Care and maintenance of Louet spinning wheel

 

Ease of use for the spinning enthusiast is the number one priority in the design of our spinning wheels. Our ball bearings allow easy, smooth rotation of the main wheels and the footman connection. The belt is made from flexible polyurethane and doesn’t need adjusting. To maintain the belt’s flexibility, it is important that you take it off of the whorl or bobbin when your wheel is not in use.

In this post, we’ll discuss how to best care for your wheel, whether it’s brand new or decades old.

Your brand-new wheel

The flyer orifice and brass bearing need time to ‘break in’, most spinners find that 1-10 hours of spinning is sufficient to eliminate any squeaking. In the meantime, applying a small amount of lubrication to the orifice (see instructions, below) will reduce the squeaking.

Please note that the ball bearings are all sealed and lubricated for life. Oiling these bearings will break down the seals and expose the bearings to spinning dust and dirt.  This will cause the bearings to wear.

Regular maintenance instructions  

(edited Jan 2024) The flyer bearing of the Irish Tension spinning wheels and all bobbin bearings are made from POM (polyoxymethylene) or nylon (polyamide), depending on your model/date. These materials are self-lubricating and this means that no additional oil is required.

Adding oil to these bearings attracts dust and residue from spinning fiber, creating build-up and friction on the flyer. Over time, this can lead to wear and even grooves in the flyer rod.

To maintain the flyer bearing and bobbin bearings, clean it using a small, soft implement, such as a Q-tip. If it has become very dirty, a small amount of rubbing alcohol (a small quantity, applied to the implement) can be used as well. Continue cleaning until there is no longer any discoloration visible on the cleaning implement.

If there is squeaking at the orifice/brass bearing, apply a small amount of vaseline, which is widely available. Keeping the orifice well lubricated will assist the tension on Irish Tension wheels since the tension is regulated by braking the flyer with the brake band. If the yarn is still pulled in too hard when the brake is completely off, clean the flyer and brass bearing and apply fresh vaseline.   Only use vaseline as needed.   When your wheel is well broken in, you will find no additional lubricant will be needed.

In 2022, Louet changed the brass bearing to a POM bearing that is thinner, minimizing the friction on the flyer.   This change was an improvement over the brass bearing since the surface area where the flyer rotates is significantly reduced, thus reducing the natural friction of the IrT system.  The S10C and S17 use these POM bearings.   Originally we recommended using oil to lubricate between the POM and Flyer, however, oil has proven too thin and simply burned away when spinning.    Vaseline is the recommended lubricant if you have any kind of squeaking coming from this bearing.

Build up of spinning dust and debris may occur, particularly when using a lubricant such as vaseline.

Treadle hinge - The treadle hinges have very little excess room, the tolerance is VERY tight.  If a squeak develops, it is because a small bit of dust or grit has found its way in-between the nylon treadle bearing and the metal treadle hinge.   Most people want to put oil on this and that is a mistake.   Oil will easily drip onto the surrounding wood and stain your wheel.   DRY TEFLON spray lubricant is the best option.   It is a white powder and excess can be wiped away.  DO NOT use Silicon spray lubricant. The same can be used for the rocker arm hinge or on the footman to treadle connection for the Victoria.

When the spinning wheel is not in use, we recommend that you take the belt off of the pulley (Scotch tension) or bobbin (Irish tension). This allows the belt to rest in a relaxed position and extends the life of the belt.