Guest Author - Llyn Payne
There are many different tools and gadgets available to spinners today. Which ones are nice to have, which ones you really need and which ones are totally unnecessary depends on if you process your own fleeces for spinning or buy prepared fibers.
Here is a list of equipment that you may like to have on hand if you start with grease fleeces:
1. A skirting table for skirting the fleece and shaking out second cuts and vegetable
matter.
2. Various buckets and/or tubs for scoring.
3. A selection of soaps for scouring: Orvus Paste, Dawn Dishwashing detergent, Fels Naptha soap.
4. Mesh bags or clean screening material to contain the fleece during scouring.
5. A wuzzing basket for spinning out wet wool.
6. Drying racks for laying out the wet fleece to dry.
For processing scoured fleeces:
1. A drum carder which is also useful for blending fibers and color, along with it’s
accessories – a doffer, fettling brush, and a wrench of the correct type and size for
adjusting the carder.
2. A picker for opening the wool prior to carding.
3. Combs of various types: English, Russian Paddle, Viking, Mini, and a metal pet comb are all options. And a diz.
4. Hand cards: Wool, cotton, and flick card with a piece of leather to protect your clothing.
5. Hackle: for separating double coated fleeces and blending.
Then there is all the small equipment, some of which is necessary and some of which is nice to have but is not really needed:
1. Niddy Noddy: 2 yard, 18 inch, Mini. The mini is really nice to have for workshops and classes.
2. Floor model skein winder. Not a necessity but very nice to have.
3. Nostepinde: Great tool for winding a center pull ball if you don’t have a ball winder.
4. Ball Winder. These are indispensable.
5. Swift: Umbrella or squirrel cage. Also an indispensable item.
6. An Orifice hook.
7. Storage bobbins, if you like to wind off your wheel bobbins for plying or if you don’t have enough bobbins for your wheel.
8. A bobbin winder for the storage bobbins, if you use those.
9. A free standing tensioned lazy kate which can be placed some distance from your wheel for plying.
10. Free standing distaff, if you spin flax.
11. A hand held or wrist distaff, if you like to use one with your spindles.
12. An inch gauge to measure wraps per inch.
13. A yarn classification chart showing the WPI ranges for various grists of yarn.
14. A Mabel Ross lapcloth for ease of measuring the length of your draft.
15. Oil bottles and oil.
16. Scissors.
17. A small pocket tool kit containing screwdrivers for slotted and Phillips screws, a wrench, pliers, an awl, a small hammer and a few toothpicks.
18. Drive band material or an extra drive band for your wheel and materials to replace the Scotch tension band if your wheel has one.
19. Zip Lock bags for holding workshop samples plus paper and pencil to label the contents.
20. Index cards for making notes and control cards.
21. A hole punch.
22. Some tape.
23. String tags for recording information on your skeins.
24. Material for making skein ties.
25. A calculator.
26. A scale.
27. A meter for measuring the yardage of your yarn.
28. Some good polish for your wheel such as Howard’s Feed & Wax.
Wow! That’s a lot of stuff! Let’s pare it down to the basics:
At the very least you need:
1. A wheel or a spindle.
2. A tensioned kate
3. A way to get the yarn off of the wheel and into a skein: A niddy noddy or a skein winder.
4. A way to get the skein into a ball after it’s been wet finished. A swift is necessary here plus some way of winding a ball – a ball winder or a nostepinde.
5. Oil for your wheel.
6. Some wood polish to keep your wheel looking good.
7. Some extra drive band material and Scotch tension band materials if your wheel has that feature.
That and a supply of fibers is really all that’s needed to start spinning. The rest can come later and can be tailored to your style and spinning interests.
Those interested in antique wheels may want to make up a special kit to take along on antiquing excursions:
When looking for an antique wheel it’s nice to have:
1. Drive band and Scotch tension device materials.
2. Materials for making the treadle to footman connection.
3. Leader material.
4. Oil.
5. A small container of WD-40 for loosening up frozen parts.
6. A rag
7. A scissors.
8. A pocket tool kit, with small pieces of wood to use as shims and some toothpicks.
9. A small bit or cardboard or another material suitable for making a temporary replacement bearing.
10. Some fibers for a test spin.
