Ashford Spinning Wheel Fix 

There truly is no need to have the flyer balanced that much. They don't really spin that fast where it would be a problem. I have another wheel that came with hooks only on one side from the maker of the wheel. It works just fine and is not noticeably out of balance. There is no wobble of the flyer and if you see a wobble it is the wheel itself and that is not caused by only having a few grams difference on one arm of the flyer vs the other. The flyer has no bearing on the turning of the main wheel. My wheel spins plenty well enough. I currently use a Wooly Winder on the wheel anyway. This flyer will be going on another wheel.

Swapping the hooks to one side didn’t make a difference at all.

This is and older wheel but it is also my favorite wheel. It’s a dream and this brand is super easy to not only use but to repair and you can still buy new parts as the company is still in business.

Ive not found that to be true. In fact I have an Ashford Scotch Tension Flyer from that only has hooks on one side and its not out of balance for the speeds needed to spin yarn. I purchased a wheel that was manufactured back in the 80’s that only has hooks on one side. So with that I recommend at minimum 9 hooks on a side if not a few more. Maybe 12 small hooks if you are spinning fine yarns. It keeps the bobbin nice n tidy. Or you could have 8 on one side and 9 on the other side. Both sides face up so you can switch from side to side yet have large hook and use the large hooks only when you are spinning bulky stuff. I also have wheels with the same amount of hooks each side spaced exactly the same yet only one side allows you to string the yarn through the orifice basically making one side totally useless. Other wheels from other countries have the hooks on the opposite side we put them here in the US. But over all it doesnt matter. if you got the flyer to spin fast enough to knock it off balance badly then all you need to do is drill and fill with lead a bit of weight so to balance from side to side if you really wanted. The hooks I put on this flyer do not knock the flyer off balance and anything you see that looks off balance is not due to the flyer and the hooks on one side.

I use hot water and Mrs Meyers Clean Day hand soap. The hot water is what gets the lanolin out. So what I have been doing is doing a cold or cool water wash to get the dirt and oils out then I rinse with cold to get the soapy water out and the remaining dirt. While Im doing that I prepare a large SS Container used for frying turkeys in with water and put it on the fryer burner outside and heat up the water. It does not need to be boiling hot but it needs to be 160 to 180 or more degrees. More Mrs Meyers Clean day hand soap and in for a hot water bath. While that is soaking in the hot water melting the lanolin and cleaning out more gunk I prepare another container with fresh hot water. Be sure to press out the wool when you are done soaking in the hot water so little to no water remains. I have a bit that came with my turkey frier that allows me to do that. Once drained again I put it into the next batch of hot water. By doing the cold water wash first you can actually do a couple batches of wool in the hot water before you need to replace the water. The second round of hot water is the same and then you might be able to ditch the first batch of hot water outside in a safe place you won’t walk for some time so the contents can decompose. Make a third batch of hot water and do a rinse. Rinse it good. In the summer time I set out water in the sun to make warm rinse water. If you let your hot wool cool down you can do a couple final rinses to be sure your fiber is clean and lanolin free. Lay it out to dry in the sun. If it doesn’t dry in a day bring it in then set it out again the next day, Turning and fluffing up a bit so it dries. I have drying racks so my wool gets full air from all around. Also don’t agitate your wool in the bath and don’t put your hot wool directly into cold water or you risk felting the wool. I have clean wool that I cleaned with cold/cool water and got the dirt and grease out but left the lanolin in. It is kind of greasy feeling when you spin in the grease or with lanolin. I at least wash cold if I want to spin in the grease so my wool is clean yet full of lanolin. Warm water can get some lanolin out. Harsh detergents can make your wool scratchy.

Not really. The original amount of hooks were not enough for spinning. If you need less hooks for plying you just skip hooks. Because I spin thin I can still utilize all the hooks during spinning and plying. With plying I fill the area quickly so changing hooks is done often during plying.

If the hooks are all on the same side of the flyer then yes, they are off set to each other so you can flip from side to side making nice smooth bobbin if you change your hooks often enough. However many flyers have hooks on both sides and with those you may only have like 5 hooks on one leg. Since the other hooks on the other leg are on the other side of the flyer you can't switch hooks. Having hooks on opposing sides is in my opinion kind of dumb like on the old Ashford Flyers. So I removed hooks from one side and placed them on the same side and all on one arm. I plan on putting a full set on the other arm offset from the other side so I can get the smoothest bobbin but lots of hook changing. I also have a Woolee Winder and don't have hooks to change at all. No stopping required unless I come to the end or break in between. This image is of an Ashford Flyer with hooks on both sides. cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-all2n9o8xo/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/53270/42434/ash-3003d_1__48360.1557241039.jpg?c=2 This is an image of a flyer with offset hooks on the same side. This is my other Spinning wheel flyer. I can make a very smooth bobbin with this one. Hooks are offset but all on the same face up side of the flyer. scontent.fsac1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/161456556_1409007846111453_6920569577179212227_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=F3_Jh2CVW-YAX-U9g3O&_nc_ht=scontent.fsac1-1.fna&oh=587c8e401b6b809d2b98aef655463c1f&oe=6165D042

I don't know. Never did check the number of turns per rotation. It is calculated in flyer rotations per wheel rotation.

Yes the early Ashford DD wheels have a screw on whorl as does my other vintage Saxony Wheel. No they don't come loose. Never have,. The new ashford have a press on whorl with a flat so the whorl is locked in with the flyer but come off easy when removing the flyer. Those can never come loose or fall off. It is the same for my Woolee Winder. Press on Whorl. Im not concerned with the twist angle. Hundreds of years ago Im quite sure no one else was concerned with twist angle.

@@abittwisted Thanks for that. I feel good about my wheel now. I'm just doing a bit of a restoration on it. I'm a beginner. I wont worry about twist angles either.