traditional (about the most common spinning wheel on the planet) is going for more than that these days.

How did you get your wheel, WIHH? Did the CPW group help?


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Ya'll are making me wish I had space for one.... lol!!!


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/country-homemaking/fiber-arts/499703-look-whats-coming-live-me.html

actually it just fortuitously kind of just fell into my lap 

no one was more shocked than I was. Well, maybe Cabin Fever was. 

I had drooled over Frazzlehead's CPW posted here on HT and I had recently made the *MISTAKE* of venturing over there to the CPW ravelry group...

...an insidious seed was planted, germinated as I slept, and began to take root.

And on one fateful early morning, I saw an add POP UP on ravelry that literally made my eyes pop out of my head . 

I read the ad - then I shouted to my sweetheart in the other room -* 

"HONEY! I THINK I AM SUPPOSED TO BUY THIS WHEEL!"*

so I did. A new spinner had bought the wheel, from someone in Massachusetts? Vermont? had it shipped to Wisconsin and realized it was much too much wheel for her or her home. I studied the pictures (for about 3 seconds) and knew this was the wheel for me. 

I spun a full bobbin or him last night in the time it took to watch an episode of Survivor. He is super sweet and super FAST. 

Last week before Shepherd's Harvest, I was suddenly having an issue with take up (not taking up aggressively enough)- so I changed drive bands (cotton crochet thread) and made sure the length was right and that his uprights were standing at attention at slightly less than "midnight". That way, I could tap and tilt the maidens back to tension to almost 10:30 position. STILL, I was having issues. So I changed drive band material to a linen band.

STILL issues. 

This weekend, I visited with a renowned antique wheel rescuer and she said - "Simple. Likely humidity issues. Beeswax the heck outa that drive band."

So, I did - and just like that - "voila" - as they say in Quebec - :grin: - he is spinning and flying and taking on again.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

You could probably use surf wax, too. Surfers use it so they won't slide off their boards. Comes in different colors (all of them pale) as well as different scents. I'll have to look at them at the hardware store next time I'm there, maybe it would be good to wax the string on the Traddie, too.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

HOUSTON! We have LIFTOFF! 

The CPW has left the building! 

There is a tracking number! 9114901230801644170043 USPS Tracking

So, the package is huge, 31" x 31" x 12". The wonderful, helpful, ever so nifty youngest brother trundles it into the small post office near his house. There's two small post office workers there looking askance at him. Their first words were a wail of "that's too big to mail !". He kinda said something about he'd measured it and followed the directions online. So, they kinda rolled their eyes a bit, gave a big sigh and found a tape measure. It had an inch or two to spare! Aha! 

So, then the cry was "it's too heavy to ship!". He said, kinda sheepishly, it was only 42#. He helped put it on the scale since it was a bit large for the ladies to lift and when it was on the scale he couldn't see the postal worker anymore because the box was so big. He did hear muttering and a big sigh from behind the box, but that might have just been the wind from the open doorway. So, they made a tag, swiped his card and the box is officially in the mail. (WOOT!) Then one of the ladies asked if he could do them a really big favor and help them get it onto one of the roll around carts they have in the back. They brought it around, he put the box on the cart and they wheeled it off. Yay! (I really can't imagine a Craig's List seller doing all this, one really needs relatives for this level of determination.) That and a lot of macadamia nut bribes!

Expected Delivery Date: Wednesday June 4th. Yay! 

Although, I don't really expect to see it until about June 8th or so. It will (hopefully) arrive here before we go on vacation. Might be easier to leave it boxed up (sigh!) until after we get back from vacation. The house sitters aren't good with clutter. They box it all up and stick it in my sewing room and that's still three feet deep from last year's boxes of stuff. She's a darling and a much better housekeeper than I, although she did reorganize the linen closet and sorted everything by color instead of size. Oh well, I left it that way so she will be happy. I've just been washing and reusing the same sets since they've already been found.

Just as an odd fiber thought, aren't sheets amazing? Can you imagine the work involved in making them if you had to spin that much thread?


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Oh, Happy Wheel Shipping Day!! Wooot! 

What a brother won't do for Macadamia Nuts. If you ever need anything shipped from Minnesota let me know. I, too, can be bribed with Macadamia Nuts. hahahaha!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Macadamia nuts are sort of a universal bribe kinda item. We also have Hamakua coffee, which is better than that nasty ol' Kona coffee (that's on the other side of the island). We also grow vanilla and chocolate on the island, so we have lots of stuff for bribing folks.










I was at the hardware store today, WIHH, and took a picture of the surf wax for you. The stuff comes in different scents, too! Much more fun that plain ol' beeswax!

So far the CPW is still in Kansas, although it's moved from one post office to another. I'm hoping the size of it will motivate the post offices to move it out quickly.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

surf board wax - hee hee- whodathought! :hysterical:


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Does the surf board howl in pain when the wax is pulled off?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Hmm, you'd think the surfers would get their hair stuck to it occasionally, wouldn't you? Guess the wax never quite melts when it's in the ocean. Either that or surfers aren't as hot as they think they are. :hysterical:

Nobody ever takes the wax off or you'd fall off when surfing. Fiberglass is real slick when it's wet, so there's a layer of wax to keep surfers on their board. If it gets too much sand it in from being laid down on the beach or too grundgy, then they scrape it off and add more. I'm not sure if it's just scented paraffin, a mix of bee's wax and paraffin or exactly what it is, I'm more of a body surfer than a board surfer. It's much easier to just carry a pair of fins to the beach than to drag along a surfboard. DH, though, prefers kayaks. That's a lot more work than surfboards. They don't need wax, either.

I think I'll get some surf wax for the CPW when it finally shows up. Just 'cuz!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Tracking is still showing she left Lenexa, Kansas on the 24th. 

I have a vision of "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore...."


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Toto may not be in Kansas anymore, but we don't know where he went! It says "Depart USPS Sort Facility" in Lenexa, Kansas two days ago, but it doesn't mention where it's headed next. Probably somewhere out on the West coast to hang around until there's enough boxes to fill a container and then the whole container will be put on a slow boat to Hawaii. Ten to twelve days on the boat depending on if it was loaded in Oakland (further away) or Los Angeles. But, they have to fill up the container first. As well as gather up enough containers to fill up the boat.

So, let's see, it left Lenexa on the 24th. How long to drive to the West Coast with a semi-truck? Or would they put it on a train? Train by preference, I'd think? More cost effective, I'd think. Anyway, give it three days to get to the West Coast. So, perhaps the 27th or 28th, although I don't know if they work through holiday weekends. 

Then five to ten days to fill up a container. Split the difference and give them a week. So, it leaves LA (we're hoping LA instead of Oakland) on June 4th, even though they said expected delivery was June 5th. That would only work if there's an airplane involved. So, more than likely, it will arrive here around June 14th or so. We leave for a month's vacation on June 18th, so more than likely it will get here on the 19th. I'll write the house sitters a note so they will be able to pick it up at the post office while we're on vacation. (Sigh!)

I'm just trying to be pessimistic so I won't be disappointed if we go on vacation before it gets here.

Hey, the post office can automatically send emails when the package does anything. How awesome is that?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Ha! An email from the post office! The wheel has made it to SAN PABLO, CA 94806. Hmm, however that postal sorting facility is just outside of Oakland, so that will add three days to the delivery time. 

If it gets onto the ship, Maui, leaving today from Oakland then it will arrive in Hilo on Tuesday June 3rd and it will probably actually arrive here at my local post office on the estimated day of June 5th. That would be amazing! 

If it doesn't get on this week's boat, then it will hopefully be on next week's boat which is the Manoa. It would then arrive in Hilo on June 10th and make it out to our local post office by June 12th or so. Which is still before our vacation, but just barely. So there wouldn't be much time to work on it, let alone spin on it. Not that a week earlier will give that much time, either.

The internet is an amazing place! Several years ago tracking a box as it travelled across the United States would have been impossible. Now it's a routine matter and sent to your cellphone - if you have an updated enough cellphone, of course.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Whooooo Hooooo! Getting closer!! I so agree it is fun to track things...especially spinning wheels!!!!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Congrats!

I hope it arrives on the scheduled date!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

It looks like it's gonna miss the scheduled date, Pearl B. They logged it into Oakland about four or six hours after the weekly boat sailed. Oh wellos! 

That would have been on a boat which would have gone directly to Hilo, too, which would have been a seven day trip instead of twelve. However, there's another boat leaving tomorrow, perhaps it will get on that one. Which is a twelve day boat (probably stops in LA or Honolulu or both along the way) and if it gets on that one, it will arrive in Hilo on the 10th and I may see it on the 12th. Which is only a week past the due date, that's not too bad. 

We are 2,500 miles away from the mainland, it's sorta like living on the East Coast and having to ship EVERYTHING in from the West Coast or vice versa. Hawaii produces a little bit here and there, but mostly food stuffs although about 80% of what we eat comes from somewhere else. I don't know if mainland folks keep track of how far they are away from most things, it may not be readily apparent how far most things travel to get to the consumer. It's pretty obvious in Hawaii. Especially for things like spinning wheels and fiber equipment that just isn't sourced locally.

Although, historically speaking, how much of the basic daily tools were locally sourced? There's tales of folks taking their spinning wheels with them on covered wagons and such, so were they always made in one location? I'd expect most spinning wheels would have been made by furniture makers?


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

my understanding is that most of the gazillion Scandanavian wheels we find in these parts (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska) circa 1840s-1880s came by ship, packed in arch-topped wooden steamer trunks that had been made especially for the sea trip. The trunks stored the valuables of a family and space was tight on the ship - but that DID include the spinning wheel. Only the barest of essentials made the trip but that tells us just how important a spinning wheel was to a family. And of course, these spinning wheels came apart, stick by stick for the voyage. And these wheels were the ones that came here from Norway, Finland, Sweden, etc. I'll bet SvenskaFlicka wrote a whole thesis on these wheels in viking college.  

My understanding is that as soon as the pioneers hit the ground, they had to make up for the lost time in transit and spinning was a DAILY task. No time to waste waiting for a local craftsman (if one even existed) to turn out a spinning wheel! :shrug:

Oftentimes, wheels were made by fathers for their daughters as wedding gifts or were made by a local craftsman for the young bride. But back then, few furniture makers were that specialized.

It wasn't until later that the "industrial age" truly blew the top off of things are specialization began to take over.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> I'll bet SvenskaFlicka wrote a whole thesis on these wheels in viking college.


Nope. :awh:

There is a wheel from Sweden in my extended family, though.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I love the USPS site. "The item is currently in transit to it's destination."  Looks like it left SAN PABLO, CA today! 

Closer and closer!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Maybe it did get onto the boat! "Your item was processed through and left our SAN PABLO, CA 94806 facility on May 29, 2014 at 4:31 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

It went to San Pablo, off to Oakland, back to San Pablo and then the note above. Seems a bit odd, but maybe it missed a boat and had to catch the next one? I think it sailed on the Mahimahi since that boat left Oakland on the 29th. The Mahi is scheduled to reach Honolulu this upcoming Wednesday? What happens to the box, then? Do they leave it on the ship to go inter-island or do they put it on a plane?

One scenario would be the whole shipping container from the ship onto a truck for a several mile trip to the post office by the airport (which is Honolulu's main post office). Take everything out of the container, sort it and send it out to the proper islands. Would they put the container back on a ship or into a plane? I'd think Big Island wouldn't have that much of the whole Hawaii container since we don't have a whole lot of the population. Hopefully, it will be a plane. Air freight to Hilo, trucked to the Hilo airport post office on a little airport flat cart jobbie, sorted into the box truck that goes along the coast to our post office and voila! Spinning wheel! Woot!

So, the Mahi gets to Honolulu on Wednesday and it takes a day to get unloaded - so now it's Thursday. Does U.S. Mail get priority loading and unloading? A day to get the container to the post office, sorted and sent to Hilo (Friday), then sorted out to the box truck and down the coast the next day. Which puts it here a week from tomorrow. Hopefully, maybe!!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

I think it does. USPS is trying to compete with UPS & other same carriers to an extent.
If the sender paid for priority then I would think it does. I know I get 2 day priority packages all the time. USPS does pretty good living up to their priority delivery schedule.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

The package was too big to send it via Priority Mail and even if "Overnight", "Priority" or "Second Day" air is paid for, it still doesn't work to Hawaii. Regular mail takes three to five days to get here, pretty much no matter how it's sent. The wheel is going via container ship & either inter-island air (hopeful but not likely) or the weekly inter-island barge. The estimated delivery time was yesterday and still no update on the tracking number so I don't think it's gotten out of the container yet. Where ever the container is.

The Mahimahi should have hit Honolulu last Wednesday, it's scheduled to leave there later today, so hopefully the container that hopefully has the spinning wheel in it has hopefully been taken to the Post Office sort facility.

Although it's also likely (and probably more probable) that the container has gone on to an inter-island barge to get to Hilo. Hmm, that means they'd have enough Big Island stuff to fill a container in Oakland, though. Would they sort the stuff for different islands in Oakland, or send them to Honolulu to be sorted there? Most - I'm guessing 80% - of the "stuff" would stay in Honolulu, so it would probably make more sense to send everything there to be sorted and the stuff to the other islands sent out from there. So, there may be a day or two in sorting the containers and sending on the outer-island packages.

Also the spinning wheel is in a container, so it's probably not going to get the updates that a single box does. I've not gotten any updates since it left California on the container ship. Had it been in a container and sent to the post office sort facility in Honolulu, there should have been an update by now, so more than likely, it's still hiding in a container, tucked down among other boxes and is on a barge to Hilo.

Ah, - I just checked the shipping schedules - there is only one weekly barge to Hilo and that doesn't leave Honolulu until Sunday. So, I guess the wheel is hiding in the container that is languishing around on Oahu until Sunday. It only takes one day to get between Honolulu and Hilo, though. So, perhaps by next Monday it will have reached Hilo? Container from the port to the post office shouldn't take long and inter-island barges are much smaller than container ships, so they should have it unloaded in a day. Then the post office will sort and put the mail and packages out on trucks. Maybe I'll see it next Wednesday? Maybe late next week? The 11th is a holiday around here, Kamehameha Day, (Wednesday) so maybe there won't be mail delivery that day.

I think I can start clearing out a space for it now, though. I hope it's getting closer!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Oh, I hope she gets there soon!!!!! 

Where are you going to put her? Show us pictures of the spot you have picked out.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

It has been sheer and utter chaos! _And there will be house sitters in less than 72 hours!_ Ack! So yesterday, _of course_, my Darling Beloved Never-To-Be-Replaced Husband Who Is The Jewel Of The Universe decides to go to a yard sale and brings back a three piece bookcase/display unit/entertainment center. Which we literally do not have room for.










So, my fiber cabinet behind the spinning wheel is being replaced. Eventually, the fiber will live behind closed doors at the bottom. The top two shelves will at some point have glass inserts and there's two more sections of cabinet to show up. Sometime today, no doubt.










And the wheel is listed as the same as it was on May 29th, so no new news on where it is. It is looking like it may not get here until after we leave for vacation. Arrgh! Guess the house sitters will get to go to the post office or the post office will be mad at me for a large box sitting around for three weeks. Or maybe they will just send it back? Ack! Probably not that.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

Lenexa is only 1/2 hour from my house 

Maybe you should go bribe the post master to keep it sitting there before you leave?? Just in case


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Oh, no! I had so hoped it would get there before you left for vacation! Those bookshelves look awesome, though. I can see why he wouldn't want to pass them up. 

It appears that you have fibery stuff strewn everywhere. I am shocked!!! Shocked, I tell you!!!! 

:hysterical:


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Well, if that level of fibery things is shocking, I'll be_ very, very careful _not to post a picture of the wool stacked in the attic or hiding in the hall closet. :teehee:










We went past the seller's place today to see if the glass shelf inserts had appeared, but they weren't anywhere to be found. So, my DH nipped some glass louvers to the right length and as long as you don't mind glass shelves with a handy slot down the middle it's all good.










However, the shelves are all pretty much full of bric-brac so there's not much room for fibery things. Maybe I'll sneak some in later. There's still a bookshelf the same width as the display shelves and an entertainment cabinet which is wider. Guess that's tomorrow's mess. I'm hoping the house sitters stay busy in Kailua Kona until Sunday afternoon sometime.

There's a yellow "pick up" card at the post office today, but we didn't get there until it had closed. I'm kinda hopeful, but figuring it will probably be a false alarm since the website doesn't show it as processed past the "leaving San Pablo" part. Then DH tells me the yellow pick up card has been in the post box _for several days!_ Arrrgh! I knew I shoulda smacked him yesterday when he brought home that van load of stuff. I think tomorrow I'll just roll up a paper and smack him a dozen times first thing in the morning sort of as a preemptive strike.

Maybe I can find some wicker baskets to keep yarn in on the top of the cabinet. The plastic totes look less than pleasant. I do need a volume of space to put finished yarn and fiber in, maybe there will be room on the bookshelves when the next parts of this whole enchilada show up. There are also supposed to be solid doors on the lower half of the cabinet and glass doors for the top part. Dunno why they aren't there yet. Probably because we took all day off and went off to Kailua-Kona for an appointment and then did a major dilly-dally on the way back so we'd not have to clean house.

It might make a nice backdrop for the wheel, if that would ever get here!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Oh, I think we all really do NEED to see pictures of the attic filled with fleece and the hall closet! 

Hotzcatz fleece prepper in more ways than one.... hehehehe


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Well, this is the hall closet. It's mostly colored Merino fleeces, although I think there's some alpaca in there, too.










This is the attic, it's about three deep in bags of fleece. Some Merino, some Clun Forest, I think there's some Dorset or something else in there, too.










There's still another hall closet and a cabinet full of bunny fluff. The bunny fluff gets sent out for processing into yarn, although some of it stays here, too. Hopefully, with the "new" CPW, some of this fiber will get spun into yarn.

This is the current state of affairs and there will be house sitters arriving in about 24 hours.










I think we will have it to a manageable level by the time they arrive, but it's been a slog and we could still get rid of another eight van loads of "stuff". We've been taking it all to the local Buddhist temple for their summer rummage sale.

So, of course, in the middle of all this - finally! - there is a notice that the wheel is at my local post office and I can go pick it up!!! Yay!!! Well, *except,* that it is Saturday and the post office is closed until MONDAY. _The day AFTER the house sitters get here_, so unpacking and putting it together will probably have to wait until we get back from vacation. Sigh! BIG sigh!


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## BlueberryChick (May 12, 2008)

I wish I were your house sitter and not just because it's a beautiful place to stay in Hawaii. You could just bring that wheel home Monday and I would happily be your assistant while you put her together.

Happy spinning (in the not too distant future)!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Oh, my heavens! You weren't kidding when you said you had an attic full of fleece! Don't you just love it that you have an attic? lol! 

And the wheel is in Hawaii!!! Woooot! Bummer you will not be able to put her together until after vacation...but that will give you something to look forward to when you get back home.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Shootz, BBC, we seem to need a house sitter every year so it's not like this is the only opportunity. This house sitter comes with her own cookbook, but you can house sit without writing a book, if you want.










She's going to give a talk for a gourmet group on the Kona side and do a book signing, too, so she brought a big box full of books. That was the box I'd picked up at the post office earlier when I had hoped it was the spinning wheel. I think she will be able to write the whole trip off as a business expense. How kewl is that?

We added the attic stairs so we can access the attic easily, Kasota. We did that at the other house, too. For some reason houses don't come standard with pull down stairs. Dunno why, I mean, where else are they gonna stash their fiber? Could you imagine trying to stuff fleeces through those tiny square holes many attics have?

I did find out today that when the post office website says it's "at my local post office", they mean it's the one in Hilo. But, fortunately, I was at the post office when the truck arrived, so I was able to pick it up right away. Usually, they give you packages over the counter. Sometimes for big packages you go to the side door. For_ this _package, they sent me to the* back *door where they load the mail in and out. It went right from the truck, to the loading dock, to my van without ever actually going inside the post office. Perfect timing!










There. The box has arrived! My DH said it should stay in it's box and I should be doing all these things to get ready for vacation. Just little things like packing and such. Then he decided he had to go off to town and do a whole day's worth of stuff. Leaving me here with this box. Bwahahahahah! Ha! The house sitters are staying on the Kona side until Tuesday, so I couldn't think of any reason for me to resist getting it out of it's box.

So here's what it looked like with one side opened up:










The youngest brother did an _*amazing*_ job packing this up. The wheel itself had two plywood cross plate braces and the table was screwed in place with a little bracket he made that held the table, the wheel and the cast iron tilt tension device solidly in place. Even with the amazing packing, though, there was a tiny bit of shipping damage, but just a tiny bit, not too much at all:










However, it started out with quite a bit of damage so it will need a bit of TLC. The blue tape is the new damage, the other is old stuff. But fixing it should be easier than building new.










It went together pretty easily, although it's not officially together yet.










And where it will be once it's repaired. It can hang out and be decorative while we are away on vacation.










It's gonna need some extensive TLC, but it's fixable. Came with a lazy kate, too, which has three extra bobbins! That's a plus!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Whoooo hooooooo!!!! She made it! She made it!!!! That sure is a plus about the lazy kate and extra bobbins! Bummer that the wheel has the damage it does but I've no doubt you'll have her mended and spinning just fine when you get back from vacation. 

Congratulations! Don't you just love Happy Wheel Days???


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

so glad your Canadian Wheel made it it's Hawaii destination. Your brother DID do an amazing job of packaging her up for her voyage! 

Yes, the kind of TLC your wheel will need would scare off the average bear - but not you, hotzcatz. You can do it. :goodjob: I love it when an old wheel gets a new life.


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

GORGEOUS !!!! What a find !!! What a Journey !!! .....that would be a cool name , if you name her


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

I'm not even sure if she is a "she" or not yet and it doesn't seem quite proper to think of an official name until we are better acquainted, don't you think? If it gets a name at all, some wheels don't get names. The Ashford here is just generally called "the Ashford" or "the Traddie" or just "the wheel". Although now that there are two wheels, it may get it's own name, too. *It is very annoying to have a vacation right after getting a new wheel. Arrgh!*

It shouldn't take too long to get her functional and pretty again. I'm not sure if the wheel will have to come apart into pieces or not, but it might be easier to fix it if it is in pieces. There is an amazing lack of fasteners in this thing. The hub seems one unit, I'd expect that it had been cut in half at one time to make assembly easier, but apparently the rim comes into pieces. That isn't glued together but is pegged. There may need a bit of some sort of babbit bearings at the top of the uprights to align the wheel, which might explain why the tilt tension device was reset on the wheel's table at one point. I'm not sure which was the original location, perhaps the one in front that still has a bit of original finish under it? That would mean that the relocation happened after it had been in use for quite some time? Or the tilt tension was relocated while the wheel ws still in good shape.










One of the braces for the uprights was damaged at one point and that will need a bit of attention.










This damaged brace may be why the uprights shifted which may be why they reset the tilt tension device. At one point, the uprights themselves were damaged and then repaired.











Wish I knew more history on this wheel, but all I know is that it came from a Craig's List ad in the MidWest. I had to find a wheel that was in the continental U.S. because the Canadian Post rates to ship a package of this size were astronomical. It was a *huge *plus that the wheel was close enough to the youngest brother that he could pick it up and package it for me. (Amazing what a bribe of macadamia nuts can do, not to mention having competent relatives.)

So on vacation, I'll be able to start planning how to repair and refurbish the wheel. It will possibly have to come down to component pieces, we will see. Everything seems to be there, so it doesn't look like it will need new parts fabricated. Four screws, two bolts and a half dozen pegs seem to be what originally held this together. There doesn't seem to be any glue in it's original manufacture although some was added during repairs along the way. I'm not sure if the braces for the upright were originally nailed or pegged (I'm too lazy to go look at the moment) so there would be an additional two nails or two pegs. I think about half the repair of this wheel will be in undoing the previous repairs, but it is all fixable.

At the moment, a reasonable repair plan seems like:
1. Take it all apart making exhaustive notes about which part goes where. I don't think mixing up the spokes or rim pieces would be a good idea.
2. Clean and repair all parts as parts.
3. Repair the finish on all parts. It seems like shellac so that's an easy fix. Depending on how it cleans up, it may need a light coat of stain to even out the color of the parts, maybe not. Probably just use a darker shellac. I've got some Bysakhi as well as Kushmi button lac so one of those should make a nice evening finish for it. If you need shellac, check out shellac.net for some really reasonable prices on shellac flakes.
4. Reassemble and align the wheel and other parts.
5. Add any necessary babbit type bearings, probably reshim the tilt tension device, too. It already has one shim in it.
6. oil it and go! Woot!

Dratted vacations!


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