Schacht Squak
The new wheel is here and all settled into our living room. See…
So the wheel arrived at my office at 11:45 am on Monday morning and, of course, I opened up the box to check that everything was ok and intact. We brought the wheel home and then I had myself a little adventure trying to get the treadles to snap onto the little front leg bars. It was hard! When the manual says you can do it with “a sharp blow with the heel of your hand or a light tap with a hammer on a piece of wood placed on the treadle over the bearing” — no way. I had to bang those treadles in pretty hard with a hammer. It was traumatizing — getting a brand new shiny wheel and then hammering the beejeezus out of it right away!
The rest of the assembly was fine… I oiled all the bits I was instructed to oil, but I was getting tons of squeaks everywhere… the treadles, the footmen, etc. So I oiled some more… I used up all the sewing machine oil in the house and then started using mineral oil. Both oils were too light, but it’s what I had available at the time. So by the end of Monday night, I just had a squeak on one of the treadles. It sounded like _”squeak… squeak… (and then when you stop treadling and let the wheel slow down) … squuuaaaaak”_
Luckily, Cal at Shuttleworks read my mind and sent me a bottle of Schacht Spinning Wheel Oil that arrived Tuesday afternoon. It came with a note saying _”I thought you might need some oil.”_ Awesome service, I tell you. So I used the new oil on the wheel last night and, _ta da,_ no more squeaking! It will be 20 or 30 weight motor oil from now on.
I spun on the new wheel for about 2 1/2 hours last night and am making nice fine merino singles… (Yes, this is still that [Ashland Bay merino](http://blog.sweetgeorgiayarns.com/2005/05/roving_roving_roving/) that I bought in May!) The wheel is now running nice and smoothly — it’s so quiet too.
Sure, a Woolee Winder would be very nice for this wheel, but I do like how the flyer hooks are all on one side of the flyer and slightly staggered… This way you can pack more on the bobbin. You could also lace the yarn back and forth to reduce the pull-in if you are spinning laceweight stuff. I still prefer that sliding flyer hook that’s on some wheels (Majacraft, Lendrum) but this will do!
In \*grr\* news, my dyeable yarn order is lost in the mail.
And in \*whoa technology\* news, go see [June's entry about Bioclipped fleeces](http://www.twosheep.com/blog/?p=337). Crazy.
Tags: Schacht Matchless, spinning wheel
I did hear about how the Schacht needs LOTS of oil. Also, my teacher has a Schacht Saxony for almost two decades and I heard her say, “I better get the parts I’ll need before the old man retires”.
Lovely wheel and looking at the bioclipped fleece…wow…pretty cool!
I am so thrilled for you. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Can’t wait to see what you spin up with this baby!
I did see the posting by June. I must say I was a bit disturbed, but technology is meant to make things easier for us in the long run; and I guess easier for the poor sheep too.
Wow, those pictures of the bioclipping are wild! I wonder how long it is until they genetically engineer sheep to be shaped like humans, so we can just wear the bioclipped fleeces as sweaters.
Wow – that bioclipping is crazy. With the price of wool these days (most ranchers around here don’t even sell it because they get so little for it) I can’t imagine it being a feasible alternative to traditional shearing, but who knows what the future holds. Your new wheel is very pretty!
Beautiful wheel! I would like to try spinning some day.
What a lovely wheel. Congrats and happy spinning.
Wow, the bioclipping is disturbing to say the least. The fact that it is done in Australia doesn’t make me feel comfortable at all with the techniques. Especially if you read all the inhumane practices that take place in Australia with the merino industry. (Surgery with out anesthetic and cargo ships of open sheep boxes when the sheep are no longer useful to other countries with limited food and water.)
Also consider how many problems we are having with growth hormones in cattle it doesn’t sounds smart to start with the sheep industry.
PS. I am so jealous of your new wheel… I can not wait to see what you are spinning.
Those wheels are so beautiful. Lots of luck with it! You’re going to do great.
the new wheel is lovely , what made you choose schacht vs majacraft ? the bio clipping gives me the willies !
Oh My God Its Gorgeous! I have more to say, but no time to say it. I’m so happy for you!
Wow wee! The wheel looks fabulous… congrats!!!
Gorgeous wheel! Have fun with it.
That is a beautiful wheel, by golly.
That’s a bummer about your dyeable yarn–I just got a box today from my supplier that had been sliced open by customs and they slashed a skein of sock yarn and cultivated silk roving. And then, they used one flimsy bit of tape to reseal it, so yarn and fiber (open now to the elements) were just popping out. Grrrrrrrr….
I think the bioclip thing is very neat. The growth hormone bit is a tad alarming, but I don’t know enough about it to judge, and since it is more expensive than handshearing, and results in less shearing cuts and trauma to the sheep, well, until I’ve got reason to poo-poo it, I think it’s neat.
Congratulations on your new wheel! She’s lovely. I hope your yarn show up soon. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
Joy looks so sad
Congrats on the new wheel. I’ll have to remember the banging part when I (someday) get one of my own. Enjoy it!
Congratulations! Your new wheel is beautiful!
Congratulations on your new wheel. That bioclip method looks much less nasty that shearing. I wonder what PETA people have to say about it?
congrats on your schact! I have owned mine for 5 years now and it just continues to IMPROVE with age!!
I love mine and wouldn’t part with it for anything. The need for oil decreases over time.. and the wheel just keeps on singing along
Happy spinning! that wine colored roving is yummy!
I just noticed that on Nov 28, 2004 you said “but I‚Äôd never seen spinning before and it looked like fun!” And look, now you have 2 spinning wheels. I need to stop reading your blog. It’s too dangerous. Inspired by your photography, I sold 2 wonderful cameras and bought a Nikon D70 that I am thouroughly enjoying. And now with your picture of the Matchless in front of the Joy I am suffering new wheel envy….
Your new wheel is BIG!
And the bio-clipping is nothing for me. Not natural enough. An injection doesn’t belong to a pure product
your wheel is so beautiful!!
Looks like we have similar tastes. I started with a Joy – still my travel wheel – and ended up getting a Schacht DT in the spring. I love it. I can spin for 6 or 8 hours at a sitting without getting tired. It took several hours of spinning to really break it in and get those little squeaks out. I chose this over the Majacraft too and I don’t regret it. The only thing is in that picture it looks like the whorl is on backwards. The large flat end should face the back.