Stone whorl hand turned / carved spindles
I’ve been making spindles, that are GASP pretty! They are pretty labor intensive, and very beautiful, but I am not sure how well they spin.
This was my first one, which didn’t work out so well, because the carving catches the fibers and winds them around. So I have since redesigned the spindle. I have kept the wpi tool, and made some with it on the bottom, like this one, and some with it on top, because I thought this would be more handy.
The problem is, that they don’t seem to spin as long as other spindles I have used. I am thinking that I may need to put a slightly longer shaft on them. This one spins better than the others, and it’s about 9 inches long. Usually spindles of this weight range (18 – 28 grams or so) have shorter shafts, but since the whorls aren’t so big around, maybe this is why. Of course the other thing to consider is that it spins a lot faster than others I’ve used, so maybe it’s just going faster than I can keep up with. Of course as the twist builds this will slow down the spin.
Any expert spindlers have any advice? I would like to make some of these to offer on the site, if I can speed the process up, and test them out for effectiveness. I also have a few more problems to solve. Mainly the beautiful little hooks I have made do not seem to stay put as well as I want them too. I’ve tried super glue and elmers glue. Maybe I should try hot glue that might adhere better. I have also considered trying gorilla glue. The hooks are made from heavy stainless steel straight pins, and nothing wants to stick to it really well.
So what do you guys think?
Rememeber than each time you comment on a post, you are entered in the contest for a really cool prize…
I wonder what it will be???? Trust me your going to see it and be really sorry if you didn’t comment to enter yourself in the running.
Diane said,
September 21, 2007 @ 6:39 pm
Oooooooh that’s gorgeous!
I know the hooks you’ve made are prettier but maybe you’ll have to go for a screw-in cup hook in the end – or will that be too big?
I’d be inclined to think the shaft should be shorter, not longer – but that’s just looking at the picture. Could you experiment with uncarved dowels of different length? So you don’t have to waste your work.
Em said,
September 21, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
That is indeed really, really pretty! So much more than my homemade spindles, but I don’t have woodworking space… Do you turn these on a full-out lathe, or some other method? Likewise, what are you using for hooks? (I am very curious!)
I certainly think you could sell these. Keep playing with shaft lengths, and maybe experiment with adding a little bit more weight to the bottom of them (though you won’t be able to slide the spun cop right off, I played with one high-whorl spindle with a bit of weight at the bottom of the shaft, and it spun like a dream!). Also remember how important the hook alignment is — you spindle could be just right with a bit of tweaking! No matter what, it’s beautiful!!
Lauren Haiken said,
September 22, 2007 @ 1:27 am
hey, If you want, I’ll buy the first one from you, test it out and tell you how to fix it.
Send me an email and we’ll figure something out.
-Lauren
Lilleduck said,
September 22, 2007 @ 8:31 am
I love the look of your spindle. I’d love to try one out! And having a wpi tool on it is a clever idea. The stone is beautifull too. If you use the wider stone it should spin slower and longer.
Heidi Kim said,
September 22, 2007 @ 1:10 pm
Hi Allena.
I think also that it must have something with the stone you are using, either that it need to be wider ore also more weight on. When I look at my drop spindles that is the clue to all of them.
Delly Bean said,
September 22, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
Those are beautiful spindles. I can’t wait to see how they look once you’ve got the kinks out, and I will definitely be in line once they’re for sale.
Lesley said,
September 24, 2007 @ 10:29 am
These are beautiful! I would love one, I spin laceweight on my exisiting spindles and think one of these would be just perfect for that. I’d have to hope you find a purple stone though :>)
Treesa said,
September 26, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
Allena
maybe you need a slightly harder, finer grained wood for the spindle. Also, I would look into getting some sort of mechanical buffing ability at the finer grits to help smooth out the wood. Last, some sort of finish, an oil or wax of some kind, that will help to fill in the grain, but not make it too smooth so that the fiber won’t stay on. All in all-beautiful work. I especially like the wpi gauge built in. Ingenious!!! I couldn’t loose it that, and I’ll never forget it somewhere, either. Great Job!!!!!
Ingrid in Sweden said,
September 28, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Hi there,
If you are going to use these as top whorls you must use a wider whorl to get the weight OUT in the periphery of the whorl….and at a guess these would make very good supported spindles instead, dispense with the hook turn them upside down, get out a bowl and start
just as I did with an almost identical spindle I just bought with a stone whorl too.
If you do want to have a top whorl, I guess you will need to downsize your shafts quite a bit…..OR look for fatter stone donuts with more weight to them. There are a few larger ones out there
Glue, I have made some spindles at home and j ust used ‘wood glue’(white non-transparent) ordinary the one you get at a builder’s shop in a b i g bottle. Works like a charm. This is not what the professional spindle makers use since they use a transparent glue but if you wipe it up and sand/polish a bit it won’t show.
HTH,
Ingrid in Sweden