| Drop Spindles and Custom Woodturning |
| Last updated on January 2, 2014 Copyright 2006-2014 True Creations |
(585) 377-9389
jim@truecreations.biz
19 Random Knolls Drive, Penfield, NY 14526-1958
jim@truecreations.biz
19 Random Knolls Drive, Penfield, NY 14526-1958
| True Creations Drop Spindles |
True Creations Standard Drop Spindles have evolved through a design/evaluate/
modify process with spinning experts that initially took over 1.5 years. Our
designs feature the natural beauty of the exotic woods we use for our whorls.
We want to keep it simple for everybody. Each True Creations Drop Spindle is
unique. No two are the same. The whorl woods are all hand selected for grain,
color and density. Whorl woods depend on availability which is always changing.
When you order spindles for your shop, we will select a variety of woods, shapes
and weights so your customers have a great selection to choose from. We have
three popular weight ranges. The "minis" are .5 to .9 oz, the "standards" are 1.0
to 1.5 oz and the "maxi" are 1.6+ oz. Occasionally or when requested, we make
"micro" spindles which weigh less than .5 oz. Most of our drop spindles are top
whorl spindles. We can make bottom whorl spindles upon request. Notches are
not cut in the whorls on bottom whorl spindles.
It's the little details that makes for a great spindle versus just an OK spindle. First
of course is that is has to be balanced and it has to look great! Otherwise, what's
the point? True Creations are all balanced, rim weighed and are precision made to
very high standards.
Some of the details that differentiate True Creations hand crafted spindles
from other spindles are:
The shafts are turned on the lathe twice to shape the tips, to sand and to have a
light finish applied. The light finish helps to keep the shaft clean but at the same
time allows enough "bite: to help hold your fiber. Shafts are typically 1/4" in
diameter as our customers feel it allows them to obtain a higher RPM to maximize
spin time. Each shaft is marked with the spindle weight and the whorl wood for
the owners convenience. This eliminates the "I can't remember what wood this is"
problem for shop owners.
The whorls are turned four times to ensure balance and allows the beauty of the
wood to be maximized. Whorls are all rim weighted. If the wood is highly figured
like Zebrawood, we tend to make smooth whorls without a lot of decoration so
the wood can "speak for itself". If the wood is plain like Yellowheart, we will add
beads and coves to dress up the whorl. See closeups of our work on our example
spindle page.
Each whorl typically has four hand cut notches to prevent fiber slippage. Four
notches allows you maximum flexibility to bring your fiber to the hook, no matter
if you like to put a S or a Z twist into your fiber.
Our hooks are all hand formed using tough stainless steel wire. The tip of each
hook is carefully ground to remove burrs which prevents scratches and snagging
of the fiber. This is an extra step that we feel is very important but not performed
by most spindle makers. We set the hooks "north and south" at very high speed
which ensures they are centered. The spindler should "tweak" all their hooks "east
and west" depending on the thickness of their fiber and which side they bring the
fiber up from. That ensures the fiber is concentric to the shaft and eliminates
wobble from a misaligned hook.
The retail price points - Mini and Standard spindles is: $50
Maxi spindle is: $50+
Bottom Whorl Spindles: $60
Wholesale inquiries - click here.
Retail customers - click here.
modify process with spinning experts that initially took over 1.5 years. Our
designs feature the natural beauty of the exotic woods we use for our whorls.
We want to keep it simple for everybody. Each True Creations Drop Spindle is
unique. No two are the same. The whorl woods are all hand selected for grain,
color and density. Whorl woods depend on availability which is always changing.
When you order spindles for your shop, we will select a variety of woods, shapes
and weights so your customers have a great selection to choose from. We have
three popular weight ranges. The "minis" are .5 to .9 oz, the "standards" are 1.0
to 1.5 oz and the "maxi" are 1.6+ oz. Occasionally or when requested, we make
"micro" spindles which weigh less than .5 oz. Most of our drop spindles are top
whorl spindles. We can make bottom whorl spindles upon request. Notches are
not cut in the whorls on bottom whorl spindles.
It's the little details that makes for a great spindle versus just an OK spindle. First
of course is that is has to be balanced and it has to look great! Otherwise, what's
the point? True Creations are all balanced, rim weighed and are precision made to
very high standards.
Some of the details that differentiate True Creations hand crafted spindles
from other spindles are:
The shafts are turned on the lathe twice to shape the tips, to sand and to have a
light finish applied. The light finish helps to keep the shaft clean but at the same
time allows enough "bite: to help hold your fiber. Shafts are typically 1/4" in
diameter as our customers feel it allows them to obtain a higher RPM to maximize
spin time. Each shaft is marked with the spindle weight and the whorl wood for
the owners convenience. This eliminates the "I can't remember what wood this is"
problem for shop owners.
The whorls are turned four times to ensure balance and allows the beauty of the
wood to be maximized. Whorls are all rim weighted. If the wood is highly figured
like Zebrawood, we tend to make smooth whorls without a lot of decoration so
the wood can "speak for itself". If the wood is plain like Yellowheart, we will add
beads and coves to dress up the whorl. See closeups of our work on our example
spindle page.
Each whorl typically has four hand cut notches to prevent fiber slippage. Four
notches allows you maximum flexibility to bring your fiber to the hook, no matter
if you like to put a S or a Z twist into your fiber.
Our hooks are all hand formed using tough stainless steel wire. The tip of each
hook is carefully ground to remove burrs which prevents scratches and snagging
of the fiber. This is an extra step that we feel is very important but not performed
by most spindle makers. We set the hooks "north and south" at very high speed
which ensures they are centered. The spindler should "tweak" all their hooks "east
and west" depending on the thickness of their fiber and which side they bring the
fiber up from. That ensures the fiber is concentric to the shaft and eliminates
wobble from a misaligned hook.
The retail price points - Mini and Standard spindles is: $50
Maxi spindle is: $50+
Bottom Whorl Spindles: $60
Wholesale inquiries - click here.
Retail customers - click here.
Click on left images to learn about our spindles and
see samples of some of the whorl woods we use.
see samples of some of the whorl woods we use.
| Click Image below to see close-up examples of our whorls, shapes and woods |
