# Wheel Purchased today



## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

I purchased my wheel today
and I will post pics as soon as I take them.

It has a hinged MOA as a way of tensioning and is a 
single drive. very very cute!

Smooth operation. What kind is she?


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

could it be an early Thumbelina?

These Thumbelinas were made by Baillie and Watts under the name Sleeping Beauty, probably in the 1970s. The mother-of-all is hinged to adjust the distance from the drive wheel. The bar that supports the treadle is attached to the front legs by a metal hook-and-eye.

The second picture (of a different wheel) shows the little lever at the back of the mother-of-all. It is turned to the side to release the back maiden for removing the spindle to change bobbins. The flywheel is made of a composite wood.

Thumbelina by Omana Industries Later Thumbelinas were considerably re-designed. One bought in 1978 - the instructions with it say "Thumbelina Mark 2 (1978)" - is almost identical to the ones shown here except that it has no label, and a screw-and-spring joining the treadle to the footman. The drive wheel is now solid wood, the turning is more elaborate, the mother-of-all is a different shape and the legs are not so splayed. The little pedestal on top of the table has gone. It seems that Baillie and Watts redesigned the Thumbelina at this time. Thumbelina by Omana Industries

However, the shape of the treadle, the groove(s) around the face of the wheel, and the orifice passing through the front maiden are all the same as the earlier Thumbelina. The two wheels pictured here are probably by Omana Industries, as they are identical with the one shown in their leaflet, even down to the metal plate on the front which says "Sleeping Beauty/a craft product/made in New Zealand".
More on Sleeping Beauty wheels


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

It looks like it is missing the flyer whorl. It should be attached on the axle with the bobbin, sitting at the open end of the flyer. This assumption is based on the amount of room left on the axle. Do you have this part somewhere?

Does the knob on the front maiden turn to adjust the Mother-Of-All up and down?


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

This is all I have and I watched the previous owner spin this yarn on it. I asked about the flyer whorl and she said this one did not use one. You put the drive band in the groove on the bobbin.

The mother of all is hinged and the knob on the bottom adjusts it up and down.
the little know on the front, on top, by the orifice is to hold the flyer assembly in, like the band on the louet.

This lady has 4 other wheels and is not a novice spinner.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Is it a bobbin lead, like the Louet? Looking at the Louet, it has the band around the bobbin-
http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/wheel-drives.shtml


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

Could it be a bobbin Lead wheel? and the knob on top by the orifice is supposed to increase or decrease the tension on the flyer for uptake of yarn?


_
Bobbin Lead Wheels
The Louet spinning wheel is a good example of a bobbin lead wheel. The whorls are located on the bobbin instead of the flyer. The drive band goes around the drive wheel and one of the bobbin whorls. There is a single leather brake band that lays across the end of the flyer. It has an adjustable sleeve that can be tighten or loosened, to control the speed of the flyer. Bobbin lead wheels are a good choice for a beginner spinner. The tension is easier to control, and there is more traction created by the force of the drive wheel, which allows heavier, bulky yarns to wind onto the bobbin. _


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

great minds thinking alike here, lol


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

My first thought was a bobbin lead, but with the extra space on the flyer axle and no brake band for the flyer, I started thinking it was missing a whorl.

Alright! I'm seeing it now. I didn't notice the knob below the MOA to tilt it. And it makes sense that the knob on top of the front maiden is the brake for the flyer.


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

I don't take very good pics. Have been working with it and it gets an amazing amount of twist in just a couple of treadles. I have to get to know when to draw and when to let it take up.

Good thing I have a lot of roving. Can I practice with store bought yarn till I get the hang or would it be better to use the roving?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Sure you can. But you will better understand the drafting and draw of the wheel if you use the roving.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

WIHH gave great advice- tension is the key! On my Louet, it takes only the tiniest amount of tension, and on goes the yarn. If you need more bobbins (can anyone have enough bobbins?) I would look at the Ashford trad's- they are reasonably priced, and readily available. So happy for you and your new wheel! A new baby in the house.....


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

When I teach student spinning, the first lesson is just treadling; getting to know the 'heartbeat' of your wheel. The next lesson is in 'attitude'; tensioning the bobbin/flyer for the uptake of the yarn.

I use the same method that WIHH mentioned, but longer than 5 feet (a bobbin full!) Tensioning changes as more yarn is on the bobbin. This also helps teach you to change the hooks.


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

she is dry and dusty but I will be giving her a clean up with Murphy's and oiling parts this afternoon as it is too hot outside here.

Thanks for all the advice. I am sure I will be back with more questions.

What is a good DVD to get that teaches spinning and has good close ups of the work?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

WIHH Rita is just like that in person too! She is a fun teacher.


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## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

Congratulations on your new wheel! You asked whether it's a Thumbellina, and I see you've been to Mary Knox's site on New Zealand wheels (http://www.nzspinningwheels.info/). I own the wheel in the bottom two pictures of her site; it's the later model of the Thumbellina. Although she says there was a major design change to them, I doubt that yours is a Thumbellina. There's no table on yours, and all that turned work on the bottom just doesn't ring true in my mind for a Thumbellina. I was surprised to see in the earlier version the hinged mother of all, a feature of Ashford wheels. I suspect yours is made my someone who drew from a number of different wheels for inspiration. I agree with the earlier comments that it looks like it should have a separate whorl to make it a double drive wheel. If it's bobbin-lead what does the brake band attach to? It's a sweet wheel with lots of potential. Good luck with your spinning.


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

There is not a brake band just a drive band.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

If it was not bobbin lead, then shouldn't there be some gear for a brake- like the Ashford Trad, with fishing line or string? On the Louet, there is a leather brake band that goes over the flyer stem- not sure if it's called a stem, that is directly over the orafice. Have you tried spinning on it yet? 
Can someone tell us if all spinning wheels have brakes? Seems like they would, so where is the brake? Is it the knob that is just to the right orafice? Does that knob twist?


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

*The knob to the right of the orifice will come completely off and the piece of wood rotates so that the flyer comes off. The knob also services as a tensioning device.

Yes I have spun on it the lady I bought it from spun on it right in front of me. she has louets also and said that was the bobbin lead tensioning device.*


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

My Ashford has the hinged MOA and it an be raised or lowered to tension the drive band only (it is a single drive) but it also has a break band. While the drive band goes over the whorl the brake band goes over the bobbin and tensions the bobbin. MY Country Craftsman is a double drive wheel with the drive band that goes over the whorl (one of the two sides of the DD band) and the other goes over the bobbin. The MOA moves forward and backward to tension the drive band which tensions both the bobbin and the whorl and main wheel. I believe if this is a single drive there has to be a break somewhere on or near the bobbin.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

On the Louet, I suppose I would call the brake band a bobbin lead tensioning device. Interesting to see how many ways we can get the same job done! Sbanks, looking forward to seeing the lovely yarn that will come off your new wheel.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I think it's called "tilt tension(ing)"


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

In the 2nd & 4th photos, you can see a knob UNDER the MOA that tilts the MOA for tensioning of the drive band on the bobbin.

There is also a knob on the front maiden (to the right of the orifice) that looks to be the tensioning of the flyer.

With the amount of space on the shaft, if you could find a flyer whorl that fits this, you can easily turn it into a double drive or even a flyer led (Scotch tension).

But hey! If it ain't broke, why fix it??

I do suggest you put some sort of bearing on the axle to take up the extra space if you have problems with the bobbin traveling on the axle ... just winding some yarn around the axle to take up the space will do the trick.


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## sbanks (Dec 19, 2010)

Well, I have spun some coarse artsy yarn today while getting used to my wheel.
Having trouble with the bobbin lead/irish tension. Its the knob on front on top, the piece of wood has some leather that comes in contact with the flyer orifice and I believe it needs some new stuff as it just wont grab at all and so i have wrapped some fiber around for now and it is an on again off again relationship every time I change the hook on the flyer for bobbin wrap position.

thinking of cutting some spacers from dowel rod for the flyer shaft to see if that helps until I decide if I want to replace the whole flyer arrangement and set up scotch tension.

If yall have any ideas, I'm listening. Thanks for all the help and advice.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Would oiling the leather maybe help it to swell and provide more friction?


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Does that wood piece on the front maiden lift off? Is that where the leather piece is? It shouldn't be hard to glue a new piece of leather over the old, or if there is enough leather, oil it up like Marchie suggested.

For a scotch tension, you would need to add a flyer whorl that is driven by the drive wheel and a brake band for the bobbin whorl. If you go this route, you could even make it a double drive by placing a continuous drive band around the flyer whorl, around the drive wheel, around the bobbin whorl, around the drive wheel then connecting.


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