More wheel work...

I worked on the wheel some more today.  FIrst I changed the knitting needle I'm using as a spindle, as the aluminum needle was too flimsy.

This acrylic needle may be a bit too flexible if the fiber isn't easy to draft, but at least it won't stay bent like the aluminum needle (and it looks really cool!).  Since the new needle is a bit a larger and I had to enlarge the holes in the maiden, I decided to try the Liten Spindel-style maiden, which uses a slot in the front post:

 But since the wheel isn't done yet (very little is glued or bolted together) that didn't work out too well - the spindle kept popping off.  So I went back to (mostly) what I had before.  Though instead of having the back maiden post drilled all the way through, I cut off the cap end of the needle and just drilled one hole, so the needle is captured.  To remove the aluminum needle I had to cut the cap end off thus ruining it for re-use, and this will solve that problem.

I want to add another 'whorl' or two as well.

I also made a slot in the bottom frame so the maiden upright can swivel forward and back (and forgot to take a photo), and drilled a hole for a bolt to hold the drive wheel at 90 degrees.  But you probably can't tell the difference from last week:

I'm still considering lengthening the drive wheel post - I think it might be just a little low, though I could probably get used to it.  I've also discovered that the wheel seems to want to stop in one position - the same extension is always at the bottom.  So I'm going to need to balance the drive wheel a bit, but that should be easy.

I think I'm going to try the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry this year.  I have been buying way too much fiber this year and need to make a dent in it.  I have a braid of variegated red wool of some type that is 8-ounces - much more than I usually spin in a project, so I'm planning to spin that up on one of the Babe wheels. :-)