Next up in my occassional series of equipment posts is my Ashford Traditional spinning wheel review.

Why the Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel?

Having spent a few years getting intimately aquainted with my Ashford Traveller (review available here), I decided that I would like to be able to spin some bulkier yarns. I didn’t want to put a jumbo flier on my Traveller because I didn’t want to keep changing it over. So began the search for my second wheel. I couldn’t afford a new wheel, especially as I was planning to buy a jumbo flier for it. I knew I needed to choose something that I could to get spares for easily incase it needed some TLC. This is a really good reason to get an Ashford Traditional. It is a simple wheel that doesn’t require much specialist knowledge to overhaul and get back into good working order. Spares are readily available as are people who can advise you.

My Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel.

After a few weeks of searching online I found just what I was looking for. In fact, even more than I had been looking for! It was a beautiful Ashford Traditional wheel, in good condition, very reasonably priced. Amazingly, when I looked closely at the photos, I realised that it was actually already fitted with a jumbo flier!

The jumbo flier.

Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel Specifications.

The Ashford Traditional is a Saxony style wheel meaning that the actual wheel is to the side of the mother of all. This configuration gives it a larger footprint than the castle style wheels like the Ashford Traveller. New Ashford Traditional wheels (available in the UK from Wingham Woolworks) come with a four speed flier with ratios of 6.5:1, 8.5:1, 11.5:1 and 17.5:1 so it is pretty versatile as standard. The orifice diameter is the limiting factor in terms of art yarn and textured yarn spinning as you need a larger orifice if you want to spin really bulky yarns. The Traditional wheel is available either as a double drive wheel or with Scotch tension. Mine has Scotch tension, which I much prefer as I find it easier to make the fine adjustments necessary to get the yarn feeding into the bobbin at just the right rate.

Adaptations to the Wheel.

The hooks on a normal flier can play havoc with textured yarns. Any inclusions or loops can get caught on the hooks as the yarn winds on to the bobbin. I removed the orginal hooks which were small and rusty and replaced them with new larger hooks. This helped to lessen the irritation of getting bulkier yarn caught but I would recommend a sliding hook flier for highly textured spinning with an Ashford Traditional Spinning wheel. The old string or cord drive bands can slip as you treadle so I replaced it with a new plastic one.

I have made another, even more important adaptation to my Ashford Traditional wheel. I have replaced the single treadle mechanism with a double treadle. This makes the wheel much easier to spin with for longer periods of time. It is less tiring and allows you to sit with a better, more centred posture. This means you use both sides of your body equally. Hours of one sided treadling is not particularly good for your body mechanics and spinning is an activity that one generally wants to relax into and continue doing for extended periods of time.

Close up image of double treadles on an Ashford Traditional Spinning wheel.

The double treadles.

I really enjoy spinning with my Ashford Traditional spinning wheel. It is a good, reliable work horse of a wheel that I would unhesitatingly recommend. I use mine, most of the time, for spinning my thick and thin beaded yarn which you can find in my shop.