The main wheel of a Great Wheel is truly great in size and the hub spins on a metal rod on the wheel post. The wheel stays on the post with a small nail or cotter pin inserted into the end of the rod.

The nail for the Great Wheel I was demonstrating with had fallen out… somewhere. This meant that the wheel kept migrating to the end of the rod, changing the alignment of the drive band and causing the drive band to slip off. My field-expedient fix was to use a wood toothpick. The toothpick alone, however, did not keep the hub snug against the wheel post, so I cut a leather washer and put it between the wood pin and the hub.

I kept the smooth part of the leather toward the hub to reduce friction, and added a drop of light weight oil to the metal rod. It turned well and stayed in place the rest of the day.

This post is part of a series about my experience demonstrating spinning on a 1860s Great Wheel in Mansfield Texas.

The Double Nut New England Great Wheel, that lives in Mansfield Texas in the Man House, has an accelerator wheel.

The accelerator increases the spin speed of the wheel, which indicates that the wheel was used for cotton, which needs more twist than wool. This matches the history of the area, where they grow cotton. To tighten the band from the accelerator to the spindle, the wood screws in the mother-of-all turn to raise or lower the maiden posts holding the accelerator.

It is interesting to note that the grooves in the whorl on the accelerator and the spindle are all the same diameter. On a treadle wheel, the grooves on the whorl are different, allowing for different spin speeds. On the Great Wheel they are for alignment. The drive band goes in the groove that lines up best with the center of the wheel. I spent quite a bit of time adjusting the wheel position and trying the drive band in different grooves.

This post is part of a series about my experience demonstrating spinning on a 1860s Great Wheel in Mansfield Texas.

The Double Nut New England Great Wheel is called a “double nut” because of the two wooden nuts on the wood screw that allows for adjustment of the position of the spindle post.

To increase the tension on the drive band that runs on the outside of the wheel, the spindle post can be moved farther away by backing off the left nut, and tightening the right nut. A properly tensioned drive band on a well-aligned wheel will keep the spindle turning without slipping or falling off the wheel.

All the wood screws on the wheel were in working condition, which is remarkable for 165 year old carvings. I was able to move the spindle post position in my quest to find the right alignment to keep her spinning for longer periods of time.

This post is part of a series about my experience demonstrating spinning on a 1860s Great Wheel in Mansfield Texas.