images for issues
Two metal forms hold up a long metal track. Metal rods go from the bottom of the track to the metal forms to reinforce it. At the left end is a metal drive wheel with the handle close to the forefront of the image. A bright window and a staircase can be seen in the background.
End view of device showing the metal support post, metal drive wheel with handle top right and spindle mechanism at top left. Shadow of support post can be seen on the floor.
Close-up of metal spinning section marked “Pettet Patent Nov 23, 1865” with section of frayed rope on the left-hand side.
Line drawing, not very clear, of the Pettet’s 1865 patent diagram. The side elevation is on the top and the Plan view, i.e. from the top, on the bottom. The signature of the witnesses are on the bottom left-hand side and that of Miles Pettet on the right.
Drawing of Pettett’s Patent #1612, 23 August 1872. Top shows side elevation of table with drive wheel on left with accelerating wheel on right with swinging arm above. A list of parts is on the upper right. Below is the Plan view, with writing underneath.
Lower table rests on four legs, with treadle bar and treadle between the two in front. Four upright posts set into lower table hold a split upper table. Crossbars between the front and rear pairs serve to hold the axle of the drive wheel that is spoked and has a wooden rim. Upper table holds the two maidens in the front and the tension screws in back. One bobbin/flyer unit is on the right.
Right-hand end of lower table with J. SANFORD stamped into the wood.
Detail showing inscribed bands on turned maiden in foreground with tension screw in back, bobbin/flyer unit with drive bands between them. Top of drive wheel visible between split table.
Sanford house in Newtown, CT. Old white house with central door with two windows on each side and five windows above. Trees in background and shrubs in front. Modern car can be seen in lower left.
Josiah Sanford’s family grave marker is an urn-topped marble obelisk, with his name and that of his wife Polly and their dates carved on the front. Josiah is noted to have died July 26, 1851, at 58 years and 1 month old. Polly is listed as having died April 13, 1854, at 60 years and 10 months old. It is also noted that Polly was the daughter of Captain Enos Johnson.
In the background are other grave markers and a large tree.
Rectangular piece of wood with floral design on surface. On the left two turned posts hold a spoked wheel with a metal rim. On the right several turned pieces of wood are set into the base that has a knob on the end, A piece of green cloth is around an unidentified object.
Close-up of turned mother-of-all set into collar on table. Turned maidens hold rebuilt U-shaped flyer and bobbin. Lower part of distaff set into end of table behind it.
Delicately turned pole with replaced canework creates a bell-shaped distaff.
Restored Hardy wheel. Rectangular wooden base with turned posts on right holding a spoked drive wheel with a metal rim and metal handle. On the left the restored bobbin/flyer unit and the three part distaff. The top part is dressed with flax fiber with a green ribbon around it. There is spun fiber on the bobbin.
Heavy cardboard formed into a rectangular box. Thinner cardboard above the front with hole and slot form for threads. At back of inside is a wooden dowel that connects through the side with a simple ratchet and pawl.
Rectangular piece of wood has alternating holes and slots cut our of the upper half, curves carved out of the bottom section for the weaver to hold it between her legs.
A rectangular wooden box has a hole and slot loom as the front side. Attached to the rear, held by two uprights, is a small reel around which the warp is wound. A rod can be placed between the uprights to keep the reel from turning.
On a rectangular wooden base, two uprights hold two harnesses (with wire heddles) operated by two hand-operated treadles. A separate beater is next to the front bar that holds the woven tape and there is a second bar at the rear to hold the warp.
A shallow, rectangular, wooden box on four legs holds one rigid heddle operated by a single foot treadle below it. Round bars hold the warp at the right end and the woven tape at the left end above the treadle.
Front view of Wheel #1. Two parallel wood boards form the base, joined in the front by the treadle bar and in the back by a turned stretcher. Four turned posts fit into the base and hold the table. Two short stretchers between the side posts and a long one in the back. The rectangular table is slanted with a deep slot. The drive wheel, with six turned spokes, that is held by a pair of short, slanted posts, fits into the slot. Mother-of-all with turned maidens on left, with the distaff behind it.
Rear view of Wheel #5. Structurally the same as Wheel #1 but simpler and slightly different turnings on legs, stretchers, wheel supports, and spokes. A round wooden footman, with a key hole, at the top connects to the treadle that has leather hinges on the front crossbar and the left side of the base. (Structure of wheel #1: Two parallel wood boards form the base, joined in the front by the treadle bar and in the back by a turned stretcher. Four turned posts fit into the base and hold the table. Two short stretchers between the side posts and a long one in the back. The rectangular table is slanted with a deep slot. The drive wheel, with six turned spokes, that is held by a pair of short, slanted posts, fits into the slot. Mother-of-all with turned maidens on left, with the distaff behind it.)
Front view of Wheel #4. Structurally the same as Wheel #1 but has more ornate turnings on the legs, stretchers, support posts for the drive wheel, the spokes and the maidens. The surface of the table is decorated. A nut is on the front tension knob. A spare bobbin is on the back of the table. (Structure of wheel #1: Two parallel wood boards form the base, joined in the front by the treadle bar and in the back by a turned stretcher. Four turned posts fit into the base and hold the table. Two short stretchers between the side posts and a long one in the back. The rectangular table is slanted with a deep slot. The drive wheel, with six turned spokes, that is held by a pair of short, slanted posts, fits into the slot. Mother-of-all with turned maidens on left, with the distaff behind it.)
Close up of rear view of Wheel #4 showing the back side of the table. A name, probably “Annamarie Mersten 1864” is painted on. (Thank you to a reader in Germany for assistance in interpreting the name.) A spare bobbin is on the back part of the table. The bobbin-holder rods driven into the back of the table are orifice rods.
Two wooden planks or rails, with three crossbars, form a track set on four legs. A drive wheel with 8 spokes and a crank is on the right end and a large triangular treadle is underneath it. A small, wooden trolley or cart, containing the accelerating wheel and the spindle, can move along the track.
Close-up of the left end of the track shows the threaded wooden screw going through the rail and holding the metal pulley that it adjusts and the nut. Each rail has a separate pulley and threaded screw unit. Bands go around the pulleys.
A small, rectangular wooden box, a trolley or car, fits between the track rails. Small posts on the right side of the top hold an acclerating wheel. On the left a pair of maidens hold the spindle to which it is attached.
Teeter patent: David B. Teter, Batavia Station, Iowa, #447,685, May 9, 1865. Line drawings from Teeter’s patent application. At top is a side view showing the track with the drive wheel on the right, in the middle the overhead view. Lower left are the two separate threaded screws that attach to the rails. They position the pulley to adjust the tension on the long bands that move the “car.”
Detail showing signature “cALeB BedWell AU 11, 1862” pricked into the top of the table.
Example of great wheel found in Dayton, TN, has “cALeB BedWell AU 11, 1862,” pricked into the end of the table. The slanted table is simpler than the others, a tapered rectangle. Two short legs at end of table have bead-like turnings, as does the drive-wheel support post on the right and the single long front leg on the left. Drive wheel has twelve spokes and a sliding tensioner, on the left. There are maidens but no spindle.
Drive wheel post and brace removed to show where number 6 is inscribed in the heart- or shield-shape medallion in front hole for drive wheel post, and the signature, J B 1868, is on the curved section behind it.
Unsigned example of great wheel illustrates the characteristics of wheels made by members of the Bedwell family: steeply sloped tapered table; short, turned, rear legs on left. The table has scalloped “waist” and wedge-shaped rear; drive wheel has twelve spokes with weighted rim ends. A brace goes between the drive wheel post and the table. Turned long front leg on right; turned spindle post on a sliding tensioner, on far right has maidens for direct drive but spindle is missing.
Great wheel marked JB 1868 typical: the steeply slanted table, scalloped “waist”; wedge-shaped rear, with short turned legs on right Replacement drive wheel on post and brace from drive wheel post to table. Single leg on left, sliding tensioner on table holds the short, round spindle post. Legs, wheel post and brace all have sections painted with what appears to be India ink or other “lamp black” paint.
Wooden base, shaped like letter H, has on the left end a round piece into which are set the two turned spindle posts holding the spindle. On the right side, taller pair of turned posts, with bulbous tops, hold the drive wheel. It consists of two flat discs with notches around the edges. The drive band rests on the lacing between the notches. A wooden handle was fashioned with turnings to match the other parts. All are painted dark reddish brown..
Hands hold two turned wooden pieces that are spindle posts. They are rounded with bulb forms on top. Lower, near the hands, are openings that will hold the leather bearings for the spindle. Post on the right is the unpainted replacement part.
Wooden base has two small posts on the left, rounded in the middle that hold the spindle. In front of it is a slightly taller post with a slot through the middle to hold the drive band. On the right are two tall support posts, round but thicker in the middle that hold the drive wheel. All the posts have mushroom-shaped pieces on the top. The drive wheel consists of two matching sets of multiple spokes that are laced together. The drive wheel axle bends down to hold a wooden handle. Most of the parts are painted tomato red.
