# Recommend a Plying Wheel



## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I'm on the lookout for a good plying wheel. I've got my Ashford Traddy for spinning, but I just don't care for plying on it, the bobbins are just too small. I thought about getting a jumbo flyer and bobbin, but then I'd have to be changing it, and really do not wish to do that. So I thought I'd see about picking up a 2nd wheel whose main job would be for plying. 

I've considered a Bluebonnet CraftyBee and Ashford Country Spinner, but I feel like pretty much any wheel with a jumbo flyer/bobbin combo would work just fine. I am aiming for a castle style wheel this time that could perhaps have traveling capabilities, though it's not absolutely necessary. Suggestions?


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

I can't speak as to the Crafty Bee but I &#9829; my Bluebonnet Thimble. She is a little workhorse - solid oak - and is a GREAT plying wheel and travelling wheel. I have done "Fiber sandwich" events and my friends with MajaCraft Little Gems were frustrated because their wheels were throwing their drive band offs left and right and I ended up doing the plying for several spinners. 

I do almost all my plying on her because she is scotch tension double treadle and I have the jumbo bobbin. I also love her because I can take off the flyer and then slip on a plastic weaver's bobbin on the shaft and wind off singles onto those for storage.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Changing from the regular to jumbo bobbin on my Traveller is easy. I keep the jumbo flyer on & merely change out the bobbins. There is a plastic bearing used in the jumbo flyer for when you are using the regular bobbin. 

Two regular Ashford bobbins fit quite nicely plied on the jumbo bobbin. 

My Ashford setup has DD & Scotch tension with the drive band in the back (sice there are various Ashford set-ups).

On the desktop, I have pictures of the various configurations of my Traveller's flyer/bobbin.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

FA, a jumbo flyer kit is a simple switch out, as MLF mentioned. And it's going to cost you about 1/3 or 1/4 of what another wheel will cost! You can also get the Jumbo Flyer with a separate front maiden: pull out the front maiden and your flyer, pop in the other maiden and the jumbo flyer, and off you go. Or you can use the jumbo maiden all the time with the bushing when you want to use the smaller flyer. Or you can not bother changing! Lots of options.

That said, if you want a really big bobbin ... look at the Ashford Country Spinner.  And if you want to travel with it, look at the Joy. The advantage of sticking with Ashford is that your parts would be interchangeable - you could put the plying flyer on either wheel.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Found them.

The Jumbo flyer kit consisted of a new maiden, a bushing, the jumbo flyer and jumbo bobbin.

This is the Jumbo flyer & jumbo bobbin












and the Jumbo flyer with the regular bobbin











Add the bushing to the near maiden and ....











you can also use the regular flyer and bobbin


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I learn so much from these threads. I feel like a sponge!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

If you Navajo ply, then the amount of fiber from one bobbin will fit on the next bobbin.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Very true, I did a lot of chain plying when I had just one wheel.


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your input!

I feel like I'm ready for a second wheel though. I've pretty much settled on the CraftyBee made by Bluebonnet. I've wanted one of their wheels for such a long time. I've compared other plying methods and the cost of just adding a jumbo flyer to my existing wheel. While they sound interesting, I can simply see the freedom a second wheel could provide. I have many bobbins of singles waiting to be plied. The difficulty in plying them on my existing wheel is the only reason they are just sitting there. Plus adding this type of wheel would allow me to try some of the more unconventional art-yarn spinning methods.

I'm not rushing into anything though. It took me nearly a year before I bought my current wheel! Yep, if there is one thing I cannot be accused of, it's rushing into things. LOL


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

The CraftyBee looks to be a nice wheel, but when I saw a closeup of that flyer, I have to warn you that any fuzzy, bulky, loopy kind of yarn is going to get stuck on those hooks constantly. If you could get another halo ring screwed permanently in place of them, then it would be a lot better.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Well, Falls-Acre, getting a CraftyBee because you want one is an entirely different kettle of fish than getting a wheel because you want a second plying wheel. Just wanting one is a good enough reason, IMHO, so no need to try being rational about if it will be a good second wheel for plying! You can get your third wheel for plying.  

Ever since WIHH (I think it was WIHH) posted that picture of her Canadian Production Wheel, my little ol' Ashford Traddie now just seems too small and slow. Sigh! Now I need a second wheel, too! (Anyone with a spare CPW they want to sell?) Must be the time of year or something.

Hey, IowaLez, that Restoration Seeds site is a good one! Now we have gardening enablers around here as well as fiber enablers! (Although, I suppose, with the right garden, you can enable both at the same time. More efficient, don'tcha know?)


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

I have a Traddy that has the jumbo flyer on it full time. I just switch whatever bobbins I want back and forth. It can spin whatever size yarn I decide to throw through it. I also have the Country Spinner. What usually happens is that I'll fill two jumbo bobbins on the Traddy, then turn around and ply them together on the CS. BUT, I have my eyeballs glued to getting a Crafty Bee somewhere down the line.....you can never have tooo many wheels! LOL


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I had some concerns about the CraftyBee, so I asked the maker about it. I mentioned that I'd really much prefer if it were made of Red Oak, like other wheels. He told me that the carving that's done on the CraftyBee is more easily done when it's made of Maple. Makes good sense to me! I also asked about those cup hooks and was told those are 1" cup hooks. At this point another person spoke up to say they'd only ever an issue when spinning bulky boucle yarn on it, otherwise it doesn't seem to affect it at all. I also inquired about the length of the bobbins and the amount of yarn they hold, cause I admit the photos are misleading and make the bobbin appear VERY shallow. Another person took some photos to show comparison between the CraftyBee bobbins and a Kromski bobbin. They are very comparable. It's just the width of the bobbin that throws the appearance off! The maker said the amount of yarn it can hold will vary with the weight of the yarn, however 2 regular bobbins of yarn will fit onto 1 jumbo bobbin, and 2 jumbo bobbins will fit onto the plying bobbin.


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