Spinning Wheel Got to Go Round...

Last night I retrieved the wheel from my sister.  It's very dusty and dirty, but I can tell it's going to be a real beauty!

The first order of business was to assess what parts of the wheel were working well, what parts were not working well, and what parts were not present.

I quickly wiped the wheel down, but it's still pretty dirty.  I need to get some q-tips to get into some of the crevices.  Once I'm satisfied with the cleanliness, I'll wipe it down with wood oil.  There appear to be some inlays or painting that I think will be quite lovely.  Parts of the drive wheel have a bit of a sheen that's not apparent on the rest of the wheel.  I wonder why that is.  I'm sure that is just the first of many unsolvable mysteries I will discover while working with this wheel!

I reattached the treadle to the drive wheel with a piece of waste yarn.  I'll use something more beautiful long term, but the goal for today was to see how the drive wheel turned.  Excellent news on that front - it spins beautifully!  It is very true, meaning that it does not have any side to side wobble when it spins.  It is a little out of round, which means that when you look at it in motion from the side, it appears to ride gently up and down.  This is not dramatic enough to affect the motion of the wheel, so I am not going to worry about it.  It seems likely to me that it was always a bit out of round - perfect circles are tough!

There are some markings on the metal crank on the back of the drive wheel.  They are the only marks I've found so far that might give a clue as to its origin or age.

Basically, it's pretty much as I expected.  This wheel needs a lot of work since it's going to require a custom flyer/whorl/bobbin.  However, outside of that, it's in relatively good shape.  Mr. Mouse and I have been discussing possible options.  I'm in favor of 3D printing as much as possible; he thinks it might be easier to build out of wood.  Regardless, the one and only real goal is to get it in working order and make some yarn!