Posted Sep 15, 2020, 9:03 PM UTC
Also, make sure the yarn is only going over one of the hooks. It looks like it is over 2 side by side.
I’ve tried both ways.
First make sure your leader isn't just spinning around on the bobbin. taping it down is an awesome suggestion!
If that's not the problem then it sounds like a tension issue. I'm not familiar with your wheel, but on my double drive Schacht there's a knob which turns and raises the flyer assembly.
I tried adjusting the tension, still nothing.
I'm assuming that your wheel is a double drive setup. Is your drive band properly over the bobbin and the whorl? The whorl is an extra disc that goes next to the bobbin., So one strand on that, and another strand around the bobbin.
If you're using Scotch tension tighten it.
You're getting twist, so that's awesome! Now you just need it to take up onto the bobbin. This happens because of a braking system where the bobbin spins at a different rate to the flyer. Too much brake and the yarn pulls onto the bobbin without enough twist, and your singles just won't hold together, not enough, and you get twist, but the yarn doesnt get pulled in, there's a sweet spot where its just right.
Maybe you need to shorten the drive band a wee bit?
And the only other thing I can think of is to make sure that the leader yarn can move freely through the orifice, so just wiggle that back and forth a bit to make sure.
I'm sure you'll get it!
I think this might be it. Can you take a picture of the bobbin etc from the other end? It looks like both bands on the double drive might be on the whorl, with nothing on the bobbin.
Does the bobbin spin when you treadle?
Yes, fixed the two strands on the whirl problem. The bobbin does spin.
Thank you! I did have both strands on the whorl. Fixed that and ... still not going. I have the tension as high as I can get it without re-stringing a new drive band.
How tight is the band? It should be pretty tight.
I'm going to disagree that the drive band needs to be super tight. The two antique wheels I use regularly need to be that elusive tightness, "just tight enough," which is somewhere in between mushy and twangingly-tight.
My next piece of advice is, try a longer leader, that is, a longer distance away from the orifice. I see a lot of people on modern wheels spinning 2 or 4 inches away, and I don't know whether this is personal preference or not, but I am generally spinning a lot farther away, 10 inches, a foot even, than that.
Antique wheels were generally made to produce a fine single, so if you're using a thickish yarn to practice, it could be coiling on itself and the coils stopping the yarn from winding on the bobbin.
You'll get there!
Does the bobbin itself turn freely, separately from the flyer?
It does rub, but it turns separately.
I have a similar issue - try using some oil on the flyer and inside of the bobbin so it turns more freely.
Is there a brake anywhere on the wheel? I’m new to spinning and only have “modern” wheels (albeit several decades old). They both have a separate brake line.
Just for shits and giggles (excuse my French), have you tried spinning both ways (clockwise and counter cw)?
No, I haven’t tried that. I’ll give it a shot.
Tape your leader in place. It may be slipping as it tries to pull on.
Tried that, no luck.