How to Oil a Spinning Wheel
Oiling a spinning wheel is necessary to keep the wheel in good working order. It also helps keep the wheel spinning quietly rather than having loud squeaks while you are spinning. Oiling a spinning wheel is easy to do and will make your wheel remain in great condition for years.
Instructions
-
-
1
Make sure that none of the oil can get onto any fiber or materials on the wheel. You will also want to make sure that oil can't drip onto carpet or any floor surface.
-
2
Put the oil in the bottle with a fine tip. The tip of the bottle will allow you control the amount of oil that you use on the wheel. The kind of oil doesn't really matter. You can use sewing machine oil, household oils, even motor oil. Just make sure that it doesn't have any color additives that might stain your fiber.
-
-
3
Oil the flyer mechanism. This part of the wheel spins at high speeds during spinning so it needs to be oiled every few hours during spinning as well as before each time that you begin to spin. You will need to remove the bobbin and flyer whorl. With the cloth, oil the flyer shaft and ends by placing a few drops of oil in them and spreading it around with the cloth. Replace the flyer whorl and bobbin.
-
4
Oil the treadle mechanism. You will want to put oil on the pins where the treadle is attached to the wheel and the area where the footman is attached to the treadle. These are also the areas that will squeak when your wheel isn't oiled.
-
5
Make sure there is no extra oil on the wheel. If there is some leaking, simply wipe it up with the cloth.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Don't get oil on the grooves of the flyer wheel, bobbin, or wheel. These areas depend on friction to move and oil will make your wheel unable to spin.
Never oil the axle of the wheel. This area is packed with axle grease then the wheel is constructed and oil makes this grease break down.
