Media Category: issue

Index of The Spinning Wheel Sleuth issues 1-129

A triangular table has a flat board nailed to the left side. A spoked wheel is held by turned rods that are set into the board. At the top of the board is a spindle held by a short turned post.

Close-up of the spoked accelerating wheel. The hub or whorl on the right side of the photo has a thick groove for a clothesline rope which goes to the pulley attached to a post. The groove on the accelerating wheel itself, on the left side of the photo, carries the lighter-weight drive band that goes to the spindle.

Close-up of movable board that holds short spindle post with spindle attached below it. Drive band from accelerating wheel goes around the whorl on the spindle. A large nut holds the movable board in place.

Side view of box type tape loom carved and painted light brown with green leaf designs, date of 1849 in yellow, nicknamed the “cradle loom” in the collection of Versterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Ratchet and pawl on upper right hand corner. Warp with small section of weaving visible at top.

Reproduction of “cradle loom” by Merlin Lee, painted light blue with flowers and leaf designs on each side of the ratchet and pawl in the middle. It has a warp with some weaving and a shuttle on top.

Overhead view of an unpainted reproduction of a “cradle loom” showing the warp going through a rigid heddle and shuttle in the warp.

Rectangular shallow wooden boxes joined by a metal hinge.Two circular discs of different sizes on the right-hand side, a spindle on the left-hand side. A band goes from the larger disc to the smaller one and another band goes from that disc to the spindle.

Line drawing with title “Accelerating wheel head” at top shows an accelerating wheel with grooves on right held by two small posts set into a round rod with threaded screws under them. A spindle is held by bearings. That rod held by a post set between two posts. Part of a band goes around the grooves of the accelerating wheel, and another goes around the outside of the wheel to a whorl on the spindle.

Overall view of spinning wheel marked B. SANFORD, by Beardsley Sanford [1790–1868] showing two treadles, two wheels, two bobbin/flyer units, and a pole distaff.

Close-up of front of spinning wheel marked B. SANFORD showing more clearly the two shovel-shaped treadles, split table with two wheels, a spoked drive wheel and a solid wood accelerating wheel between the sections of the table, and four posts with the two bobbin/flyer units at the top of each pair.

View from back of wheel on the left the top of rear post, a bulbous-shaped maiden with scribe marks and the shaft of flyer held by a leather bearing, the bobbin/flyer unit. On the right parts of the spoked drive wheel below and the solid accelerating wheel at the top. The bands go from the accelerating wheel to the bobbin/flyer unit.

Detail of front of spinning wheel marked B. SANFORD showing the leather belt going from the wide rim of the drive wheel to the hub or whorl on the front of the accelerating wheel. The drive band can be seen going around the accelerating wheel to both of the bobbin/flyer units. Also the threaded rod tensioners can be seen going from below the mother-of-all to the center post. At the bottom is the front section of the split table holding the center post.

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.)