Let’s face it, spinning wheels are not inexpensive pieces of equipment and we all want our wheels to spin smoothly and easily. As with any good tools, a bit of regular maintenance will keep your spinning wheel operating at peak performance for a long time. Depending on how much you spin, you may want to schedule a regular wheel tune-up session once a year, twice a year, quarterly, or even monthly.

Here is a list of items to have on hand for tuning up your wheel:
1. A small soft bristled paint brush (used only for dusting).
2. A clean old sock, preferably wool.
3. Some good wood polish. I recommend Howard’s Feed & Wax.
4. A new drive band or the material to make one for your wheel.
5. A new Scotch tension band or material to make one (if applicable).
6. A soft rag.
7. Your normal spinning wheel oil.
8. A tweezers.
9. Beeswax.

First, use the paint brush to give the wheel a good dusting. A small paint brush is great for getting into any little carvings, dusting turnings, and cleaning out groove on bobbins and whorls. Don’t forget to dust the rim of the drive wheel, especially if the drive wheel is grooved. Pay particular attention to areas such as the places where the treadle bar attaches to the legs and other places where stray fibers may have gotten would around moving parts. If these stray fibers can’t be brushed away, use the tweezers to remove them.

Second, give all the wood on the wheel a good polishing. Just put wool sock on your hand, put the polish on the sock and rub your hand over the wheel. CAUTION: do NOT polish the rim of the drive wheel or get polish into the grooves of the bobbin or whorls. Also avoid getting polish onto the drive band, brake band or Scotch tension band. Doing so may cause unwanted slippage and it’s no fun trying to clean polish out of whorl grooves.

Third, carefully check all of the bands on the wheel. Replace them if they are showing signs of wear.

Fourth, oil the wheel. Before discussing where to oil, where NOT to oil is just as important: Never oil any part that has sealed ball bearings as oiling these can cause faster deterioration.

Points to oil (unless they have sealed ball bearings):
1. The axle of the drive wheel, or drive wheels if yours is an accelerating wheel.
2. The points where the treadle bar connects to any other parts of the wheel.
3. The bearings on the maidens.
4. The shaft of the flyer.

Wipe off any excess oil with a clean rag.

Lastly, if the connection between your footman and treadle is leather, treat the leather to a very light coating of beeswax to keep it soft and supple.