Mindsigh

Building a skein winder

Posted by jerry on May 1st, 2004 — Posted in Journal, Technology, Woodwork

One of the things about renaissance technology is that it works – and works well. And what better way to prove it than by using the technology for something useful today! My partner, Sharon has been dyeing threads for some years, but there was always the problem of how to skein the threads off and how to wind them back into skeins when they had been dyed.

The only technology I had seen was at the Canberra School of Art in the Textiles Department – a wonderful German skein winder that ran on smooth bearings – great if you have precision technology for building such things. But there was no way I had that kind of precision in my home workshop so I cast around for a technology from a time when perhaps tolerances were a bit wider than a few tenths of a millimetre.

And among the devices of Leonardo (who designed thread winders and looms) and Taccolla (from whom I picked up the spur and cage gear train) I found the solution! And here it is: My version of a Renaissance skein winder.
And just to prove it works:

Jerry’s skein winder in action
Cheers
Jerry

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