Sunday, March 24, 2013

Flier Whorls

For the last hundred years or so, DD flier and bobbin whorls have had "V" and "U" drive band grooves respectively.  This worked with the typical DRS of 1.2 and  the resulting required slippage.  The "V" groove in the flier whorl makes precise DRS for very fine threads more difficult.

With a precise DRS, much less slippage is required and the  drive band grooves can both be "U" shaped to facilitate  precise DRS for very fine threads.

This is a bit of a problem with Ashford Fliers, but Alden Amos's fliers use a threaded connection between the flier axle and the flier whorl.  This makes it easy for the home mechanic.  Anybody with a small wool lathe can make a new flier whorl to go with their home made bobbins.



From right to left, a piece of board sawn cherry, a 5/16"steel threaded insert with an Allen head set screw in it, set screw with cap nut and washer, whorl blank turn round, and a finished whorl.

The board is bored with a ~25/64" hole, and the threaded inset screwed in using wood glue as a lubricant. The cap nut and washer allow the set screw to be used as a turning mandrel.  (Cap nut in 3-jaw chuck, tail stock center in depression in end of set screw.) Turn the blank.

To finish the groove, I use a scraper ground from a high quality HSS skew chisel. The cutting edge used to produce the bottom of the "U" should be very sharp.

Finished assembly and some 5,000 ypp worsed Cotswold single from this morning's spinning.

Math for calculating dimensions is in Alden Amos's,  Big Book Handspinning.

A recipe for belt dressing is also in BBH.

I just noticed how dirty my spinning wheel is.  (It is dirty, but it has been oiled every hour during use.)  I will clean and wax it real soon now.  These days, my wax for all wooden tools is equal weights of walnut oil and bees wax melted together.  It is non-toxic and it drys to a water and alcohol proof finish that does not yellow.   However, this mix does take a while to dry.


7 comments:

Lisa said...

I can't understand why you insist on spelling "flyer" as "flier." For someone who relies on AA as much as you do, I would have thought you would have learned from his explanation on page 430 of his book.

Aaron said...

Lisa,
See Proceedings - Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1865) pg 117

Catalogue of Mechanical Engineering Collection in the Science ..., Part 2 page 126

Appletons' cyclopædia of applied mechanics: a dictionary of mechanical ...page 143

Index of patents United States Congressional Serial Set 1908 page 906

Official gazette of the United States Patent Office march 2, 1897 page 1646

Together these make it clear that "flier" is an appropriate spelling in mechanical engineering circles in both the US and GB.

AA looks back to Howard Priestman, who was more of a textile guy than a mechanical engineer, and who uses the "y" spelling. In particular AA's and Priestman's discussion of DRS are parallel.

Lisa said...

"Together these make it clear that "flier" is an appropriate spelling in mechanical engineering circles in both the US and GB.
AA looks back to Howard Priestman, who was more of a textile guy than a mechanical engineer, and who uses the "y" spelling."

This is not a mechanical engineering circle, it is a textile circle. In this world, "flyer" is the correct spelling. (Also, according to my dictionary, "flyer" is the correct spelling, and it notes that it is often confused with "flier.")

But, as usual, YOUR way is the only RIGHT way. No matter how many times you're told it's not.




Aaron said...

Lisa,
This my blog. You may read it, but it is my journal of what I learn.

AA's Big Blue Book offers a good frame work to hang hand spinning concepts on, but certainly does not contain all the details. He told me this in no uncertain words when we first met.

In my mind, a (DD) "flyer" has a DRS of ~1.2 and requires drive band slip to function properly. There are still a few of these around the house because I use them for plying. A "flier" has a DRS that is precisely engineered to have a DRS to produce a specific grist, does not require slippage, and thereby can be driven much faster. "Fliers" are much faster. Alden starts to discuss precise DRS assemblies, and then on page 227, he invokes slippage and precise DRS goes out the door, and, the whole system slows down. Certainly the flyer-bobbin assemblies that he made for me had DRS that was much larger than what I had asked for. To get the DRS that I wanted, I had to make the bobbins myself.

However, this has been a learning process and I cannot claim to have been perfectly consistent with my vocabulary in the past. It is only in the last few weeks that I discarded the "U" and "V" shaped drive band grooves that Alden accepts as a "classic" (pg 226). Thus, today, I would say that flyers have "V" shaped drive band whorl grooves; and, fliers have "U" shaped drive band grooves whorls. More detailed differences can be found in the list of patents that I offered you. For example, some flier assemblies are gear driven, so there is no slip what so ever.

I am still learning. and until I know everything, I try not to get bound up in a particular vocabulary, because it would limit my thinking. I do not say that my way is the only right way, I say it is the best way I know. That means, I looked at how others are doing it, and I kept looking until I found a better way. And, I have not stopped looking. When I find a better way, I will adopt the better way!

Lisa said...

"Thus, today, I would say that flyers have "V" shaped drive band whorl grooves; and, fliers have "U" shaped drive band grooves whorls."

So, once again, you've just made up something to fit your agenda. And that's some sort of "better way" for you. Well, I guess it would be, since you're all about trying to prove that you're intellectually superior to every other spinner and knitter in the world, alive or dead.

If it's part of a spinning wheel, no matter how the grooves are shaped or how fast it goes, it's a "flyer."

Aaron said...

Lisa,

You talk like a lady of fashion that wants hand spinning equipment to stay the same forever.

I think and and talk like an engineer that is constantly improving and refining his tools.

That is a difference I can live with. Spinning as a pastime has one set of social conventions, and spinning as an evolving technology has another set of social conventions. You and I have different goals and conform to different social conventions.

We live in different worlds. In my world, it is better to offer solutions than to whine about terminology. If your blog was full of tips and hints for better tools or technique in any of your interests, I could take you seriously. For example, I love Schubert! Why don't you start a blog on how to play Schubert better?

Lisa said...

"You talk like a lady of fashion that wants hand spinning equipment to stay the same forever."

Where, exactly, did I say that I want hand-spinning equipment to stay the same, or even imply it? I have no problem whatsoever with spinning equipment changing. Actually, I find your discussion of the V-shaped and U-shaped grooves really interesting and helpful. But once again you show your misogyny by the patronizing accusation of being a "lady of fashion."

"You and I have different goals and conform to different social conventions."

This has nothing to do with so-called social conventions. If there's a social convention I endorse, it's to not be an arrogant, condescending arse. It's not about your goals, either. I couldn't care less if your goal is different than mine, but I do care that you belittle me for it.

"If your blog was full of tips and hints for better tools or technique in any of your interests, I could take you seriously. For example, I love Schubert! Why don't you start a blog on how to play Schubert better?"

My blog isn't full of those things because (1)That wasn't the point of my blog (and, really? You can only learn from someone if they have a blog full of better tips and techniques? Wow, that's sad.) and (2)As a beginning violinist, I was nowhere near being able to tell anyone how to play Schubert "better." Even if I were an expert violinist, I wouldn't have the arrogance to think that I could do so. I respect other musicians too much to make such a flat claim. I might, instead, write about a way of playing Schubert that I personally found satisfying, but I wouldn't be so conceited as to say that it was better than another musician's way of playing it.

"In my world, it is better to offer solutions than to whine about terminology."

I never said you couldn't offer solutions, so I'm not sure why you even wrote that. And your patronizing mind-set comes through again with your use of the phrase "whine about terminology." For someone who is supposedly so invested about learning and growing and being correct, that's a just plain bitchy thing to say. You are spelling the word wrong, period. You can claim it's an engineering "social convention" all you want, but that's totally bogus. It's pretty clear that you cling to the wrong spelling because you're completely invested in showing yourself to be supposedly more intellectual and intelligent than the rest of us poor, ignorant spinners.

You've been told this over and over and over again: The issue isn't with your knowledge and techniques (or your solutions.) The issue is with your contempt for other knitters and spinners and their opinions. We're not all dumbasses out here, and you might actually have a number of spinners who would care what you have to say if you weren't so arrogant and misogynistic.