Large Redheart Supported Spindle for Yarn Spinning

Hi Lisa,
I was inspired deeply by the walnut turning you recently posted so I tried my hand at turning one out of Maple… While it turned out “ok”, it just wasn’t as nice as the ones you do… This one here is just incredible… It looks massive and the color is great… Just wanted to thank you for posting this as I now have something fun to do with some of my scrap woods… cut them into turning blanks and practice… not yet sure what I will do with them once finished, but it is nice to have something to do on the lathe while my other projects are in the glue up stages…
Thanks again,
Wisty

-- New Project = New Tool... it's just the way it is, don't fight it... :)

Wisty!

You should learn to spin wool, silk, cashmere! Or find a lady in your life who would like to learn or already knows how. It’s a very relaxing hobby that can be enjoyed during the evening news or while watching primetime television. Never feel unproductive again. These kinds of spindles are highly sought after tools for the fiber enthusiast.

I have a process I follow every time I make these spindles so they are a uniform shape no matter what size… I cut the neck first… work down the shaft, and then finish the point last. I made a measuring jig to help me with consistency. I’m so into these spindles (and so are other people) that I am grinding down a tool today special just for getting the correct angle for the neck and the point. I’m committed!

-- Lisa Chan, custom cafts and yarn accessories, http://www.grippingyarn.com

Very nice Lisa

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Beautiful work and useful, too! It must be great to have your work “highly sought after.” Congratulations! :) Nice to see it in your hand to get some scale. By the delicate shape, I expected it to be much smaller. Do you have a video of one in use? It would be interesting and educational.

Hi Lisa,
Don’t think my wife will let me take on yet another hobby… between woodworking, photography, hockey, and collecting things, she’d be a little upset… I would love to see some pics of the various stages you mentioned… I basically turned the blank into one long round piece, then cut away a little at the neck as you did. I did have troubles getting the tapered part just right, but managed. And last, like you, cut the point. The process was somewhat simple, but getting the dimensions bang on so it looked good was a little bit of a challenge… when you have time, can you post a pic of the tool you are making for the neck angle? Would like to see what it looks like…
On a side note, your profile pic is showing you as either “shy” or “cold”... which is it? lol
Wisty

-- New Project = New Tool... it's just the way it is, don't fight it... :)

your spindel looks rocksolid
thank´s for sharing

Dennis

well done. The Redheart sure looks like it finishes nice, it even looks satiny. How would it be for small finials??

Wonderfull work Lisa. Another great turning. You have gotten fantastic at that lathe.

Keep it up.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

I don’t know how it’s used but that looks really neat! Got to check out the rest of what you do :)

@ Dustin, it’s a spindle for creating your own yarn. You attach a bit of wool to it, it spins around, and YARN!

-- Lisa Chan, custom cafts and yarn accessories, http://www.grippingyarn.com