Many objects are forgotten through time. Old techniques, old methods lost, simply because they are not productive enough. These facts struck me in full force, when I suddenly found a broken down old spinning wheel, peeping at me from behind a mountain of discarded flat screens and semicrushed plastic chairs. A forgotten, beautiful tool, screaming to be revived, to be breathed life into.

Step 1: Step 1: Getting to Know Your New Friend

I've never even touched a spinning wheel before, so the first thing I had to do, was to assess what parts were missing. At the spinning wheel I rescued, I found the following to be missing: the mother of all, the flyer, both bobbins, the coil, the orifice, the string and a spike.

Step 2: Step 2: Defining

By defining what is missing, you need to find out how the spinning wheel actually WORKS, the functions it's supposed to master. Look at the image to see what functions the spinning wheel has. The foot at the treadle (b) drives the brass crank (c), which makes the axle and the drive wheel (a) spin. The strings (e) has been twice spun around the drive wheel, and is lead back to the larger bobbin (i) to the flyer (f), and then around the small bobbin (h) at the coil (m). Thereby, the coil and the flyer spins at different speeds. That means that the fibres in the string (g) are spun into a thread, and at the same time the fully spun yarn is drawn in, and drawn around the coil.

Step 3: Step 3: the Technical Bit

Now, the technical part of the job begins. You have to make both a large and a small bobbin, each needs a coil of their own. These are made of wood. Remember to make a hole in the middle, you will later need to insert a stick here. The flyer is also made of wood, to which you fasten 3 or more nails. Glue all parts with glue suited for woodwork.

This is also where you have to make the orifice. I've made it out of copper, by spinning it around a paintbrush.

Step 4: Step 4: Your Personal Touch

This step can be done by using regular string, but this is also a step where you can add a personal touch to your newfound spinning friend. I have extracted copper from old wires, found at a landfill. Make a long cut into the wire using a utility knife, and tear off the plastic covering the copper. Then, take fx a paintbrush or something else that is rounded, and which has the exact size of your links. Now cut those into rings. Put the rings together, and press each links together. When you've made two whole strings of links, you fasten a necklace fastener onto each of them, so you can fasten everything together in the end. The spike I also made using copper, but again, you can substitute the copper with whatever YOU prefer.

Step 5: Step 5: Spin Away

Spraypaint the entire spinning wheel (except the copper). Go buy some wool, or catch a sheep, and you can spend the long winter evenings spinning away, producing wool for warm and cosy socks, and gorgeous shawls!