The Matter of the Weasel

When I finish spinning a bobbin full of yarn, I wind off onto an antique clock reel, aka, spinner's weasel.  I LOVE this tool.  It's beautiful and sturdy, turns smoothly, and, yes, it does pop, but only after about 350 yards.  The problem with my wonderful, wonderful weasel is the size of the finished skeins - 94"!

There isn't a tabletop or umbrella swift that can handle one of these skeins (nor would you want one, as it would be HUGE), and the reel is most definitely only a reel, and not a swift.  That is, it is strong and slow, and properly turns in only one direction.  It is not adjustable, so a skein pulled off the reel, once washed and thwapped a few times on the shower walls, no longer fits as it has shrunk  - generally just enough to give me hope that I can stretch it back on without actually fitting when I try.  I've been improvising for a while, reluctant to go back to the small tabletop swift as my standard, rather inconvenient reel.  Ergonomically, I've found no way to set it up that is comfortable and efficient, and I only want to wind skeins on it that I plan on selling, as most buyers probably will be just as able to deal with 94" skeins as I have been.

Then I had a flash of inspiration: Squirrel Cage Swift!  Of course - it takes up very little floor space, moving the length of the skein vertically.  It's also reputed to be useful for sorting out tangled, twisted skeins - and I've purchased just enough of those to be interested in anything that makes winding them a less maddening process.

The problem with this squirrel cage swift idea is the expense.  It's one of the more intricate and therefore expensive swift styles, and I'm spending more than I should setting up the basics of my teaching and wool business.  So today, after bunny shearing funtimes, I went off to the hardware store for parts.

Still need to sand, glue, and finish...

Consider the result a prototype.  It cost me less than $25 and taught me the importance of owning a drill press if you want to do this sort of project.  I wish so badly that I had one about two hours ago so that all of my holes wouldn't be so funky.  Really, the whole device was poorly built, and I learned a lot in the process.  I hope to make a second one using the right tools and good hardwoods.

BUT... It works!  That's a 94" skein on there, and the swift turns smoothly.  At some point, I'll make #2, but this beast will probably do for a good long time.