Well.
I've had Bessie for almost a week now, and we're getting along fine.
When I tried to adjust the flyer to use the higher ratio, the cotton drive band seems to have stretched, which supports my theory that she was bought long long ago, used once or twice if at all, and stored. (The turning is a simpler design than current Ashford Traditionals, and while there is a stamped brand name, logo and country of mfr., there is no serial number, date or any other indication of when it was made.) I managed by putting a whittled wooden spacer under the adjustment screw, but this should not have been necessary with a well-fitted drive band.
The creakyness and reluctance was mostly dampness and lack of oil; once indoors and oiled well (having no sewing machine oil, I used GI gun oil--you know, the kind that's whitish in the bottle--which seems to be working splendidly) she hummed right along.
I futzed around with different types of wool and fiber, discovering that yes, you can spin threadweight flax on the wheel, though drafting is a bit harder than with a spindle. Winding on, however, is wonderful, just relax the tension a bit and whoop, there it goes. Sometimes, indeed, I relaxed my grip a little TOO much and whoop, there it went, the end disappearing through the orifice. (Shut up back there, that is what it is CALLED. )
Right now I'm spinning some Lincoln longwool on it--for those unfamiliar with longwool, it's VERY coarse, like spinning fine horsehair rather than soft wool, but it has a glossy sheen to it like silk. Gorgeous but itchy. The fleece comes in curly, Rapunzelish locks, and I am combing each one before spinning it.
When I tried to adjust the flyer to use the higher ratio, the cotton drive band seems to have stretched, which supports my theory that she was bought long long ago, used once or twice if at all, and stored. (The turning is a simpler design than current Ashford Traditionals, and while there is a stamped brand name, logo and country of mfr., there is no serial number, date or any other indication of when it was made.) I managed by putting a whittled wooden spacer under the adjustment screw, but this should not have been necessary with a well-fitted drive band.
The creakyness and reluctance was mostly dampness and lack of oil; once indoors and oiled well (having no sewing machine oil, I used GI gun oil--you know, the kind that's whitish in the bottle--which seems to be working splendidly) she hummed right along.
I futzed around with different types of wool and fiber, discovering that yes, you can spin threadweight flax on the wheel, though drafting is a bit harder than with a spindle. Winding on, however, is wonderful, just relax the tension a bit and whoop, there it goes. Sometimes, indeed, I relaxed my grip a little TOO much and whoop, there it went, the end disappearing through the orifice. (Shut up back there, that is what it is CALLED. )
Right now I'm spinning some Lincoln longwool on it--for those unfamiliar with longwool, it's VERY coarse, like spinning fine horsehair rather than soft wool, but it has a glossy sheen to it like silk. Gorgeous but itchy. The fleece comes in curly, Rapunzelish locks, and I am combing each one before spinning it.
