# spinning wheels?



## au natural (Mar 8, 2004)

How do you decide what kind of wheel is best? Do different wheels produce different results? What is a double drive wheel?? 
I'm asking because there is a Kromsky Minstrel up for sale locally for $150.00 and I'm wondering if it would do anything different than my Ashford Traditional.
Is this worth looking into? Thank you so much.


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

I am not the one to ask because I keep finding ways to justify buying MORE spinning wheels. :teehee:

Others want ONE spinning wheel to do everything. :shrug: I personally REALLY enjoy wheels that are "niche" spinners and require ME to change in order to achieve different results other than their "default". 

For instance, my CPW (Canadian Production Wheel) spins fast and thin by default. Try spinning art yarn on him and you will lose your mind. 

My Indian Valley Indian Head Spinner spins fat, thick, low twist singles by default. Try spinning lace on her and you will also lose your mind. 

The Norwegian wheel spins fast and thin but not AS fast and AS thin as the CPW - but I can TRICK this wheel (despite the one whorl size) and make yarns of different grists and twists depending on how fast I move my hands and how slow I am able treadle. 

My Bluebonnet Wheel (folding travel wheel) does virtually everything - from monstrous rope to very thin - but then, she is a NEW/modern wheel with multiple whorls sizes to make changing the yarn you spin _easier_. AND, the MAIN reason I bought her was because she was a FOLDING TRAVEL wheel and far sturdier and easier to travel with than the other wheels. AND she has a Jumbo bobbin and Jumbo flyer and a ring orifice for spinning and plying crazy wild stuff. 

My Scottish Haldane Shetland upright wheel came to live with me because she is sweet, spins much like a CPW, AND she is historically accurate (enough) for the Celtic festival I spin at. :shrug:

So - like I said - I am probably NOT the one to ask. 

I do think that Ashfords are amazingly adaptable and most modifications and add-ons are compatible with all models. 

That is a heckuvadeal for the Kromski.


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

Is your Traddy double treadle or single treadle? The Kromski being a double treadle will have more "touch" to it and you will have more control as to stopping, starting, and speed of your spinning - which may or may not be an issue or an attraction for you.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

If its in good shape & working order that's a very good deal.
I agree with WWIH & am also not a person to ask about buying wheels. :hysterical:

Depends if you Traddy is single or double drive. Still at that price..... see what I mean? :grin:


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## au natural (Mar 8, 2004)

I didn't move fast enough.  It was gone before I could answer back. 
My wheel is a 1970ish single treadle. It was in pieces when I found it and I got to spend the time repairing, staining and finishing it.  Maybe I'm sentimental because it is the first wheel that I have spun on and owned. 
Anyway, I guess I was wondering what the different wheels did. I'm interested in spinning angora, wool, or whatever.  Flax sounds kind of fun too.  Will my single treadle be able to spin all of these fibers or will I "need" to look for another wheel?


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Try this thread!


http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/co...-explain-different-types-spinning-wheels.html


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Which wheel is "best" is determined by what you want it to do. Different wheels do produce different results. You can push a wheel outside of it's "zone" but the further out of the zone, the more work you have to put into it.

A modern wheel such as an Ashford Traditional can get accessories which will expand the standard range of yarn it likes to spin. You can get a lace flyer or a bulky flyer as well as such things as a Woolee winder and double treadle or double drive kits to fit on Ashford wheels. An Ashford Traddie is a good starter wheel, it will keep you occupied for several years most likely before you want to get another wheel.

Whether a wheel is a "castle" style wheel like the Kromsky Minstrel or the more traditional "saxony" style wheel such as your Ashford Traddie, doesn't really make much difference as to what type of yarn it wants to spin. They have similar sized drive wheels and whorls so they will spin similar. Get which ever one pleases you. 

The actual diameter of the drive wheel makes a difference. Big wheels pull more lineal length of drive band per rotation. Which means they spin the flyer faster than a smaller diameter of drive wheel. Which means you can treadle slowly and still get a lot of twist into your fiber. Canadian production wheels have a huge diameter of a drive wheel and a small whorl on the flyer so they spin really fast. Lots of twist is best for thin yarns, the fat yarns don't need as much twist. So, a Canadian Production Wheel spins thin yarn fast. It doesn't do bulky worth beans.

With a single treadle wheel, you only power the drive wheel when you're pushing down on the treadle. That means the wheel has to have enough momentum to pull it through the rest of the rotation and get the treadle back up to where you can push down on it again. With a double treadle, you can push pretty much throughout the rotation of the wheel so it doesn't have to have as much momentum. You have a bit more control with a double treadle.

With a single drive, you have a Scotch or Irish tension to make the bobbin spin at a different speed than the flyer. Since you're slowing it down by friction, you have to work just a teeny bit harder to make up for the friction. But, you have a wider range of choices since you can adjust the tension to where ever you want it. With a double drive wheel, the speed difference between the bobbin and the flyer is pre-set and you can't adjust it much. Usually a double drive wheel will only have one drive band that is looped around twice to get the "double".


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Au Natural I also have a Traddy that same vintage, it was my first wheel too. I LOVE you my wheel and think that Traddies are one of the best wheels on the market. As WIHH said Ashford wheels are all so adaptable. You can buy new bits and pieces to add and tweak it. I have a high speed flyer for mine so I can spin super fine yarns. I have 3 other wheels but really if I only had the Traddy I could do everything with it I can with all the others, except fold it up. Obviously I'm a bit partial to my Traddy.


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