A small update on the eSpinner and a tip for those who want a “remote” for their wheels.

When I built this wheel, I chose a 2.1mmx5.5mm plug.  The input power is 12vdc and the tip of the connector is positive.  This is a pretty standard setup and it allows me to use an off the shelf battery pack  that’s pretty commonly used on many electric spinning wheels.  I use a TalentCell 6000 mAh and it lasts at least a whole skein of lace to fingering weight yarn before I top it up.  I’ve never actually run it out so I don’t know how long it will actually last.

I mention these specs because I have a couple of suggestions for “remotes” or on/off switches that aren’t on the body of the wheel.  Not long ago, Maurice from Dreaming Robots posted this video on YouTube and it’s an option but if you don’t want to do the wiring, there are 2 simpler choices that don’t cost much more. Our local shops sell the switch Maurice shows for about $12 – $15 CAD.  If you don’t already do wiring things, you may also need other supplies.

The first option is an IKEA Tradfri Outlet kit for $20 in Canada and less most everywhere else.  This works great if you’re using your eWheel on AC power. You plug it in between the wheel’s cord and the wall.  The switch allows you to turn it on and off from a more relaxed position.  I suppose you might be able to actuate it with your foot as well but I just keep it on my lap. This also works for those who have a hard time actuating a foot control.

The Tradfri though doesn’t work if you’re using a battery pack.  This was one of the few outstanding “wishes” I had for the wheel back when I posted about it in December. I had thoughts of using a relay so that if I didn’t have a pedal with me, the switch would still work but if the pedal was plugged in, it would intercept the signal, etc. etc. but ugh.  Who wants to add that sort of complexity?

Then it hit me.  It’s a 12v system. There are lots of “remote” devices for 12v systems.  A quick look on the “‘Zon” found me this (note, I’m not necessarily promoting a particular seller, so that part is removed.  There’s more than enough info to find this device on the Amazon site of any country though and there will be other non-Amazon based sellers as well.):

I’ve now spun 1.5 skeins on the wheel with this device and it seems to work perfectly.  The only gotcha (it’s mentioned in the reviews) is that it must be plugged in correctly.  The male end needs to go into the eSpinner and the female connects to the battery end.  It won’t work otherwise and you’ll think you have a dud. This should also work with the AC cord.  I haven’t tried it personally and I have a kitty on my lap as I write this so I’m forbidden to get up but there’s no reason I can think of that it wouldn’t.

It may seem lazy to want this but one of the reasons I made this eSpinner (other than to learn CAD) was to make optimal use of my Woolee Winder.  I can lean back in a comfortable position and spin because I don’t need to move or change hooks.  I can just stop the wheel when I need to get up or otherwise use my hands.

Other than the new remote, I made 2 other changes to the wheel since December as well.

I had always thought a printed flyer would be too weak.  I came across a damaged flyer though and thought what the heck?  Why not try it? In practice, it’s way stronger than I expected.  I had thought the arms might flex too much but they even survived when I put the wheel in a case and on the seat of the car then had to stop really fast and the whole bag rolled onto the floor – landing bottom up.  Because of course it did.  It’s like expecting your bread to fall on the floor butter side up.  It just doesn’t happen.

The only thing I didn’t like is that it increased the noise level of the wheel.  I’d previously had it at about 35dBA with the wood flyer.  The Woolee Winder tends to be a couple dBA higher.  With the printed whorl contacting the front maiden bushing, it topped out about 41dBA.  Yes, I know – it’s still very quiet but I knew it could be quieter.  I redesigned the whorl to take a nylon bushing and with a little lubrication, it’s at about 35-36dBA again. Better still, it’s virtually invisible when the flyer is installed on the wheel.

The second change was one I made this week. The mother of all (MOA) used to be designed with printed “dowels” that connect it to the front maiden built into the mother of all.  This is a remnant of me learning CAD with this project.  Back in 2019 when I started this, I designed as best I knew how at the time.  The way I did it though made the part more challenging to print and relatively weak.

If I needed to change the front maiden or the MOA for some reason, I’d lose both parts when the pins invariably broke.  I left it as was though because the only time they seemed to break was if I was rough with them while disassembling for some reason – never in regular use.

These days though, I try to “pin” anything I join like this so on the weekend, I lopped those pins off the CAD design and recessed them instead.  Then I printed pins that were stronger and in theory removable if I needed to separate the parts.  Then it struck me:  dowel pins.  Metal dowel pins, in fact.  Today, I installed 2 of those in place of the original weak protrusions and the weekend’s printed dowel pins and the MOA to Front Maiden connection is rock solid and can be separated if needed.

This was the one part of the wheel I never truly trusted.  Now, I believe it’s ready for serious testing.  I have 5 spinning projects on the go for the year (and 2 already completed just in case it looks like I’m not finishing anything at all!).  2 are carry overs from last year (the flax and cotton spins) – and 3 new ones.  Already 2 of those projects are on the eSpinner for testing purposes and I think the flax one may end up here too because spinning the dyed flax “wet” transferred colour onto my wood flyer.  This printed one won’t care and if it’s damaged, I can reprint it.

So all of this testing and the iterations of making the wheel stronger and better tends to mean a lot of reprints.  Enough in fact to almost make another wheel…. or 2.

It seemed wasteful to throw out all this extra plastic. There might be some cosmetic issues with a part or a slight fit issue that could be overcome if one were to overlook the cosmetics that wouldn’t impede the usability of the wheel.  So, I printed the pieces that were missing and ordered a second set of electronics/electrical and…I did a thing.  1.5 things actually. Both version 2.0 wheels are complete and that used up about 90% of the “waste” pieces.

This evening, before I started this post, I was spinning on the one with the blue maidens and the the metal pins.  It’s working beautifully.  It may become a teaching device at some point. Or a loaner.  Or something.

The V1.0 wheel (on the right) needs only the motor controller, the motor, an AC Adapter, the front and rear maiden bushings and a flyer to be complete.  I went through a complete assembly with it to make sure everything worked and it even got 2 light modifications to address the two biggest concerns I had with it – the motor can’t move anymore (I installed a modified v2.0 “anti roll device” on it) and the bottom of the box has a top panel which allows better access to the belt should it need to be reinstalled.  I may build it up one day if I find a need for it but it’s complete other than those couple of things so it would be about an hour to get it up and running once the final parts arrived.

As to the original outstanding wishlist: the “foot pedal” is addressed as above.  The non-slip feet have been installed. And I turned a knob for the orifice hook from acrylic but the brake tension knob was fragile – I managed to drop it just before I drilled the final hole and broke it.  I didn’t think it would survive use so I will return to the idea of turning one from wood. Maybe I’ll get down to the lathe in the next week or so and try that out.

In the meantime, I’m seriously crushing on those (Prusa) Ultramarine Blue maidens.  The photos do not do them justice.  The blue is warmer and less “brash” than the photos show.  I’m pretty sure that MOA/maidens will end up on the “good” wheel and the teal on the reclaimed wheel.

All I have to do after this post is to switch the MOA/maidens, shorten the drive band on the reclaimed wheel and glue the drive bands together once I know they’re the right length.  Right now, they’re just using the pony bead lacing connectors and they sometimes come apart so gluing makes that less likely. Then I’m back to rigorously testing them.  I love my life. 🙂

Thus ends my latest frenetic project.  This is #2 for the year already.  Not too sure I like this trend.  I’ll post a quick note about #1 maybe later this week. This post is already longer than I intended.

Today’s Post title inspired by Whitesnake – Here I go Again.  This was my introduction to Whitesnake back in 1987.  From there, David Coverdale and Deep Purple and on and on.  I’ve always been a “rock” girl – having grown up with a drummer as one of my parental units.  I spent a good part of my teen years singing in bands and playing a little guitar and a little piano.  Some days I miss that but not enough to pick up my guitar apparently. Too many hobbies on the go at the moment.  Maybe sometime this year though.