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IST Crafts  |  SKU: FC-CC60

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IST Crafts Spindle - Cocobolo

$6399
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What Customers Say

Rated 5 out of 5 — 4 verified reviews

All of Ian's Drop Spindles are hand turned from selected hard woods. From the finely turned shafts to the shaped whorl he takes pride in their creation. As standard several coats of a Tung based oil are applied and then burnish. He finds this method brings out the depth and beauty of the wood while providing a protective coat that allows the wood to breathe.

The heart of any Drop Spindle is the shaft - In order to provide stable yet attractive shafts, Ian currently use three types of wood. English Sycamore, American Black Walnut and English Ash. All the timber is hand selected but Ian takes particular care over the shaft wood, looking for straight close grained timber. The timber is bought kiln dried and then further seasoned in his timber store. It is then cut into billets and furthered seasoned. This additional seasoning ensures a stable and straight shaft

Each shaft is finely hand turned from the acorn top final to the gentle taper of the main shaft. Particular attention is given to the joint to ensure each shaft fits securely to the whorl so ensuring the spindle spins true. The length of the shafts varies depending on the size of the whorl. Please note: the width given is at the underside of the whorl and the length is the total length of the shaft excluding the hook. The lengths may vary by a small amount as they are individually hand turned.

Regular

  • 60mm Whorl
    • Shaft Length: 240mm
    • Shaft Width: 7mm 
    • Weight: 18 - 28g
  • 70mm Whorl
    • Shaft Length: 260mm
    • Shaft Width: 7.5mm 
    • Weight: 28 - 38g

The Whorl - All of Ian's whorls are made from selected timber on a base of Ripple Sycamore. This provides a number of benefits. Aesthetically the base of the light Ripple Sycamore displays the main timber to great effect. The laminating of the two timbers help to provide a more stable whorl. And last but by no means least this process helps reduce the amount of exotic timber used.

The hook is a traditional "Sheppard's crook" made from 1mm stainless steel wire so allowing a fine yet robust hook that can be tuned with gentle finger pressure. Each spindle is tuned on a test rig to ensure a smooth and long spin.

The weight of the spindle depends on what type of spinning you are doing. Lighter weights for finer threads, heaver for the thicker threads and of course your personal preference.

The whorls are supplied notched.

40+ Year Heritage

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Overall rating: 5.0 / 5 from 4 reviews.

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Review topics: ["spindle","spin"].

Review highlights

Reviews

a delight

"This is my first spindle after the student versions I taught myself on. My overall background with fiber is not extensive (I come to the process from the perspective of an archaeologist, curious about the ways things were made in the past). I quite liked making and plying my first skein with the student spindles. I treated myself to this IST number in 60mm as a reward for making progress and so that I could start to get a taste of how different tools change the process. It is a beautiful object and a complete delight, a totally different experience. It spins very fast and I am having no trouble being consistent with it on my first attack at some merino. I have trouble putting it down; I want to spin constantly instead of grading exams. My next reward will be another in a different wood."

— Laurel B. (5/5)

I love this spindle.

"I bought this spindle to take with me to an artist residency in Iceland where I was going to do a lot of spinning of Icelandic fleece and I didn't know if I would have access to a spinning wheel. This spindle has performed so well. It spins really fast and long but I can also make it spin slowly. Beautiful tool!"

— Rebecca M. (5/5)

I had some good help

"I had some good help from the Woolery crew (via chat) in choosing this and another spindle. I wanted a certain weight range and they helped with the different woods. This spindle has a beautiful grain and spins long and fast and perfectly true. I love it!"

— Colleen C. (5/5)

Lovely

"Just got this in this week. It's beautiful and spins superbly! It seems like it will hold a lot of yarn! Very pleased with the look and feel of this spindle! And love the super fast shipping on Woolery."

— Heather (5/5)

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