The LOW-Down

Troubleshooting - Denise

Fighting your wheel and don’t know why? It may be you, it may be the wheel, it may be the fiber. Make sure your wheel is clean and oiled, and check for the following issues.

YARN IS GETTING TOO MUCH TWIST:

• Remember to give the yarn to the wheel.
  
• Tighten the tension slightly to increase the draw-in.
  
• If your wheel has several drive-wheel ratios, change to a larger whorl to get less twist per treadle.
  
• Make sure that your drive band hasn't slipped to a smaller whorl when you weren't looking.
  
• Try drafting a little faster.
  
• Try treadling more slowly.

WHEEL GOES BACKWARD:

• Start the wheel with the footman in the one o'clock position, then make the first treadle firm and strong to develop momentum.
  
• Loosen the tension on the drive band or brake band just slightly.

YARN IS BEING PULLED OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND ONTO THE WHEEL:

• Loosen the tension on the brake band slightly.

YARN WON'T WIND ONTO THE BOBBIN:

• Remember to give the yarn to the wheel. You are stronger than the wheel. You have to relax your grip so the yarn can wind onto the bobbin.
  
• If the yarn becomes too twisted, it won't wind on. You will need to unwind some of the kinks before starting again. Stop treadling and draft those fibers out a little more to give the twist somewhere to go.
  
• Yarn snagged on a hook or a guide.
  
• Tighten the tension slightly to increase draw-in.
  
• Make sure the brake or tension band is in the right place. If you have a double-drive wheel, make sure one part of the band is on the flyer and one part is on the bobbin.
  
• If you are using a double- drive wheel, the flyer whorl should be bigger than the bobbin whorl so the yarn can wind on.
  
• Check the leader. If it is not tied tightly enough to the bobbin shaft, it will slip, and you will get lots of twist.
  
• Does the flyer rotate freely around the flyer shaft? If it doesn't, clean it out with a cotton swab or rag. If the bobbin is still tight, wrap a little sandpaper around a dowel and use it to clean out the bobbin shaft, or better yet, contact the wheel manufacturer for advice.
  
• Check to see whether the bobbin ends are loose. If they are, re-glue them and let them dry overnight before using.
  
• See whether any yarn has wrapped around the base of the flyer shaft. Unwind the yarn with your hand and wrap it back onto the bobbin.

WHEEL IS HARD TO TREADLE:

• Loosen the tension a little on your drive band.
  
• Loosen the tension on your brake band.
  
• Check your maidens and make sure they are perfectly parallel. If one is slightly askew it is like having another brake.

FLYER WON'T TURN WHEN THE WHEEL IS TREADLED:

• Increase the tension on the drive band slightly. Most wheels have a way to adjust the tension, a screw mechanism that increases the distance between the flyer and the drive wheel.
  
• If your band has stretched out too much, you may need to replace it. On wheels with self-adjusting drive bands and no way to increase tension, you may have to buy a new drive band.

YARN DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH TWIST:

• Loosen the tension slightly so the yarn won't pull on so quickly.
  
• Go to a smaller whorl to get more twist per treadle.
  
• Draft more slowly to allow more twist to enter the yarn.
  
• Treadle faster.