Hi Fibernetters,
There is another resonably priced elec. spinner on the market. It is made by
Curt Fricke and retails for about 350.00. I had one of his original ones,
made for Woodland Woolworks and sold it at our booth this weekend. Why did I
sell it? Well, it wasn't because I was unhappy with it, far from it. I just
wanted to get one of his new ones with the reverseable motor.
Why do I like the Fricke E-spinner.
Compact with a cover that protects the flyer and yarn guide. It doesn't have
hooks to get caught on anything. The case is well made, dovetailed corners,
cherrywood with good stout clips on two sides to hold the top on. It fits
well in overhead bins on airplanes and with the cover on won't get damaged
by other peoples stuff being shoved in the bin.
It fits on the floor on the passenger side of a car, tucked up under the
dash. I use it all the time, controlling the speed, on/off etc with my foot.
It uses a dimmer switch on the front which is easy to operate. It has a
variable speed motor to slow the flyer down and it can be done with your toe
and you don't have to stop spinning. Of course, you can also put it on a
table. One finger of one hand will change the speed or turn it off and on.
It has a bobbin controlled scotch tension using a rubber band, rather than
the spring. You can always find a rubber band, but have to order the spring.
It can be had with a 3/8" orifice and threading hook or a delta orifice. I
prefer the delta orfice becuse it eliminates the need for a threading hook.
The delta orifice also will take the spinning of a heavier yarn. It uses the
Majacraft plastic bobbins which hold 4 oz of spun yarn. I don't think you
could as easily get the same on the Ashford bobbins. I never did on my
Traveler and I pushed the limit on the all the time. The only draw back to
the delta orfice, if you get off center you will get a little bumping of the
yarn as you are spinning. That doesn't bother me.
Of course the best is the price. The one under discussion was priced at
429.00 at the show. It is a cute design and a well running spinner. I too
looked at them and was tempted because of it's "cuteness". I travel a lot,
and I could see the potential for damage to the cane motor enclosure and the
possiblity of the hooks being caught or damaged during traveling. It would
require individual boxing, whereas the Fricke has its own wooden case, just
put it in the truck, trailer, etc the way it is. Check out Fricke's web
site www.fricke-fiber-tools.com. I ordered my replacement today.
Gail White
Ozark Carding Mill
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