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- Jul 26, 2011
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This is an ivory and boxwood bobbin and flyer I had to reproduce from a high class 18th. C. spinning wheel. Many varied jobs came to me as toolmaker in the museum.
This class of spinning wheel was mega expensive when made and intended for use by the wealthy. Every woman's education included learning how to spin,even if they just did it a small amount. Queen Eizabeth the first learned to spin. Other women's skills of the upper classes were playing music,singing,dancing,and other skills that women were expected to have at the time. Curiously enough,it was the man's job to choose furniture,curtains,and other things that decorated the house.These high class were often made of mahogany,and had small wheels made of brass for inertia,rather than the usual large wooden wheels we normally see. They also had a level winding device built in,with a heart shaped cam quite similar to Singer sewing machines of the 20th. C.. Small silk spinning wheels might be solid brass.
Aging parts,especially ivory,is very difficult to figure out . Ivory shows the microscopic layer of soot that all very old objects have,from hundreds of years in fire place heated houses,using wood or especially coal for heat.I did not make the ivory bobbin's end look oil soaked like the original as it was not necessary. The idea is to just make the repro have the same aged look as the original,not to lavishly copy each stain,etc.,as the original has.
Metal is much less difficult to age. The flyer(the U shaped part) of this assembly is brass. Over the years,the original had aged very dark. The boxwood spindle of the bobbin had aged also.
The pulley has a left hand thread for which I had to make a tap. I also had to make the shape of the thread authentic. They don't look like modern threads of normal 60 degree angles,they are less steep and have rounded crests. I don't have a closeup of the thread here. They all tend to look different anyway,as nothing was standardized at the time.
The reproduction is in the rear.
This class of spinning wheel was mega expensive when made and intended for use by the wealthy. Every woman's education included learning how to spin,even if they just did it a small amount. Queen Eizabeth the first learned to spin. Other women's skills of the upper classes were playing music,singing,dancing,and other skills that women were expected to have at the time. Curiously enough,it was the man's job to choose furniture,curtains,and other things that decorated the house.These high class were often made of mahogany,and had small wheels made of brass for inertia,rather than the usual large wooden wheels we normally see. They also had a level winding device built in,with a heart shaped cam quite similar to Singer sewing machines of the 20th. C.. Small silk spinning wheels might be solid brass.
Aging parts,especially ivory,is very difficult to figure out . Ivory shows the microscopic layer of soot that all very old objects have,from hundreds of years in fire place heated houses,using wood or especially coal for heat.I did not make the ivory bobbin's end look oil soaked like the original as it was not necessary. The idea is to just make the repro have the same aged look as the original,not to lavishly copy each stain,etc.,as the original has.
Metal is much less difficult to age. The flyer(the U shaped part) of this assembly is brass. Over the years,the original had aged very dark. The boxwood spindle of the bobbin had aged also.
The pulley has a left hand thread for which I had to make a tap. I also had to make the shape of the thread authentic. They don't look like modern threads of normal 60 degree angles,they are less steep and have rounded crests. I don't have a closeup of the thread here. They all tend to look different anyway,as nothing was standardized at the time.
The reproduction is in the rear.
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