Two Travel Wheels for Sale

I am helping a friend sell two more of her many spinning wheels. She has re-evaluated her spinning needs and has decided to sell two travel wheels because she just doesn’t travel that much.

Holiday Wheel

 

One is a “Holiday Wheel” made by SpinAway Wheels. This charming travel wheel is most unusual. It weighs about 8 lbs. It’s double treadle. It works as a double drive wheel, but there is no drive band on the drive wheel. Instead, the drive wheel has some sort of internal gear connection that allows it to drive an accelerator wheel (four rotations of the accelerator wheel for one rotation of the drive wheel). And there are 2 bands: one is elastic and attaches the accelerator wheel to the flyer whorl; the other is inelastic and attaches the accelerator wheel to the bobbin. There is one tensioning screw that moves the bobbin/flyer away from or toward the accelerator wheel, thus adjusting the take-up tension. Another unusual feature is that the bobbins do not have a pulley groove. They physically lock into a pin on the spindle assembly.

This wheel assembles and disassembles very easily. Disassembled, its dimensions are approximately 16” x 14” x 8”. Quite compact!

This wheel is made from lovely cherry wood. It comes with 4 bobbins (all with new leaders), and extra drive bands. And I’m adding some non-skid shelf liner to put under the wheel. (Because of the wheel’s light weight it has a tendency to slip on a smooth floor.) It treadles very comfortably. It requires no lubrication. It has been used very little.

SpinAway is not currently taking new orders for this wheel. My friend told me she waited 4 years for her wheel. I don’t know when she actually got the wheel. The current price on the makers’ website is $775. The asking price here is $700.

Bee

the Bee, folded

the Bee, unfolded

The other travel wheel is a “Queen Bee” made by SpinOlution. This wheel folds up in a snap to a tidy 12” x 19” x 9”. It weighs about 13 lbs. There are 3 bobbins (4 ounce capacity). The special thing about this wheel is that it has a huge range of drive ratios: theoretically, there are 12 of them, but practically speaking, there are 9, ranging from 1:5 to 1:35. With such a wide range of drive ratios, along with pegs instead of hooks on the flyer, and a hook for an orifice, this wheel is capable of making all kinds of yarns.

This wheel has two bands: one that connects the drive wheel to an accelerator wheel, another that attaches the accelerator wheel to the flyer. This wheel has a scotch tension drive mechanism, with a brake on the bobbin controlled by a tensioning knob. The treadling is unique to SpinOlution wheels; the balls of the feet push on the treadles and produce a sort of side-to-side rocking motion of the treadles. It’s nice and quiet. The wheel has a built-in lazy kate (the rods can be removed for travel).

This wheel has been very lightly used. The current retail price for this wheel is $759. The asking price for this wheel is $700.

If I ship either wheel, the buyer covers packaging, shipping (USPS Priority), and insurance costs. I am willing to drive a bit to deliver or meet. I live in Lake Ann, MI. Zip 49650. You can contact me at atyler@centurytel.net