I have two spinning wheels (and about 40 drop spindles, but that’s for another day). A few months ago I got an Ashford Kiwi2, but my first spinning wheel was a Louet S17. It is a simple single treadle model that came flat packed, assembly required, and unfinished. Over the last 10 years later I’ve spun somewhere around 225,000 yards on it.
When I received the box I didn’t assemble it right away. I painted the wheel with 2 stylized mandalas, a different one on each side. The rest of the wood I left natural although now I wish I had clear coated the wood. Assembly of the spinning wheel took only about an hour. The wood is a laminated hardwood and it has withstood several household moves and being taken to special events without so much as a scratch. I sanded around the corners because they were very sharp. The ball bearings in the wheel mechanism have always worked incredibly smooth. I only recently have replaced the flyer brake and drive band. Even if you don’t know what those terms mean, in short, I have spun a lot and done very little maintenance on it.
When I received the box I didn’t assemble it right away. I painted the wheel with 2 stylized mandalas, a different one on each side. The rest of the wood I left natural although now I wish I had clear coated the wood. Assembly of the spinning wheel took only about an hour. The wood is a laminated hardwood and it has withstood several household moves and being taken to special events without so much as a scratch. I sanded around the corners because they were very sharp. The ball bearings in the wheel mechanism have always worked incredibly smooth. I only recently have replaced the flyer brake and drive band. Even if you don’t know what those terms mean, in short, I have spun a lot and done very little maintenance on it.
The Louet is a bobbin led wheel. What this means is that the drive band goes around the bobbin, which on one end has several grooves. Each of those grooves represents a ratio. Standard Louet S17 bobbins have 5:5, 7:5, 10:5 ratios. Those numbers mean for each turn of the wheel, the bobbin has turned 5 1/2, 7 1/2, or 10 ½ times. Bigger number equals faster speed. My wheel for most of it’s early yardage was on 5:5 ratio. For the last couple years it’s been almost exclusively at 7:5 ratio.
I love this wheel for spinning my fleecespun bulky art yarns which I spin from fluffed fleece. The flyer has a ½ inch orifice so anything, included felted flowers, can easily go through it. The bobbin led system pulls the yarn around the bobbin just better for spinning in the fleecespun style. I’ve tried the same yarn on my Ashford and because it’s a flyer led system it doesn’t have the same pull in as the Louet. This is not to say the Ashford is not a good wheel. It does have a place in my spinning world, which I’ll discuss in a later post. The Louet also has huge bobbins so I can easily fit 100 yards+ of bulky handspun on one.
The only thing I would change about the wheel is the treadle. I wish it was a double treadle. My Ashford is a double treadle and I just like it better. Double treadling feels effortless and has less stress on my feet and legs. They do make double treadle Louets with the bobbin led system, which I have looked into along with the Ashford Country Spinner, and the Spinolution Wind, also a bobbin led wheels.
Overall, if you are looking for an entry-level wheel that won’t break the bank I would highly recommend the Louet S17 because of ease of treadling and maintenance, as well as sheer sturdiness. It might not be the most traditional looking wheel, but it will spin many yards of yarn and just keep going.
Overall, if you are looking for an entry-level wheel that won’t break the bank I would highly recommend the Louet S17 because of ease of treadling and maintenance, as well as sheer sturdiness. It might not be the most traditional looking wheel, but it will spin many yards of yarn and just keep going.
RSS Feed
