Spinning Wheel Update

I thought I’d update you to the status of my spinning wheel, as I realize you’ve all been holding your breath for word on its fate.

I chose to begin my search via Craigslist, posting a help wanted ad for a handyman/carpenter. A couple days went by with no word, then someone quoted me a price of $200 minimum to fix. His plan was to simply buy a part online and tweak it to my homemade wheel, which I could do myself. His grammar and non-existent punctuation didn’t go over well with this former English teacher, so when I asked about his experience and qualifications, he replied that his grandfather used to repair 18^th century furniture. I wanted to ask if his grandfather was still around to fix my wheel, but instead kindly thanked him for the quote and got rid of him by stating that wasn’t in my budget at this time.

Then someone who owned his own shop and was in possession of a couple spinning wheels contacted me. When I gave him specifics, he thought it might cost $50 to fix. He was hired!

Last month I dropped off my spinning wheel with him, and this week he sent me some progress photos that had me grinning happily as I envisioned spinning on my new wheel. I feel so fortunate to have found someone who knows what he is doing -- he’s asking me about the ratios I want! -- and takes pride in his work.

Also, as an added bonus, the spindle that you see there is one of twenty or thirty that came with the wheel, which means I can fill up as many as I need to before plying, and it was one less thing my handyman had to make.

I'm going to run to a local shop to pick up an Ashford maintenance kit and get the band and hooks to him, and I think we'll be in business before long.