I am quickly falling in love with my wheel. What is your favorite wheel and why?

Comments

Tue, 09/29/2015 - 09:06

Xylem

My first wheel and still my favorite. Made in my home town of Dunedin, NZ in the 70's.

Tue, 09/29/2015 - 12:47

mneligh

My circa 1980 ST Louet S10 is both my and my daughter's favorite.  It's problem free -- idiot proof.  My CPW replica is finicky, falls apart, and has tiny bobbins.  (It also has a lot of miles on it.)  My ancestral wheel is heavy and sluggish.  I like my Louet Victoria when I travel, but it's double treadle, and after all this time on single treadle I prefer the single treadle.  The Irish tension S10 pulls like a race horse, and I'm used to that, even for delicate, fine yarns.  However, for the most delicate 2% such as Pygora I switch to the Victoria (Scotch tension).  Nomally, I keep the speed fliers and bobbins on the S10, but it is the only wheel that can accommodate the bulky novelty yarns my daughter makes me spin for her.

Stretchy drive belts are much easier to deal with than string belts -- they're more forgiving.  The Scotch tension brakes on the Victoria are a bit more fiddly than the simple band and screw of the S10.  I have sliders, not hooks, on both these wheels (I have a level winder for the S10 but don't use it as much) and prefer them to hooks.

My daughter is a novice spinner, and the slow speeds of the regular flyer and bobbin on the biggest pulley suit her just fine.

I have the distaff, and sometimes use it.  I also have the attached swift, and sometimes use it, although I like my 2 yard niddy noddy skeins better.

I especially like the half-pound capacity of the bobbins.

I do a lot of spinning demonstrations.  My Victoria lives in a backpack, which is fine for even small airplanes, but requires more packing and unpacking than my S10, which I  just strap into the passenger seat of my car and go.