I noticed that I had to spin my experimental spindle quite often. I was not able draft fast enough and the twist built up and reversed the spindle. I needed to either draft faster, or slow the spindle down. I started by drilling a couple holes in the base of my spindle and wiring in an embroidery hoop. Moving the weight away from the center slows down the spin (yay physics!)

This worked well, but was very heavy. So I visited a local craft store and picked up some steel macrame hoops. Rather than wiring them in, I had the idea to snap them on. Because I so helpfully included an indent at the bottom of the spindle (which at the time I just thought was pretty), I could make a catch with the wire so the hoop could be changed out.

I need to perfect the balance (which using a lathe on the spindle and more precise wiring should help), but with this modest modification I could produce yarn so much faster. The hoop is low enough that I can still use the nostepinne style ball wrapping, and when I want to use the spindle supported, the hoop pops off. It is not really surprising that I came to this solution. Wire is one of my favorite mediums, right up there with wood.