A friend had this spinning wheel sitting in a box in her garage. It had been passed down from her great-grandmother (my friend is 60), who purchased this as a curio/decorative item in the early 1900's. This spinning wheel has seen some hard use, but not in my friend's family, therefore I conclude that it was well-used when she bought it.
Grooves have been worn in the fly wheel from where the freshly spun wool was winding onto the bobbin. The groove that the axel of the drive wheel sits in is worn down, perhaps a half-centimeter or more. The fly wheel is held in with leather parts, and the tension can be adjusted with a large wooden screw.
I want to dub this spinningwheel "The Old Grandlady" or something like it. She's a bit of a wool-eater, and we have not finished learning how to use her yet.
She is old. 1800's old, I think. I suspect it takes a lot of years of spinning to put those kinds of grooves in wood. I'm going to take her down to The Grinny Possum someday and see what the owner there thinks. They have quite a collection of antique spinning wheels there as well, and seem knowledgeable.
Comments
http://www.pacificwoolandfiber.com/ashford_spinning_wheels.htm#Elisabeth
I am a total newbie to the world of spinning but it really is like riding a bike. I attended a two week long spinning camp when I was 12 (loved it) and that is the extent of my experience.