Choosing A Spinning Wheel
By: Llyn Payne 1/23/09

Ah! Spinning wheels! All spinners dream of finding the perfect wheel, the one that just seems to spin out miles and miles of wonderful yarns effortlessly. To find their dream wheel, many spinners post to various e-mail lists asking for advice about which wheel to purchase. And they get many answers, usually along the lines of “I love my (insert brand name here and highly recommend it)”. But all spinning wheels are not created equal so one spinner’s dream wheel may well be another spinner’s nightmare.

There are some things to consider before laying out a lot of money on a spinning wheel. Most of these things are personal considerations based on your personal preferences, your likes and dislikes, and on what types of yarn you prefer to spin. Fortunately we have a wide variety of wheels to chose from these days.

The first thing to consider is the appearance of the spinning wheel. Do you like the looks of it?
Your wheel will be sitting right in your line of sight every time you spin, so look for a wheel that you find attractive to look at. Some people like sleek wheels with clean, modern lines. Some like fancy wood turnings, carvings, and/or finials. Some like dark woods, some prefer the light woods. The appearance of the wheel will not make any difference at all in the way it spins, but it may make a huge difference in how much you enjoy using it.

The next thing to consider is the style of the wheel. There are two basic styles of Bobbin & flyer wheels: Horizontal and Vertical.

Horizontal wheels have the drive wheel and spinning head* mounted horizontally on a table or bench. These are usually called “Saxony” wheels. Vertical wheels have the drive wheel mounted either over or under the drive wheel on a vertical axis. These are called Upright wheels if the drive wheel is beneath the spinning head and Castle wheels if the spinning head is located beneath the drive wheel.

Most Saxony type wheels are set up with the flyer located to the left of the drive wheel. Because of this, a spinner who spins right hand forward may have to twist to the left side a bit to get a good length on the long draws. Some spinners find no problem with this arrangement, while some find it uncomfortable for long spinning sessions. It is possible to overcome this to a degree by setting the wheel at an angle while spinning but this tends to put a strain on the ankle and it will not work at all with double treadle Saxony wheels. If you spin right hand forward, try the Saxony models before buying and check your comfort level. If it is not comfortable for you and you have your heart set on a Saxony style, there are some manufacturers who will make a “mirror image” model for you. Mirror Image Saxonys have the drive wheel to the left and the spinning head to the right so right hand forward spinners can draft across their laps rather than off to the side.

Another important consideration is the type of drive system the wheel has. There are three systems:
1. Bobbin Lead.
2. Flyer Lead.
3. Double Drive.

A bobbin lead wheel is a single drive and it has one drive band which goes from the drive wheel to a pulley on the bobbin. The flyer is controlled by a brake band, an arrangement sometimes referred to as “Irish Tension”. The bobbin, being driven by the drive wheel, rotates faster than the flyer which is held back by the brake band. This arrangement gives these wheels a fairly strong take-up, sometimes to the point of giving the feeling of ripping the fibers right out of your hands. Because of this, these wheels are best for spinning thicker yarns.

Flyer lead wheels are also single drives and have a single drive band going from the drive wheel to a separate pulley which is mounted on the shaft of the flyer behind the bobbin. The flyer is being driven so it is turning faster than the bobbin. The bobbin is controlled by a separate brake band, an arrangement known as “Scotch Tension”. Scotch tension devices are quite sensitive to adjustment and allow the spinner a very high degree of control over the tension of the wheel. These wheels are good for spinning all sizes of yarns.

Double Drive wheels have one drive band with a figure 8 configuration which runs from a pulley mounted on the shaft of the flyer to the drive wheel, back to a pulley on the bobbin, and then back around the drive wheel a second time before going back to the flyer pulley. The flyer pulley is larger in diameter than is the bobbin pulley which makes the bobbin rotate faster than they flyer. While this effectively makes it a bobbin lead wheel, the drive band arrangement cancels the problem of too strong of draw in. These wheels have screw type arrangements to control the tension on the drive band, tensioning both the bobbin and the flyer whorls at the same time. Tension setting and adjustment can be a bit touchy as the adjustment is very fine.

*Spinning Head: The mother-of all, maidens, bearings and bobbin & flyer unit.

Coming next week: Further Considerations.