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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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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