I don't know how anyone else does it but I generally use bobbins that will
hold a lot of thread (ie. longer neck area) for heavier threads like 40/2
I use the same bobbins for all my lace (though, admittedly, I don't use thicker threads *often*), and "re-load" or replace them as necessary, when they run out of thread and switching isn't possible.... Decided that:
a) it's almost the same situation as breaking a thread (only easier, as you have a longer "warning"), and one has to learn to cope with *that*.
b) even with the finest thread, you're likely to run out eventually if you're making yardage...
A bobbin tree kind of looks like real tree does in winter, one stick going
straight up with branches going off to the side. Mine looks like a fence
with a post on either end and two rails in between and the whole business
sitting on a flat board. The bobbins straddle the fence with one bobbin of
each pair on either side. Kind of looks like this: I===I
The "double fence" was what I started with also, and the dratted sticks *still* got tangled, unless the leashes were very, very short... So I ended up with two "posts" and a *single* "rail" (like the set up in a high jump), but I put a fabric "curtain" on the horizontal "rail". It separates the two bobbins of each pair permanently, so that I can pick each pair off the "fence" without a problem, when I need to add it into work. The adjacent pairs don't get tangled the same way, because the width of the bobbin is bigger than the width of the thread and separates the threads, but, if you're worried, you can use fine-wale corduroy for your "curtain", and place the threads in the "dips" of it -- they'll stay there without shifting.
And back to the original message, which Trish has so kindly provided:
Also, what bad things happen when your bobbins are too small or too large for the thread size?
If the bobbins are too small, you might run out of thread before you've finished the project. You cope with it the way you would with a broken thread. And you have to put more effort into tensioning, because the bobbin itself doesn't provide enough.
If they're too big... Theoretically, if you load a very heavy bobbin with very fine thread, the thread might break more easily (depending on the shape of the pillow), because there'd be too much tension generated by the bobbin itself. In practice, it hardly ever happens. A more valid argument for "smaller is better" in case of fine threads would be that, with fine threads, you're likely to use many (and I mean *many* <g>) pairs, and the "temporary storage" of pairs that aren't currently in use might become a problem.
A lot of it is a matter of *personal* trial and error in finding which tools (bobbins and pillows) are most comfortable to *you*. That's one of the reasons for joining the nearest available group/guild; in addition to books, they often have equipment for loan as well, so you can try out different things before you commit yourself to one (or four <g>)
----- Tamara P Duvall Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd/
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