Build Your Own

Indian Head Spinning

Wheel
Thank you for purchasing the Indian Head Spinning Wheel plans. All money generated from the sale
of these plans goes directly to support Llamas in the Raw Sanctuary; helping to care for llamas and
alpacas in need.

To learn more about us, please visit our websites:

http://www.llamasintheraw.com The Llama Sanctuary

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http://www.YouTube.com/FibreArtsBootcamp to see our full list of videos covering kntting, crochet,

spinning, fiber processing and of course, the Llama Sanctuary

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If you have any comments or questions, please direct them to mailto:fabinbc@gmail.com

Thank You and enjoy the process!

David Chapman
Fibre Arts Bootcamp

2368 Enderby Mabel Lake Road, Enderby, British Columbia, V0E 1V5

All plans, documents and photographs included in the Build Your Own Indian Head Spinning Wheel
package are exclusively owned by and are the copyright of FAB Fibre Arts Bootcamp (BC) 2013.

2013 by FAB Fibre Arts Bootcamp (BC) All rights reserved. No part of this document may be
reproduced, resold or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of FAB Fibre Arts Bootcamp (BC).
Contents

1. Introduction

2. Size Matters

3. Origins of the Indian Head

4. Drive Belt

5. Variations on a Theme

6. Flyer Brake

7. Bobbin

8. Flyer Assembly

9. The Orifice

10. The Treadle

11. Parts List

12. List of Drawings

13. End Notes & Contact

Introduction

After posting a video of fiber artist, Lynne Milsom, spinning art yarns with her old Indian Head, treadle-
treadle
mounted spinning wheel, the interest that people have shown in the machine has been astonishing.
Many people wanted to know where the they could buy such a headd to fit their own sewing machine
treadles. To the best of my knowledge however, there isnt anyone making these se types of heads for
sale and since every head that Ive seen has been different, its fair to assume that they are all
homemade.

Having had the pleasure of handling a number of these machines over the years, Ive studied each
machine in detail and incorporated what I believe to be the best of all designs into these plans.

This is not the easiest home build project and you will certainly need access to a lathe for the bobbin
and the orifice. However, if you are prepared to do the work or have the parts made for you, the end
result will be a machine that should last many lif
lifetimes; an heirloom to pass on down the generations
F.or until someone comes up with another use for these delightful old sewing machine treadles!

Size Matters

This design lends itself to flexibility, an essential

ingredient if you want to spin something out of the
ordinary like art yarns, which require a large orifice and
occasionally, a heavier than usual flywheel.
Since art yarns are commonly uneven and frequently very chunky, they require a drive mechanism
with sufficient momentum that will not falter at every variation in the yarn. The cast iron treadle and
the large head create the perfect combination. In my soft-headed opinion, it is quite sacrilegious to
destroy a perfectly good sewing machine to make a spinning wheel. However, if you retain the
original work surface of the machine and take good care of the sewing head, you can if you wish,
produce a dual-purpose machine!

Just because the plans specify a certain diameter for the orifice or the bobbin, you can make them as
large or as a small as you like. Why not scale everything up and grab a place in the Guinness Book
of World Records by making the biggest spinning wheel in the world?

Origins of the Indian Head

I dont know much of the history of this style of wheel, but

apparently, it became very popular among the First Nations
women on Vancouver Island, BC, during the 1960s and 70s, for
producing the chunky yarn for Cowichan sweaters.

This style of head can be mounted on any sewing machine

treadle or alternatively, can be mounted on a simple, home-built
wooden treadle.

At a fair, one elderly First Nations gentleman, over-hearing a

conversation I was having, concerning a search for an Indian
Head machine, recommended that I visit his Reservation, where
he had seen many of them lying around. He said there were lots
of different sizes, and although some were completely useless,
others would were still in good working order. My ears pricked
and I was about to ask for directions, when I caught the twinkle in
his eye and a smile creep into the corner of his mouth!

There are still a great many treadle sewing machines sitting in

barns and sheds and basements, gathering dust and entertaining
mice. If you dont already have one, ask around and you will
undoubtedly find one close to home.

Drive Belt

The original sewing machines used a leather drive belt. In our own experience, the leather belt is too
stiff and imposes too much tension on the considerably lighter mechanism of the spinning wheel
head. After trying out a variety of options, the best solution turned out to be a cheap 3/8 inch diameter
polypropylene washing line from a Dollar Store.
Thread the cord through the machine and mark the line at the required length while holding it place,
under slight tension that is not tight, but not slack.

Cut the line and then use a lighted match or

cigarette lighter to melt the two ends of the
drive belt. When both ends have developed a
small melted blob, gently push the ends
together using a slight, back and forth,
twisting motion. Hold the ends together until
the melted plastic has set hard again.

I wear an old glove when doing this and once

the two ends of the cord have been pressed
together, I gently squeeze and mould the
melted blob with my fingers to create a
smooth finish. Alternatively, you can wait until
the plastic has cooled and use a sharp knife
to pare away any irregularities in the
congealed plastic.

Melting the line will result in a slightly shorter

length belt than the one you initially
measured. This is desirable and should result
in just the right amount of tension to drive the
bobbin.

Left: welded join visible in the new drive belt

A word of caution: the fumes from melting plastic are toxic. I would advise performing this operation
outdoors and take precautions against breathing the fumes. Use an appropriate face mask (not a
paper dust mask), hold your breath or do whatever you have to in order to avoid the fumes. I know
youve probably breathed in plastic fumes on countless occasions, but that doesnt mean to say they
havent affected you at some less-than conspicuous level.

Whilst were on the subject of cautions and warnings dont wear loose clothing when operating a
lathe, dont scratch your ear whilst holding a chisel, dont dry a wet dog in the microwave and keep
your fingers out of the way when hitting a nail with a hammer. Got it? Good.

Variations on a Theme

The two pieces of the spinning wheel that have elicited the greatest variations in design among the
home-builders are the Flyer Brake and the method of joining the Flyer Arms to the Flyer. The Flyer
Brake is discussed in detail a little later, but the Flyer Arm joints are open to your imagination and
level of skill. I have seen simple butt joints screwed and glued that work just fine, as well as finely
crafted finger joints. These arms are fragile, so try to make them as strong as possible.
The drawings provide two possibilities, but study the photographs before deciding which method to
use. You are also free to apply whatever craftsmanship is at your disposal to create something that is
artistic and beautiful; after all, someone will be looking at it for hours on end!

Two different methods of joining the Flyer

Arms
 Left this Flyer has had a rough life 2and a very
poor quality repair

Flyer Brake

Our very first Indian Head was equipped with the most crude braking mechanism imaginable. It
consisted of a piece of cord running in the braking groove of the orifice and passing through two brass
hooks on the table. The cord was tied with a slip knot which enabled slight, but crude adjustments of
tension. We learned after a while that a heavier cord provided sufficient friction without having to
adjust using the slip knot, but this was not really adequate.

Crude Flyer Brake (black cord)

This machine had been made with a great deal of care and uses a piano wire tensioner to adjust the
brake. Using a piece of fishing line as the brake, this system allows for extremely fine adjustments of
brake tension. Unfortunately, other aspects of this particular head have been less well finished,
especially the rough surface inside the orifice, which created many problems.

Attention to the finish is necessary if you want

a responsive and versatile spinning wheel.

Excellent Flyer Brake Using Fishing Line &

Piano Wire Tensioner

Tail-wrapping the large

orifice and strong drive
mechanism can handle just
about anything you care to try
 A third variation of the Flyer
brake is the one included in
the plans. It is simple, cheap
and very effective. A slim
wooden peg is tapered to fit
snugly into a hole in the head.
A thin cord runs through the
braking groove and is tied to
the peg. Turn the peg to
tighten or slacken the cord.
The peg has never fallen out
or slackened of its own accord
and allows for fine
adjustments of tension in the
brake.

Tapered Peg Flyer Brake

An elastic hair band provides flexibility with this

brake, but it is not strictly necessary.

Bobbin
The bobbin is also open to your imagination as far as aesthetic design is concerned. The only
elements to consider are the size of the drive pulley and the weight of the bobbin ends.

The size of the pulley will govern the rate of spin. This machine was made with two different sized
pulleys, which is great in
theory, but of course, the
drive belt has a fixed length.
In order to use the smaller
pulley, some method of belt
adjustment would be
required.

I have a few ideas of

providing adjustable belt
tension using another small
wheel mounted on a sprung
arm behind the head, but we
havent actually found it
necessary to change the
speed of the wheel. The
smaller pulley on this bobbin
would have the bobbin flying
around at warp speed, which
isnt practical if youre
creating chunky art yarns!

The treadle to bobbin ratio

should be in the range of 1:4
to 1:5, depending on the type
of yarns you are most likely to
produce.

The treadle machines I have

measured have all had drive
wheels between 12 and 15
inches in diameter. A bobbin pulley diameter of around 3 will give you the correct drive ratio. If you
predominantly spin fine or consistent yarns, then make the bobbin pulley slightly smaller, giving you
greater speed. If you need more control and less speed, in order to produce irregular or art yarns
then make the bobbin pulley slightly larger. The faster the bobbin spins, the faster you make the yarn,
but you will have less control if you need to stop or slow down frequently to manipulate the yarn.
The other factor to be considered is the bobbin weight. A heavy bobbin will contain too much
momentum energy, resulting in less
control. The tapering profile of the
bobbin in the above picture,
provides less momentum. The
thicker whorls below act like a
flywheel in a heavy wood.

Note this bobbin has been

provided with nylon inserts at both
ends to reduce the friction on the
shaft. They are nice, but not
essential ingredients, since the
treadle is made from heavy cast iron and requires little effort to drive the lightweight spinning wheel.

Whether you use nylon inserts or not, the hole for the shaft needs to be slightly oversized for the shaft
size you have chosen to allow for smooth rotation.
The Flyer Assembly

The Flyer Shaft is made from 8mm (approx. 5/16) steel rod.

Securing the rod in the Flyer has also been the subject of several different designs. In these photos,
one end of the rod has been tapped (a thread cut into it) and a nut and washer holds the rod in place
through the orifice. A brass collar fits very tightly on the rod and has been hammered down the shaft
and into the Flyer. Another variation is to tap the rod far enough so that the Flyer is held between two
nuts. Ensure the first nut placed on the shaft
does not rub on the bobbin.

Left shaft end secured with nut seen

through the orifice
The Orifice

You can make the orifice as large or small as you like. The size of the orifice does not determine the
thickness of the yarn being spun. Three quarters of an inch is perfect for just about any yarn you may
want to make and this is much larger than that of almost any other commercially produced machine.

Polish the inside of the orifice carefully with the finest sand paper you can lay your hands on.
Gradually reduce the grit of sandpaper you use until you reach 320 or 400 grit. This should produce
an extremely fine, polished finish.

It is better to shape the yarn exit hole to accommodate the direction the yarn wishes to flow, since this
will allow for smoother winding-on. One of our machines was treated to a nylon pad on the Flyer, to
reduce friction, but if the wood is nicely sanded, this isnt necessary.

Above: A nicely shaped exit hole reduces friction when winding-on

Below: The exit hole in this machine is not shaped and relatively rough, causing friction with fine fiber
The Treadle

There are several different types of cast iron sewing machine treadles in circulation, but I have yet to
find one that doesnt work with this head. You will have to decide though, whether to make a new
worktop for the treadle or adapt the existing one.

Since the sewing machine is probably recessed into the worktop, when you remove the sewing
machine head, you will be left with a big hole. You can choose to retain the original worktop and
mount the spinning wheel head on a base sufficiently large to cover the recess. Alternatively, you can
make a new worktop and dispense with the recess once and for all. My own preference is to retain
the original worktop and to make the spinning head with a base large enough to cover the recess.

This head was not designed

for this particular treadle, but
it still works!
Below: The original surface has been retained and a board has been carefully crafted to conceal the
sewing machine recess. This head was not the original and requires some work to make it look good
Based on a smaller and much lighter-
weight treadle, this machine has been
given a completely new work surface.
Its sufficiently lightweight to be moved
around the house, whereas the larger
Jones & Co and Singer treadles are
pretty heavy, for which you will need to
find a permanent place of residence!
Yet another design of Indian Head
Parts List

Cradle Base 520 x 90 x 22mm

Orifice Support 150 x 70 x 22mm

Flyer Shaft Support 150 x 70 x 22mm

Brake Block 70 x 50 x 22mm

Orifice 115 x 46mm

Flyer Stock 226 x 45 x 16mm

Flyer Arms (x2) 220 x 15 x 16mm

Shaft 350 x 8 steel rod, threaded at one end with matching nuts

Hooks Qty 6 brass cup hooks (approx. same size as the orifice)

Brake Tensioner small tapered wooden dowel peg

Drive Belt 3/8 polypropylene washing line cord or similar

You can play with the dimensions as much as you want. Every machine we have seen has
been different and they all work!
List of Drawings

Cradle

Brake Assembly

Brake Block Complete

Brake Block Dimensions

Cradle Assembly

Cradle Base

Cradle Complete

Flyer Cradle Orifice End

Flyer Shaft Support

Flyer Shaft Support Dimensions

Orifice Cradle

Orifice Cradle Marking

Flyer

Flyer Dimensions

Flyer Arm Dowel Joint

Flyer Arm Finger Joint

Flyer Assembly Dimensions

Flyer Hooks

Orifice Block Dimensions

Orifice Dimensions View1

Orifice Flyer Joint

Orifice Internal View

Orifice Xray View

Bobbin
Bobbin Exploded View

Bobbin Plain End View

Bobbin Pulley End view

Bobbin Side View

Completed Head

Assembled Orifice End Xray

Complete Exploded View

Complete Side View Xray

End Notes

Thats about it! You now have all the information

you need now to build your very own spinning
wheel; an heirloom that will be passed down
through the generations.

If you have a specific questions, you can email us at

fabinbc@gmail.com

David Chapman & Lynne Milsom

We would like to thank you for supporting Llamas in

the Raw Sanctuary. All proceeds from the sale of
these plans and everything else from
www.fabinbc.com goes towards the care of rescued
llamas and alpacas in the sanctuary.