# Here she is! My first running Spinning Wheel, Pearl!



## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

I want to introduce my long anticipated spinning wheel, she is my second one. I don't know her age but she spins wonderfully and was a bargain I could not pass up! With a good cleaning and oiling...she has a lovely finish! She does have a few little quirks which I can work with while spinning. When I picked her up a week ago, she was not a working wheel at all, the footman was not the right length and not original...I crocheted one and that was an easy fix. She had been a display wheel for more than four decades. The Mother of All was stuck in the bench and pushed too far forward, hence that light area on her bench, so I carefully eased it out. I then shaved down the two side walls carefully and she slid right back in! Under her bench there is a round piece of wood that tightens up the Mother of All. Because she was forced forward too far, there is a chip in it but it works great.The adjustment nob was stuck also, I had to firmly but carefully undo that. It is in perfect shape so that is cool as I was worried. So I greased it and put it back in. The beautiful flyer's rod was an inch too wide for her but I instinctively knew....that I could work with it.. I took the one winged flyer from my first wheel, Tilly and removed the wood part then replaced it with the great two winged wood piece onto that rod...perfect fit. So I have a rod left with no flyer on it....which is fine because it may come in handy someday. Then I used that bobbin and that whorl that came with the first wheel's one winged flyer also. The lovely flyer had two perfect arms but they were a little too long. My son cut them back just enough. I will stain the ends and then you won't even know. Boy does that flyer spin well. Because I used the bobbin from the first wheel, with the arms trimmed down that little bit, it winds on that bobbin perfectly! The grooves on the wheel are very deep, she never even throws her belt! There is a little wobble in the wheel I am working on that part next. her wheel is 24 inches in diameter and there is 9 inches between the wheel and the flyer. This makes for a great amount of work space. She has a long bench, very solid legs, support for the wheel and the adjustment nob. This one is built very strong. The only repair on her was to the hub of the wheel. The wheel spokes are perfect, the outer part of the wheel is in wonderful shape and I am very happy with her!

I kept my little flax wheel Tilley and will work her back into running shape someday permitting I can fit a flyer I received to her. I have to get the new leathers on her first. She has a very smooth pedal to her but that one winged flyer did not line up and the one I just combined does not line up either. The rod was the right size but whorl and the flyer grooves were off a lot for her dainty 20 inch diameter wheel. If the flyers I got do not fit Tilley, I will keep looking..she is a darling little wheel. 

Here is Pearl! She is so much prettier then this pic and a workhorse wheel. She is not dainty at all! Even the pedal is in very good solid shape...Her finials on her maidens are just perfect.... She took hours and much adjusting for me to figure her out...but we are now at one with the spin! :bouncy










My first yarn! Yay! This sized spool with thin yarn will hold about 120 yards. I spun up some very thin Romeldale last night...I have spun 3 skeins with her so far!


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## Tromp (Aug 24, 2015)

Beautiful wheel Romy! Nice work on the yarn too. Keep it up!


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Tromp said:


> Beautiful wheel Romy! Nice work on the yarn too. Keep it up!


Thank you so much Tromp! I do like how she looks....


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

Where was this one made? Any history?


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

All I know about her is that she was a display wheel for over 4 decades and prior to that she was bought at an auction as an antique wheel by the lady's Grandfather. She told me she grew up with the wheel as something nobody was allowed to touch. I have no idea of her age, she is built very strong and has an unusual amount of room between the wheel and the flyer..9 inches seems a lot. A wheelwright told me she is unique design due to the amount of wood used to construct her. The wheel is big, the bench is larger and longer, the legs are thicker and so is the support for the wheel to sit on. The pedal is very solid. Nothing about this one is dainty.  If they referred to a wheel as a guy, this one would be it. My other wheel is so much smaller with less than 4 inches from the wheel to the flyer. There is so much less wood used to construct her as well. I have been looking at some larger wheels made in Canada and wonder....She has quite a spin to her.  That flyer sure moves fast.


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

Wow Romy!!!! Pearl is even more beautiful on these larger pictures! (than I get on my phone - LOL!) I love the solidness of her and all the curves.


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

COSunflower said:


> Wow Romy!!!! Pearl is even more beautiful on these larger pictures! (than I get on my phone - LOL!) I love the solidness of her and all the curves.


Why thank you Kim! She is a big solid spinning wheel for sure and a great spinner! She sure dresses up my living room. I can't wait to see yours together!


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Here's a little something of interest. I noticed that my one leg felt the affects of all that pedaling. One thing about this wheel is that you do have to press the pedal and yes, I oiled her. However I just decided to switch legs, works like a charm! On the flax wheel I noticed it is like effortless to pedal but she has such a small wheel. So for those who have wondered about us spinners or crafters sitting on our behinds...this old wheel is about to transform my thigh and calf muscles...I love to craft for hours a day. I had no idea what good exercise this is for my legs! Oh how do you tear yourself away from your wheel? LOL


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

romysbaskets said:


> Here's a little something of interest. I noticed that my one leg felt the affects of all that pedaling. One thing about this wheel is that you do have to press the pedal and yes, I oiled her. However I just decided to switch legs, works like a charm! On the flax wheel I noticed it is like effortless to pedal but she has such a small wheel. So for those who have wondered about us spinners or crafters sitting on our behinds...this old wheel is about to transform my thigh and calf muscles...I love to craft for hours a day. I had no idea what good exercise this is for my legs! Oh how do you tear yourself away from your wheel? LOL


A very unanticipated bonus is that when I got up this morning...my legs which are normally a bit stiff...I just walk that off...weren't! They were happy legs today which means...Pearl is therapeutic....Yay!:hysterical:


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

I had found a flyer for the little flax spinning wheel, Tilley. Then I was having an issue with Pearl last night after removing the fragments of a pin that was lodged inside where the adjustment handle screws in. Now it goes all the way in and the MOA goes all the way forward. So being that the flyer width is the same on both, this is weird....1/4 of an inch difference is all, I can use this flyer on both of them! I spun up a skein of lace weight yarn with Pearl using the flyer I had picked up for Tilley all without even a belt adjustment. The flyer is a GEM! I will post pics in a while.


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