Clemence, the new wheel, is very much a mail order bride. I picked her because she was beautiful. While I already had a very utilitarian Canadian production wheel with poor finish and amazing spinning ability, I desired one of those grand ladies clad in cast iron and graceful wood turnings. Clemence had those, and she came from a spinner who vouched for her functionality, and so I had her sent over. We never spoke directly, but instead went through that fine matchmaker. She came to me all innocent, and I took her in, praised her loveliness, and we began to work together as partners. There the troubles began. She never suspected how many other wheels already had a place in my heart, and I'm afraid she may have been a bit jealous and insecure. I had no idea how finicky she would be, fussing with her driveband, chattering constantly, tossing the yarn right off her hooks, and keeping things at such high tension before she would let anything wind around her bobbin.
As it turns out, she was easily wooed with a couple of fine gifts. First, I bought her a beautiful claro walnut threading hook turned by the master wheelsmith, Carson Cooper. Then, in return for two days of weaving instruction, I was given a ball of hemp cordage, with which I made her a carefully fitted driveband. Now she accepts my requests and I hers, and we spin as a team with few hiccups and a gentle understanding between us. With a bit of polyfelt on her flyer shaft where the bobbin rests, she has even quieted her chattering to a gentle murmur. We speak softly to each other now.
The hemp cordage, by the way, is incredible as a driveband. It takes hours upon hours to make, but is well worth the effort. It has more texture than typical driveband material, and a very slight amount of elasticity, as well as immense strength, so it grips the grooves but still allows some necessary slippage. There was an immediate and profound difference in the responsiveness of the wheel after installing the new band. I sewed the ends together, as the material is too thick to knot without jamming up the works.
No comments:
Post a Comment