Majacraft High-Speed Head

For my Birthday awhile back I decided to get something bigger for my wheel. I frequently spin quite thin so I have been looking at the high speed head. I do have a high speed whorl which I like. The whorl is kinda considered the replacements for the head, but there are benefits for having and using both. None of the Aussie suppliers had this advertised so I tried a NZ distributor Alpaca Box. One thing I noticed about Majacraft in general while looking for distributors is their site lists many, but few have much if anything listed on their site or no longer exist. The lovely owner emailed me quickly and on finding out the delay in making a new one offered me the demo one she had just taken out of the packet. So instead of waiting 4-6 weeks I said yes and got it in a week. 

The wood is just beautiful and it makes the rest of my very old Suzy very tarnished by comparison! All I had to do to change the head over was undo the large screw the top, removed and the entire head head pulls up or pushes in. Put screw back in and tighten and done. 1 minute change!

Too much fleece behind the wheel

I put my flyer on the right hand side (previously left) as it felt better and sat better, but either side is feasible. As you can see there are extra components. the whorl comes with it and gives me an extra whorl in general to play with. While the usual drive band to whorl configuration still exists they kinda borrow from the Aura with a second rubber band that drive the flyer on the other side

Lovely wood grain there

The front view (or spinners view) the tensioning system comes with a smaller, lighter spring. Thankfully they also gave lots of tension band as I have broke it once during a spinning marathon. Thankfully only a few cm's from the end so was a very easy fix. 

So was it worth it. So far I am still breaking it in. I defiantly is faster and even without the smaller whorl it changes the Suzy range of speeds from 4.2-14.5 to 11.4-27.

It would be ver interesting to try all the different whorls to see what ranges I can get. Even the fast speed whorl by itself only goes from 9.5-18.8 so this defiantly gives a boost. I think I will really appreciate it when I get to cotton spinning! As I have my Aura and love it I am changing this Suzie up to a specialised high-speed spinning wheel. I am glad I got it, would I recommend it - maybe. Only if you need/want extreme high speeds, but I would try the whorl first and see if that works as it is much cheaper.

I will give an update later after I have used it for a few more spinning adventures. 

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Akerworks Bobbins Review

One necessary product us spinners need and tend to have too many of (is there such a thing? Sorry no!) is bobbins! I have 11 types between all my wheels (with about 30+ in total), and because it was a fun idea here are all my bobbin types in a row!

Missing a Wee Peggy!! It's like an Ashford DD anyway. So 10 out of 11 bobbin types

Anyway.... I had known about Akerworks for awhile they not only do bobbins, but also 3d printed spindles, magnetic needle holder lazy kate and flyer threaders (there is some non-spinning stuff as well). I had been fascinated by the bobbins, but unsure due to the $USD to $AUD. Why the fascination about the bobbins? There are a couple of cool functions. First is this is a bobbin you can put in your pocket!

Picture from Akerworks.com

These flat pack bobbins allow use have a hollow composite core with two 3d printed ends. Because the ends are 3d printed this allows for the choice of not only several cool colours.

Picture from Akerworks.com

There is also a choice of different cool ends. 

Picture from Akerworks.com

They also have a large range of wheels they have bobbin for including Ashford, Hansen, Lendrum, Pocket Wheel, SpinOlution, Fricke, Kromski, Schacht, and Majacraft.  They cater for lots of different types of flyer types within the brands including double drive, jumbo, and lace. So what made me finally break the piggy bank and get these? Well, I have been loving my pre-loved Woolee Winder but have been unable to use it on my Aura due to the bobbins being 2cm or so too long. I noticed that they had Woolee Winder Majacraft compatible bobbins available so decided to go for it. To make the shipping a little be more palatable I also grabbed a Baby bobbin so I could ply on my lace flyer. 

The website is very well put together and easy to use. They also are very active on Ravelry where they frequently get USA members to be beta testers of their products and have a wishlist on which wheel/flyer types to consider engineering next. They are also quick with correspondence and shipping. 

I had initially just purchased the Majacraft WooLee winder and baby bobbins, then thought I should ask if the WooLee Winder one fit on the Aura. I did get told they do but had seen in the Ravelry chat they were still too long. I wasn't too worried as I could still use it on my Suzy.  I chose the Lotus design in in Emerald Green and the Honeycomb in Purple. Being the Aura is a bit special I was pleasantly surprised that all but the Bike Tire design was available to use on all Majacraft wheel types. It was under two weeks (like a lot under) to get it made and shipped and I got emails throughout to let me know how it was progressing. 

So excitedly I ripped open my package and found some nicely packed products. They came flat packed in special black gauze bags that has a separate area for the spool part and the round parts. They each had a small Akerworks card and there was a personalized thank-you letter that commented on how they liked my two colour combos.

Lovely hand written note

So I excitedly put the WooLee Winder one on my wheel and did it work........no. It was the same length. On inspecting the bobbin there was a part that pocked out more that I felt I could possibly sand back. This didn't work (or more so I didn't have the patience to get it down far enough). So I thought, as well, and got back to things.

Baby Bobbin Purple and WooLee Winder Bobbin Green

The baby bobbin is cute, it does run a bit noisier than standard bobbins, but my Suzie is an older edition so the drive shaft is a tad longer and things clack a little in general. So I don't hold that against the bobbin. I have done a full ply on it and it did well.

Showing the ball bearings and notches you use to attach

While I was exploring the Baby bobbin I noted something in the design. It was missing that middle section I found was protruding in the WooLee Winder version. So I unclipped the back part and clipped on the back section to the Winder version and low and behold...it was actually a tad too short! The two cog parts just touched, but they did touch! When I treadled my Winder did what it is supposed to do and wound!

Combo! The cog at the front of the WooLee Winder

Now you might remember I had this problem originally with my WooLee Winder on my Suzie and I just put a small washer on the shaft and it worked! So I tried the washer to give it the tiny push forward, but the random one I have is too big, but I am sure I can hit up a store for a cheap small washer (or even a rubber band!). I did try the shaft on the baby bobbin and different combos, but only the Woolee Winder bobbin with a different back end worked. 

So what started as sadness is ending in happiness! I have a bobbin I can use to combine my Winder and my Aura as I have been trying for ages to figure! What I might do when my piggy bank fills up enough again is when I order more (could do with 2 more) is to have a chat beforehand and figure out the exact combo that could work. With having so many different brands I am sure they have the right combo of front part with cog, shaft length and back part to make a perfect bobbin. I am also sure being able to advertise that this is possible might help another person like me. 

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Lace Flyer

Majacraft Lace Flyer kit

So a few weeks back I finally got my lace flyer that will fit both of my Majacraft wheels. With much trepidation I finally attached the fast whorl onto my Aura and got spinning. So what are my thoughts?

I bought the full kit that includes: the flyer, a fast whorl and 2 lace bobbins. Each of these items can be purchased separately.

This kit (and all other equipment) took awhile to come as all items are handmade to order pretty much (some places keep basic stock). So if you are after one quickly you might be out of luck. At least, you know they are well made and properly balanced. I ordered mine from Ewe Give Me Knits. The transaction was fine though the process is not finalised at once. You put in the order and the owners gets back to you with a quote that includes shipping later vs having a standard shipping. The order is sent through to Majacraft who does everything from there. So packaging and shipping etc was done by Majacraft and they were well packaged and shipping prices were fairly standard.

The flyer is the newer version and slightly different from what is displayed on the sites. I had known about the possibility through Ravalary's Majacraft website. However, I think it might be time for them to update the website. The difference is that the older flyer had two hooks on the bar to allow for cross warping to help reduce the pull. The newer version only has one, and it is also more an orifice rather than a hook which requires an orifice hook to put things through. I think if I had the choice I would prefer the to open hooks at the front. I believe the change was based on minimising the weight and perfecting the balance. I hope they bring back the double hook. For now, I am crossing over the arms of the flyer.

The tiny blakc piece that when missing!

The whorl was something I was very keen to get on my wheel. While I love my Aura the original whorl is a tad limited in ratios which are 4.1-7.3. Adding this whorl gave me a range of 10-19.4. I checked out the largest whorl and it came to about 10 revolutions. I am quite interested in getting all the whorls to play with. I must admit, this is the one time I prefer Ashford for changing whorls. It isn't difficult per se, but wasn't the simple slight twist Ashford does. I think now I have done it once I will be a bit better and I don't anticipate multiple changes. As you can see by their video to change the whorl one must use the provided Allen key and insert it into the hole in the metal area. What I didn't know however was that there a tiny plastic screwy kind thing in there. I discovered it when I felt something drop on my foot. Thank god I found the insanely tiny little black piece. It took a little while for me to get it tight enough to get things sorted so I could get the Aura flyer off to change (you have to hold the whorl and give a slight twist).

So finally how does it spin?

LACE!!

While I know a good spinner can spin anything on any wheel at any setup I can really appreciate how the whorl, flyer and bobbin work together to make it effortless. I started spinning some of the thinnest spin ever on the superwash Merino I had going. For awhile I kept breaking because I was getting too thin, but by the end I was getting fairly good. I have one bobbin done and am setting up another bobbin to get ready for some plying.

I did find that getting my treadling started was a bit harder and I can't tell whether things is just me comparing my Suzie rather than an actual issue. Will have to keep an eye on it. Having these add-ons really does make the Aura able to spin a large range without difficulties. I will be interested in how it goes on the Suzie as the fast whorl give a range 9.5-18.8 compared to the standard 4.2-14.5 on the Suzie whorl.

I have done an entire bobbin and a half so far and still loving. I had this set up at spinning recently and sold my other Aura sister on this as she had been watching and we had a chat. It is lovely when the item speaks for themselves.

Now for pictures showing how tiny this set is compared to the big Aura ones!

Standard Aura whorl with lace whorl.

Aura vs Lace Flyer bobbins and flyer sizes 

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Woolee Winder + Initial thoughts

It is no surprise to anyone who has read my blog that I have had my eye on an item such as the Woolee Winder. However due to the atrocious exchange rate right now a simple flyer and 2x bobbins would cost at least $500. Seeing this is more than the costs of all but my Aura it was WAY outside of a price range I could rationalise. Since I had bought the Aura I had joined the Ravelry group for Majacraft and posted that I was after certain products including the Winder. Within a week, I got contacted and for half the price and with more bobbins the Winder arrived. 

Majacraft WW with delta orifice

It seems like the Aura there is a love-hate relationship, no middle ground with the Winder. The previous owner found it pulled too much for her fine work and it does seem these work better with certain wheels. While I don't think my opinion will change from my initial thoughts you never know.

The Woolee Winder!

So what is this flyer and why should we care? Compared to other flyers this one has a patented method that winds the yarn up and down as you spin instead of having to change hooks and allows a better/even filling of bobbins which allows for more yarn per bobbin. These flyers also needs the specially made bobbins with a gear on them. Some say, well I have no issue with changing the hooks and can keep it well filled etc. Yes if these issues are not a problem then you probably don't need it. I won't say it is a problem for me, I am just a collector ;)

The moving eyelet

The Woolee Winder is available for different wheel types and lovingly the maker pays attention to keeping the flyer and bobbins looking uniform. So my Majacraft flyer and bobbins look perfectly matched! They also have a jumbo size available (mine is standard). Different orifices are available on request.

Set up on the Suzie

So I chucked the flyer on and adjusted the tension on my Suzie and honestly didn't have ANY trouble with the pull after the first adjustment (which you do with any new yarn/flyer/empty bobbin anyway). I was using the batt that was given the flyer came wrapped in (so I have no idea what it was) and found I could spin super thin very easily. In fact, one thing I did find I really liked was while there was very limited pull while I was drafting, as soon as I went to feed it into the bobbin it had a much stronger pull. This I found great! Normally when I have low tension for thin spinning it can easily get overspun as the pull is not there. So this balance was great. The maker better explains this:

"Each bobbin has a little gear on the front that turns a small, lightweight gear train to the travel screw. When you are spinning and holding tension on the yarn, the bobbin and flyer rotate at the same speed. When tension is released from the yarn, the brake does its job slowing down one component while the other keeps moving at the same speed. (A bobbin lead slows the flyer, and a flyer lead slows the bobbin.) This difference in speed is what winds the yarn onto the bobbin and also causes the gear train to turn, turning the travel screw, and thus moving the eyelet down the flyer arm. When you reapply tension to the yarn, both the flyer and the bobbin return to the same speed and the gear train stops turning. The moving eyelet will then stay in the same position until the next time you let tension off the yarn, then the process repeats."

Extra washer to push the bobbin closer to flyer

So far so good! One minor thing I did find at first was the bobbin was a bit short on my Suzie and the cogs of the flyer and bobbin didn't quite meet up so didn't always move the winding part. However, my Suzie had a washer/cog that came with it I had taken off and stored safely (which I was actually able to find for once!). Once I put this on it allowed the cogs to interact and work its wonder. 

Aura bobbin with the holes to drive it and the WW bobbin.

The bobbins are a decent size, but smaller than my Aura bobbins and around the same size of the standard boilable bobbins you get from Majacraft. While you need these special bobbins to use the flyer properly and they cost $39-$45 for standard or jumbo. However, I believe one could easily find the same sized cog and attach them to their own bobbins. However depending on the exchange rate if you needed new bobbins in general (at least for Majacraft) the pricing may be negligible. Plus the bobbins are a bit thicker on the wooden ends so there might be a balance issue. As I have a few extra bobbins I want to try and see if I can add a cog to the boilable ones.

At the moment, I can only use the Winder on my Suzie. HOWEVER, this might just down to the bobbins. When you purchase you get asked whether you want the Aura style (which fits all) or the standard which fits everything but the Aura. Looking at all the different flyers for multiple wheels it does not appear any change in the mechanism. So my thoughts are simply drilling the two whole required for Aura bobbins and I can have the WW interchangeable between both my Majacraft wheels! So one bobbin will be sacrificed for that and a boilable bobbin will be sarcificed to glue a cog on. Lets see how it goes with plying next as I hear that is where it shines!

The two cogs together from the flyer and bobbin

WW set up on my Suzie 

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A moratorium has been imposed

My new baby

Well it happened as you can see after my last post the Aura came home with me. Yes, yes I was all talking about customisation but hear me out. As I mentioned in my last post I got the opportunity to go try the wheel. I got to sit down with the lovely Jenny from Virginia Farm Woolworks and try this wheel I have been ogling for the past number of months. When I sat down she span so well and one thing I found that even between two different types of wool I tried I had a lot more control over the thickness of the wool that I haven't had before. This was just on the setup they had, no tweaking. So I sat there spinning and talking. After much conversations about how I can always laser engrave in later, the back log of even standard orders and the worry about trying to convey a design internationally I knew I was going to have a friend on the drive back. I already talked about my experience at Virginia Farm in my last blog so this will be the Aura, what I have experienced initially (so I can chart thoughts and progress) and what I am excited for in the future with this wheel.

The Majacraft Aura
Built in collaboration with an accomplished spinner Pluckyfluff this was Maracrafts jump into not only double drives, but reinventing the wheel (sorry had to). Like traditional double drive wheels one the flyer and bobbin get spin by the drive band. This wheel has a unique set up with two independent drive bands (not just one looped around twice as per standard double drives). One drive band spins the flyer and the other spins the bobbin. This allows for the ability to individually change both the tension and the twist.

The flyer is also a little bit different in that dual function orifice for fine or thick spinning. The drive band for the bobbin does not actually go over the bobbin itself. It has a special whorl on the front (which has two different ratios) and the bobbins slots into two pins that spin it.

While this wheel is a folding wheel so in some ways would be considered a "portable" wheel it is a heavy sucker. It has some lovely Rimu wood that is native to New Zealand and ethically harvested.

Majacraft in general hand makes all their wheels. Majacraft has been owned by the Poad family since 1996 (Originally owned by John Arlott from the late 1980's who was the original creator of the first Suzies). There are already two brilliant posts about the history and family here and here. One feature I love is that each wheel is hand signed and numbered by which ever Poad makes it. This number is also used to register your wheel on the Majacraft site for your 2 year warranty.

Hand signed!

There are a lot of amazing videos available that explain the unique properties of this wheel better than I can explain. These are better seen than explained.

I also decided against an overdrive head as I don't need an even bigger bobbin and would prefer the different range of flyers I can use with this and cheaper bobbins.

As this wheel was primarily designed for art yarns so the ratios are a little low 4.1-7.3
However you can change the whorls and the different whorls can change the ratios down to 3.6 and up to 19.4  (I will have to see if my Suzie whorl fits, as she predated the Poad families Suzies). I have seen lots of info about spinning lace weight easily on the standard Aura.

I am going to name this lovely creature Serenity. Why you ask - because of this cute anecdote I read Apparently Andrew Poad (whose name is on my wheel)is a Firefly fan and originally the Aura wheels code name was Serenity. I am a Brown Coat myself and a major fan so I love the link there!

Andy, Glynis, Owen and Rod Poad from NZspinningwheels.info

My first thoughts.... I like it better than my Suzie, she is beautiful and I am very happily surprised how much more control I have over my fibres size as I have struggled getting consistent thicker yarns and within moments could do it. So I can only imagine what some practice will achieve!

So what is next for the Aura? Well now I am on a moratorium as the title mentions. So no buy on spinning except if I need more bamboo fibre or dye for my entry in the Easter Show. Next post will be on the upcoming shows in Sydney!  However I eventually want to get a tensions lazy kate to fit these bobbins and the lace flyer system.

Suzie eyeing down its cousin. 

I think this is wheel 10.....double digits...I swear this is the last for a very long long while unless I come across some $10 beauty!

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Virginia Farm Woolworks

I swear it followed me home like a lost puppy! I think it was a given that it was going to happen, it was just a when.










A few weeks ago I had contacted a local distributor about trying one, but they didn't have any in stock. Well today I decided to take the day off uni and while I was sitting around I got an email saying they had one available I could try. So a quick phone call and I was on the highway to Virginia Farm Woolworks.

Photo from Virginia Farm Woolworks of their lovely property

I will try and be good and instead of going on about the wheel this (that will come later I promise...or I am sorry) will be a semi-review of this spinning and weaving shop.

Virginia Farm Woolworks is about an hour away from me (probably about the same distance give or take from Sydney city). So while too far for weekly classes close enough for special classes and to get my Majacraft stuff. They are situated in a very lovely area of NSW called Annangrove. I got to meet the lovely Jenny and Phillip Dunn who are the owners. Virginia Farm sells not only Majacraft but also Ashford and Kromski. 

They also sell looms and fibre fun! I spent most of my time with Jenny and had a good chat about the local Guild (we will keep an eye out for each other). She does classes and workshops that also include Felting. I am keeping my eye on some upcoming felting classes. While there I felt they had the time for me and enjoyed my company. No hard sell, at all and we discussed the pros and cons of me waiting for a customisation (discussed in later blogs).

I felt I got all the info I needed and a great service and felt comfortable buying and expensive wheel from them. They were also very helpful with my payments as I was using a credit card I rarely used and forgot the password for (and needed to go to an ATM to reset). They took my paypal payment there and done and dusted. Packed her up with my bobbins and all the boxes and parts that comes with it and the leftover wool I had been playing with.

So very happy with this company and looking forward to checking out their upcoming workshops.

Part 2. The Wheel!

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The Dream List

Golding - Triple flyer - Taking Flight II

What triggered this post is I have been drooling after a particular wheel (those who have read previously can already guess) to the point I would watch videos on it and I think I have read every blog post about it. Strangely I have never tried it, so it is not like my traveller when I tried it beside the ashford kiwi and knew it was the best choice for me. It's interesting how my list changes with new discoveries. So this will be a sort of series every now and again to see how and why certain items pop on my list. This is also a practical list, so while I would love a Golding's Spinning wheel some cost more than my car!

Customised Aura for Woolwench.com

*BOUGHT*
So very soon (once I put in my research proposal this coming week) I am going to put an order in for a Majacraft Aura, hopefully with some customisation on it.

So why the Aura? I am not sure what got me into Majacraft (like how I don't know how I got into spinning), I must have seen one on a blog or facebook group. I love the style of it and after watching videos on its innovative tension system. I understand people either love it or hate the tension system. I did look out for places that have one to demo but unfortunately it was not meant to be. So I will be buying one untested, but I feel that seeing that I already own and like a Majacraft wheel that the chances are slim I'll dislike it. As for the tension system, I am so new to spinning I think I could easily switch between systems and learn to love one easier than someone who has spent years with a particular system.

So this wheel will be my present to me after all the stress and anxiety of this research proposal and also hopefully be a congratulations on passing the first hurdle in my candidature. These wheels take awhile to come as they are from NZ and also hand made, especially if I get one customised. So by the time I hear feedback on whether I can go forward on my research. I am very stressed about this. While I believe my supervisors wouldn't put it in if they thought I would fail one supervisor makes me doubt myself so very much. So present!


So what else is on my list (with less words!)
Majacraft Fusion Engine Drum Carder 
I already have an Inwood drum carder that works fine, but what I appreciate about this is:
- Interchangeable Drums (so you can use the same carder with different tpi cloths)
- Drums are designed to fibre doesn't catch in the sides (demo video)
- Handle folds in
- Additional injection tray for artbatts
- Gears over band or chain to drive the drums

I already have nice wool combs and while I would like a newer blending board and carders (any brand really I haven't found one type that is above and beyond any other brand) the only thing on my "need" list is cotton carders.

LOOMS!

I haven't talked about much beside spinning as of yet really. I do have an ashford rigid heddle, but now I have seen more I would prefer either the Majacraft dynamic heddle loom or Kromski Harp. Why do I prefer them? They both have the ability to fold up (like the Ashford Knitters loom), but both also have a warping board on the bottom which is invaluable for other looms as well and one less piece of equipment. Both also have stands, what I would need to figure is which sizes I would prefer, prices of extra equipment like heddles and the variety of size and adding a second heddle.


Floor loom wise I am enamoured by Saori looms, but they are limited in the number of shafts they have. However a floor loom would require my own house to put it in. So a floor loom will be put in the "wishful thinking" category unless I got my hands on a baby wolf 8 shaft.

Now just have to win a couple of million for all of this and a place to put all these items in. However a person can dream!

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Wheel....7...

Yes this is where one starts to admit they have a problem. I claim they are antiques as well as functional. This is still under 6 months since I started spinning by this stage I had bought 6 wheels and sold 3. So at this stage I was down to 3 wheels (Traveller, Wee Peggy and E-Spinner). I thought I was fairly done. During this stage I had been doing lots of drooling over "future wheels". Future wheels are wheels that are expensive and are so well loved they rarely become available second-hand. During this time I had become enamoured with the NZ Majacraft wheels, especially the Aura.

Drool!!

However this is about $1400-$1500 *cries*. So I had set a Majacraft Aura as a graduation present. So one day I was trolling facebook when I should be studying early December and guess what I found.......

Not an Aura, but a Majacraft Suzie. Knowing how quickly these things sell I jumped on it. I knew that if I didn't like it I could sell it on at the same price easily (and the comments after me asking to be next in line demonstrated that). So wheel 7 arrived packed to the brim with extra fibre (just some bobbins that missed the post and are coming soon.

The majacraft suzie is lovely to use and has some features I like. It is

Older Style Suzie

double treadle (which I love), but is scotch tension. Scotch tension is a bit better for finer spinning so I am going to set this wheel for fine spinning and my traveller as bulky spinning with its jumbo flyer. It has more variation in ratios with different ratios on the whorl and wheel. It is is portable and can be folded up with an on board Lazy Kate. The bobbins are boilable plastic with holes over the more common wood ones, which means they can be wet on the bobbin. I recently saw a Majacraft spindle attachment which will be on its way soon.


The Aura is still on my list for an ultimate wheel (and that includes American wheels I have checked, but until that time I am enjoying my introduction to Majacraft wheels on a wheel that many love as well. Who knows when I get the Aura what I do with this one, but she will be around for awhile yet. 

Look at all that Fibre, there is even a cat on the right to understand how much there is! Most Optim Merino

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