I have one of the Swedish bobbin winders! It is a delightful thing!! But it is STRICTLY for Continental bobbins with a small "waist". It does not work with Midlands - not even close. So I tried to find another wooden part that would accomodate a larger diameter. Bottom line: no luck.
Now it is my understanding that the weaving bobbin winder and the lace bobbin winder have been manufactured by the same company. I want a different wooden head for my current winder, and Alison wants a lace bobbin head for her weaving bobbin winder. And it has just occurred to me what the solution is!! There is a very talented wood turner in our "area" (meaning in the next state!) who makes perfectly beautiful bobbins and has taken on two tasks (to date) which I have asked him to attempt, and has delivered beautifully!! He is Richard Worthen, and I can't say enough good things about his work. I must add that the lacemakers of Utah are still in grieving since he moved from Utah to North Carolina a year or so ago. The first task I gave him was to fashion a handle from (I suggested) a bobbin which had broken at the neck in the turning process. This handle was attached to one of the "swivel hackle pliers" that I had discovered in a fly-fishing shop. I had bought one years ago and quickly realized how handy it is for all sorts of "loose ends" problems on the pillow. But I thought it would be nice to have it look like my bobbins, and so I gave him one to experiment with. Long story shorter... he created a wonderful tool that is also comfortable and fits well on my pillow of other Midlands bobbins. Since that time, he has made and sold lots and lots of these handy tools. He is currently working on a project for me which I "stole" from an item on eBay which sold for far too much and I recognized that he could make a ton of them for us!! You'll have to ask him about them, but I've got one in the works... and when Nora (his wife) saw the picture I had sent him, she immediately decided she "needed" one too!!. I ~suspect~ that she'll get first dibs, but who can argue with that?? ;) ANYWAY, the point of my enthusiastic ranting about Richard is that if we can give him a clear vision of what we want, and if it's in wood, he can do it. So I propose to take the "too small" head of my Swedish winder to him in April (he attends the NCRL Lace Days faithfully, Hallulajah for that!!) and see if he can't fashion a similar head which will accomodate the midlands I would like to wind. (On second thought - maybe I should take him the whole winder, it would make things easier for him!!) So Alison... I suspect that what he would need from you is pictures of the weaving winder (I ~think~ it's the same winder with a different head...), and also a confirmation of the size of the threads and whether you need an "innie" or an "outie" connection. If you don't know how to determine that, take it to a good hardware store and they can measure and tell you what you've got. AND, he would also need to know what size bobbins you propose to turn. The wood heads are not accomodating to numerous sizes. If this interests you, contact him privately. I've copied this to Richard, and his address should show up on this dispatch. I know he will be happy to hear from any of you who have projects for him. I hope he gets rich and famous from the wonderful work he does!! Clay Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [Original Message] > From: Addicks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > I need a wooden adapter for lace bobbins which can be attached to the Swedish > weaving bobbin winder - anyone know where to buy them? > > Thanks, > > Alison Addicks > Rice, WA - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
