Over the last couple of years I have managed to accumulated eight spinning wheels. Some of those wheels came with assembly instructions and manuals.
Where the wheels are no longer made and where I’ve been able to obtain permission, I am sharing all my information with others so they may benefit if they happen to have a wheel the same as mine.
Enjoy!
Melanie
MelsNattyKnits 
I have bought an upright wheel that was made in Newcastle NSW. It has a brass plate that says “Australian Wheel, crafted in Newcastle by Richard Lance”. I can not find any info on the maker whatsoever yet it is a beautifully crafted wheel. Any suggestions?
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Hi Elizabeth, I have posted your question on a Facebook page (Australian Handspinners and Knitters) and I’ll let you know if I get any responses 🙂
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Thank you so much for that.
Sent from my iPad
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Hi Elizabeth, does the wheel have a piggy tail orifice?
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Hi Elizabeth, here’s two responses I received “fairly sure this man made ‘Rosewood’ wheels, a lady in our group has one. Find out if it has a ‘piggy tail’ oriface.” and “About 30 or so years ago the Central Coast Wood Turners decided to makes spinning wheels as a project and a lot of members did make one and a lot of them had a name plate on them. Most were kept within the family of the maker but some were sold locally when people moved home or passed away. So if you have no success with spinning wheel makers then the Woodturners might be able to shed some light on the maker. However as these were made so many years ago there are probalby not many members left who were involved in the project. (Central Coast is just south of Newcastle)” http://newcastlespinnersandweavers.org.au/contact.htm Hope these two leads are helpful. Cheers, Melanie
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Thank you so much for that.
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Hi Melanie,
That is such great information, thank you so much.
My wheel does appear to be made of rosewood as it’s a rich rosewood colour. However the orifice is a normal round one and not a piggy tail??? It’s an upright wheel with decorative pieces (turned) in between the spokes. The base is a rounded triangular piece and the bobbins fit on horizontal bars in front.
Cheers
Elizabeth
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Hi Mel,
My wheel has arrived by courier and now I have a clearer picture of the writing on the brass plate. It is “Hebredian wheel by Richard Lancey of Newcastle” and it also says “made in rosewood in 1995”. So the lady who responded was correct. Thank you again for gathering that information. It’s a beautiful little wheel.
Cheers
Elizabeth
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Hi Elizabeth, so glad you found out more about your wheel and that I was able to help 🙂
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Hi Mel
I have a Peacock spinning wheel..great little thing that I am getting up and running. I am quite ok with the three different speed options on the driving wheel but Why is there two options on the spool.? The larger diameter would give more friktion than the smaller diameter on the spool with the Scotish tension but that would be marginal? Or are they ment to replace the Scotish tension by using a second driveband from the spool to the larger end of the big driving wheel as an option? Do you have any more info or other useful things about the Peacock I would be most greatful.I like to spin singles for knitting sweaters and want just enough twist on the yarn.
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Hi Anita, I very rarely use my Peacock. Have you looked at the instructions pages on my website as it gives a diagram of the different speeds. Have you looked at the New Zealand spinning wheels website? I would suggest you contact the administrator of that site as she is an absolute wealth of information when it comes to NZ spinning wheels. Mary has also written a special section on the Peacock timeline – https://nzspinningwheels.wordpress.com/peacock-wheels-timeline/ I hope this information is of help to you 🙂
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