how to clean old spinning wheel?

Posted by YW on May 25, 2006, 12:01 pm

Hello,

with what would you suggest to clean/wash an old spinning wheel that
spent a few years in the basement uncovered and got VERY dusty?

Thank you in advance,

Yulia

Posted by Wooly on May 25, 2006, 1:15 pm

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Canned air followed by good hard wax (BriWax for example) applied with
4/0 steel wool, then buff it up with an old cotton rag.

+++++++++++++

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This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Posted by spinninglilac on May 25, 2006, 5:16 pm

I'm really fussy with mine, but here is what I just did when I pulled one
out of a shed, in a similar state to sell to a friend.

took it apart ... gently. but you don't have to.
Rubbed all the wood over with a dry green pan scrubber thing, not a wire one
don't know what you call them in the US but it's just a nylon type thing
scotch pads we call them. they are green although they do other colours and
thin and cut into squares, sometimes they have a sponge on one side of
them...

then wiped the whole wood over with a clean but damp cloth and dried with
kitchen paper straightaway.

Using Raw Linseed oil wiped over the wood parts including underneath the
foot bars and pedal, and spokes. .. etc let that soak in, it'll feed and
replenish the wood.

Using a good axle grease or vaseline... grease the leather bearings that
hold the bobbin in place and/or if they are metal, and the leather that is
at the bottom of the foot plate also the metal axle that is Z shaped and
fitted to the back of the wheel in order that the upright wood goes up and
down allowing the wheel to turn, the name of this piece of wood escapes me
for the minute.

Also wax or grease the metal bits that go from the foot plate bars to the
legs at the front..if it is an Ashford trad it will have these. If the wood
parts of the wheel are still shiny leave overnight, if not linseed them
again if it is soaked in, it means it needs a feed. and if this is the case
I'd do it the next night as well. When that is done.....
Beeswax up all the wood and rub up well, immediately or it'll be hard to rub
it over later if you leave it, beeswax should be buffed up immediately so do
a bit at a time.

now use and repeat in six months then once a year at least.. My wheel was a
dirty old thing that had been dumped on a skip, someone had had a go at
varnishing it, but I got that off, now it gleams.. look after it properly
and it'll look after you and your work for years and years to come..

hth Cher

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Posted by Els van Dam on May 25, 2006, 10:42 pm

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Hello Yulia, I bet that wheel is happy to be out of the basement. I think
that dusty is the keyword here. Take a nice soft cloth and wipe it
clean, I would not use water if it is only dusty. If you find any rust
on your axel or spindle, use some fine steel wool and remove it all. For
all moving part use a fine oil, like sewing maching oil. I bought
recently at one of those sewing shows held in Victoria a bottle of fine
machine oil with a long spout you can pull out of the plastic bottle. It
makes it oh se easy to oil you axel from your wheel and get to those hard
to get to places. Happy spinning. What kind of wheel is it, and what are
you going to spin Yulia?

Els

--
Ja for Jazz and cro out of cobra

Posted by YW on May 26, 2006, 10:18 am

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm planning to do it this weekend.

I'm not experinced with spinning wheels yet: I had just one brief
lesson.
I believe it's a traditional Ashford wheel, it resembles Ashford
Elizabeth the most just in dark wood.
Next week I'm going to the person who will give me an estimate to fix
it.
This wheel spent a few good years in the basement of my parents in law
and I don't know where and in what condition it was purchased. I also
doubt that my mother in law ever used it for anything except
decoration. It's missing some parts and needs repair (footman is torn
off, the pedal is disconnected at one of the points, the band is
missing,flyer whorl is missing too...), I just hope it's not going to
be too expensive...
Hopefully I'll be able to post updates on my progress with this project
soon.

Yulia

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