| How to Make a Hand Spindle |
| How to Make a Hand Spindle |
From "Knitty Gritty"
episode DKNG-202 |
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You can make a simple spindle using recycled compact disks, a grommet, a small eyehook and a wooden dowel.
Materials
2 recycled compact disks (CDs)
1 3/8" diameter dowel (12" long)
1 eyehook (3/4" long)
1 rubber grommet with an inside diameter of 3/8" and an outer diameter of 5/8" (see Resources list)Tools
Drill and drill bit slightly smaller than the eyehook
Safety goggles
Needle-nose pliers (with no teeth)
Vise clamp
Pencil
Sandpaper Sand the ends of the dowel so they're smooth and have no burrs. On one end of the dowel, mark the center with a pencil. Wearing safety goggles, secure the dowel in a vise clamp and drill a starter hole for the eyehook in the center (figure A). Screw in the eyehook and then open it with the needle-nose pliers so that it creates a crook (figure B).
Place the two CDs together so the labels face each other. Insert the grommet through the center hole of the CDs so that the CDs rest inside the groove of the grommet. Insert the dowel through the grommet and position the CDs about 2" down from the hook for a top-whorl spindle or 10" down for a bottom-whorl spindle.Test the spindle for smooth rotation and balance by placing the end with the hook on a table and giving the top of the shaft a hearty spin. Keep it upright by loosely enclosing the top of the shaft with a circle of your fingers and thumb; allow it to spin freely. You'll need a bit of practice to get the hang of turning the spindle efficiently. If it turns smoothly like a top, you're in business. A little wobble is fine, but if the spindle wobbles a lot and slows down quickly, make another one. You'll enjoy spinning more with a spindle that works well.
RESOURCES :
Louet Sales spinning fibers
Louet Sales
Web: louet.com
E-mail: info@louet.com
Cotton Clouds spinning fibers
Cotton Clouds
Web: cottonclouds.com
E-mail: info@cottonclouds.com
Spinning supplies
Bountiful
Web: bountifulspinweave.com
E-mail: info@bountifulspinweave.com
Grommets
Bonkers Handmade Originals
Web: bonkersfiber.com
Drop spindles
Silkwood Studios
Kurt Pivko
Web: dropspindle.com
E-mail: K@dropspindle.com
Woolly & Knot Farm spinning fibers
Woolly & Knot Farm
Denise Squires
Web: geocities.com/woollyknotfarm/
E-mail: woollyknotfarm@hotmail.com
Ashland Bay Trading Company spinning fibers
Ashland Bay Trading Company
Web: ashlandbay.com
E-mail: orders@ashlandbay.com
Books and instructions from Interweave Press
Interweave Press Inc.
Website: www.interweave.com
GUESTS :
Liz Gipson
Managing editor, Handwoven magazine
E-mail: lizg@interweave.com
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