Froghair? I gotcher FROG HAIR right here!

I got the great wheel put together today, dialled in the alignment
(thing was throwing its driveband for a while) and started spinning.
The first 20 yards is laughable. The second 20 yards will make
admirable sport-weight when plied.

The THIRD 20 yards is frog hair. Literally almost too fine to be
seen.

Be still my heart. I can spin REAL laceweight now!

http://www.fysh.org/~slinky/antique_wheels

gw1.jpg and gw2.jpg are "before" pix, gw4.jpg and gw5.jpg are "after"
pix

the difference int he appearance of the wheel is not so great in these
photos, but they're the best I can do. I haven't done the additional
cleaning/polishing yet, but the difference is simply amazing. Instead
of being that dull gray color of old dried wood she's a rich
reddish-brown simply fromt he light cleaning and polishing that bill
did.
***

together_1.jpg and together_2.jpg

show all three of my treadle wheels (I'm not counting the gossip here
as it really isn't a working wheel). The small, fancier wheel with
the sharply tilted table has a 16" drive wheel. The plain saxony
behind it has a 22" wheel. The great wheel's drive wheel is 44".
[Note: all the measurements are diameters.]
***

saxonies_with_flash.jpg and saxonies_without_flash.jpg

Are my poor effort to show the grain of the tables. The little sax
has an oak table, oak legs/supports, and an oak mother. The maidens
and the wheel itself are some hardwood I haven't identified. The big
sax appears to be 100% burred oak, which to my way of thinking is
simply amazing - the stuff currently is worth more than its weight in
gold. I can't imagine the size of the burl, as the table is just over
21" long - how big must that burl have been to allow a single piece of
wood 21" long, 6" wide and 2.5" deep to be cut from it??

"SlinkyToy" wrote in message
...
I got the great wheel put together today, dialled in the alignment
(thing was throwing its driveband for a while) and started spinning.
The first 20 yards is laughable. The second 20 yards will make
admirable sport-weight when plied.

The THIRD 20 yards is frog hair. Literally almost too fine to be
seen.

Be still my heart. I can spin REAL laceweight now!

http://www.fysh.org/~slinky/antique_wheels

gw1.jpg and gw2.jpg are "before" pix, gw4.jpg and gw5.jpg are "after"
pix

the difference int he appearance of the wheel is not so great in these
photos, but they're the best I can do. I haven't done the additional
cleaning/polishing yet, but the difference is simply amazing. Instead
of being that dull gray color of old dried wood she's a rich
reddish-brown simply fromt he light cleaning and polishing that bill
did.
***

together_1.jpg and together_2.jpg

show all three of my treadle wheels (I'm not counting the gossip here
as it really isn't a working wheel). The small, fancier wheel with
the sharply tilted table has a 16" drive wheel. The plain saxony
behind it has a 22" wheel. The great wheel's drive wheel is 44".
[Note: all the measurements are diameters.]
***

saxonies_with_flash.jpg and saxonies_without_flash.jpg

Are my poor effort to show the grain of the tables. The little sax
has an oak table, oak legs/supports, and an oak mother. The maidens
and the wheel itself are some hardwood I haven't identified. The big
sax appears to be 100% burred oak, which to my way of thinking is
simply amazing - the stuff currently is worth more than its weight in
gold. I can't imagine the size of the burl, as the table is just over
21" long - how big must that burl have been to allow a single piece of
wood 21" long, 6" wide and 2.5" deep to be cut from it??

Slinky!!!
Absolutely marvelous!!!
Waltz across Texas... and BTW, the Cowboys WHOOPED the Lions today, HOORAH!
Noreen

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Woohoo, Slinky!! *Great* pix, and the great wheel looks magnificent - I can
sure see the change! Can hardly wait to see what it looks like when you really
get it cleaned up. And congrats on your frog hair - you must be dancing for
joy. ) So wonderful it's working and that you've got going with it. Have fun!

Loved seeing the pictures of the saxonies as well. I *thought* that was oak
burl in the bigger one, and I nearly fainted, too, when I read your post and
you confirmed it. Gorgeous wood! Really amazing, and a beautiful wheel.

Also got a start of surprise at on seeing the smaller saxony - it looks a lot
like my first wheel at the initial glance, LOL. (not the one my Dad made, but
the only one I actually purchased.) Not quite; mine has a little more turning,
a more sharply slanted and shorter table, and a much darker finish. Plus a
short, attached swivel distaff, and I think maybe a slightly bigger wheel, with
little porcelain finials wherever they could fit 'em on. (sometimes I feel like
I'm spinning on something from a fairy-tale, with all the fancy touches.
::snerk:: but it sure is pretty.) *No* idea of what the wood is; never thought
of asking Dad what kind he might think it was, when he was alive. Although I
think the color is mostly stain, rather than the natural shade of the wood. But
they sure look like relatives in the build! Mine's a sweet wheel; super-fast,
despite a slight tendency to throw the drive band on occasion. Just out of
curiosity - hey, they might be related g - how does yours spin?

Thanks so much for links to the pix - it's really nice to see someone else's
wheels as well as hearing about them. And is that a sea-serpent or dragon I spy
hanging from the door behind the great wheel? g Interesting-looking
character.)

Oh yeah - when do we get to see pix of the frog hair??? Impatient minds wanna
know!

Monica
CMMPDX2 at aol
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On 19 Oct 2003 21:54:26 GMT, (CMM PDX2) wrote:

Woohoo, Slinky!! *Great* pix,

Thanks I usually take great pix of my thumb *snicker* I'll get
everybody outside tomorrow if its a sunny day again and try to get
some better shots of the great wheel. Now that I have her reassembled
and dialled in I'm reluctant to take her apart again, but I'll have to
do it sometime, right?


Loved seeing the pictures of the saxonies as well. I *thought* that was oak
burl in the bigger one, and I nearly fainted, too, when I read your post and
you confirmed it. Gorgeous wood! Really amazing, and a beautiful wheel.

Looks a *lot* better after one session with 4-0 steel wool and Briwax.
I'm reluctant to take off too much grunge at once, so in a couple of
weeks I'll get after both of the saxonies again. The small one was
absolutely black when I got her. I spent a year with orange oil and
an old towel and didn't even scratch the surface - one Briwax session
really changed her appearance.

Also got a start of surprise at on seeing the smaller saxony - it looks a lot
like my first wheel at the initial glance. Mine's a sweet wheel; super-fast,
despite a slight tendency to throw the drive band on occasion. Just out of
curiosity - hey, they might be related g - how does yours spin?

My small sax is a garage sale find (search the archives on Google, you
should turn up a few posts). The woman I bought her from used her as
a production wheel for 25 years, having purchased her from an 80-year
old gentleman in Minnesota (or was it Wisconsin?) whose mother had
used it for many years. He believed that one of the g'gmas had
brought it over on the boat. Where it originated is anybody's guess.
It looks Baltic to me, and to a couple of folks who have seen photos.

She's slow at 8:1, but she's taught me to be patient. I *can* spin
high-twist laceweight on her, but going is slow. Now that I have
other wheels (gosh, the way that sounds) I can send her one
bobbin/whorl down to Bill and have him make more bobbins and a faster
whorl.

Thanks so much for links to the pix - it's really nice to see someone else's
wheels as well as hearing about them. And is that a sea-serpent or dragon I spy
hanging from the door behind the great wheel? g Interesting-looking
character.)

Do you mean the fringed thing, on the right, the pants on hangers top
right, or the wool hanging from the great wheel's spindle? *lol*
That's a tassle on the spindle cap, with wool wrapped around the
spindle. It *does* look like a sea serpent, doesn't it?


Oh yeah - when do we get to see pix of the frog hair??? Impatient minds wanna
know!

Probably sometime late in the week. I'm tied up tomorrow and
Wednesday, and maybe Thursday. Hm, I guess you might get to see some
pix of it on Friday!

In article , SlinkyToy
wrote:

I got the great wheel put together today, dialled in the alignment
(thing was throwing its driveband for a while) and started spinning.
The first 20 yards is laughable. The second 20 yards will make
admirable sport-weight when plied.

The THIRD 20 yards is frog hair. Literally almost too fine to be
seen.

Well done and good for you.


Els

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