HOW TO CONSTRUCT A DODEC SPINNING WHEEL Jennifer Wagner LIS 7963 July 30, 2014 NOTES ABOUT THE INSTRUCTIONS  The instructions I found and followed are available online. They are available through Spinning Daily’s website (http://www.spinningdaily.com/media/p/9016.aspx ).  The instructions that follow are mostly a simplified version of those on Spinning Daily with some advice on how to make it even simpler and cheaper for anyone who may want to construct one for themselves. WHY?  Why a spinning wheel?  I am a knitter and a spinner. Currently, I spin only on spindles and it takes quite a long time to spin up a skein of yarn on a little spindle.  Commercial spinning wheels, however, usually cost $300 on up, even for a used one. I do plan to purchase a wheel someday, but for about $40 or so, I was able to construct a simple wheel to give learning to spin on a wheel a try without the big investment.  Dodec?  Short for Dodecahedron – a shape with 12 sides. The wheel part of the spinning wheel is made out of 12 small pieces of wood. MATERIALS AND TOOLS Materials:  (2) ¼-20UNC x 3½ full thread, hex -head bolts  (1) ¼-20UNC x 3" full thread, hex -head bolt  ( 2 ) 1 " x ¼ " fe n d e r wa s h e r s  ( 3 ) ½ " x ¼ " wa s h e r s  (1) 3/8" nut  (6) ¼-20UNC nuts  (2) ¼-20UNC lock nuts  ( 1 ) d owe l ¼ " x 1 2 "  ( 1 ) s h a ke r p e g s ( ½ " x 17 ⁄ 3 2 " te n o n )  ( 1 ) 1 " x 4 " x 10 ' p i n e b o a r d ( I p u r c h a s e d 1 2 fe e t )  (1) hinge  (1) ball of butcher’s twine  (1) box of 18 gauge 1¼" brads  Re g u l a r o l ’ h a m m e r a n d n a i l s  P a r a f fi n wa x ( n ot g r e a s e o r o i l )  Wo o d g l u e To o l s :  C i r c u l a r s aw ( p o s s i b l e w i t h h a n d s aw, b u t n ot p r e fe r a b l e )  Hand drill  D r i l l b i t s i n s i z e s 17 ⁄ 6 4 " a n d 9 ⁄ 3 2 " ( M o s t p e o p l e w i l l h av e to b u y t h e s e ; c o m m o n b i t s e t s o n l y g o u p to ¼ " )  Hammer  Sandpaper (This wheel will work rough c u t , b u t m o s t p e o p l e w i l l w a n t to s a n d it)  P r ot r a c t o r NOTES ON CONSTRUCTION  Look over the supply list and see what you may have in your home, workshop, or items your friends may have that would meet the criteria for constructing the wheel.  For example, the design I used called for brad nails. In our ignorance, we bought a box of brad nails, not realizing that they require a nail gun. We do not have a nail gun. And the size of the brads was odd, so finding a non-pneumatic nail gun was difficult.  Odd sizes became a thing while I was building this wheel.  The bolt sizes were odd; the drill bits in the plans were not in our drill bit kit; a fender washer the design called for proved impossible to find unless I wanted to order a huge box of them.  If I had to do this again, I would consult some of my engineering friends or sat down and mathed it out myself to make it easier and less expensive. REMEMBER THIS DURING CONSTRUCTION From the original instructions: “Having said that, the drilling of this hole is like everything else in this project: poor craftsmanship won’t keep the wheel from working.” MEASURE T WICE, CUT ONCE B o r r owe d a f r i e n d ’s t a b l e s aw ( w i t h a laser!) and cut m o s t o f my wood pieces. S o m e p i e c es are small and f i n g e r s c o ul d be lost when using a table s aw. I s av e d those pieces f o r l a te r. TEN FEET OF LUMBER IS ALL IT TAKES W h e n yo u t h i n k a b o u t i t , te n f e et o f l u m b e r isn’t all that m u c h . I f yo u know someone with a work s h o p , t h ey m ay h av e p i e c e s o f 1 x 4 t h a t yo u can use. O t h e r w is e , te n f e et o f p i n e i s about $8 at H o m e D e p ot . LABEL THE PIECES M a ke s u r e to label the pieces. It would be zero f u n to t r y to f i g ur e o u t w h a t yo u h av e l a te r o n i f yo u c a n ’ t b u i l d yo u r wheel i m m e d ia tel y. INGENUIT Y IS IMPORTANT W h e n yo u r w o o d g l ue i s t h e c o n s i s ten c y of peanut b u t te r a n d won’t come out of the bottle on its own (and yo u d o n ’ t w a n t to b u y a n ew bottle), a little c r e a t i v i t y to g et i t o u t . THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH OLDFASHIONED Don’t own a p n e u m a t ic n a i l gun? No need to g o o u t a n d b u y o n e ( p l us a compressor). A good ol’ hammer and nails works just fine for this project. CONSTRUCT THE BASE Glue and nail the pieces for the base (that yo u l a b e l ed , o f course). POWER DRILL: ESSENTIAL & BEAUTIFUL Po w e r d r i l ls m a ke d r i l l in g the necessary holes in the wheel assembly s o m u c h e a s i e r. N o n e e d to g o o l d - f a s hi o n e d h e r e . I f yo u d o n ’ t h av e o n e , yo u p r o b a b ly know someone who does. MAKING ANGLES I ’ m a l i t t le e m b a r r a s s e d to admit that I do n o t h av e a p r o t r ac to r i n my h o m e . A t all. It helped that we had a 3 D p r i n te r i n t h e c l a s s r o o m. 3 0 m i n ute s l a te r a n d p r o bl em solved. WHEEL: ASSEMBLE! U s i n g yo u r handy dandy p r o t r ac to r, measure 30 degree angles on the pieces of the wheel in 3-piece sections. AN ALMOST PERFECT CIRCLE Arrange the 4, 3-piece s e c t i o n s i n to a c i rc l e , maneuvering t h e m i n to a n ev e n - a s p o s s i b le c i rc l e . BRACING Attach the wheel braces, a s c e n te r e d a s p o s s i b le . SANDING DOWN THE STEM T h e s te m o f t h e w h e e l n e e d s to f i t s n u g g l y i n to the base. I n i t i a l ly, my f i t was so snug, that the wood was creaking and groaning a s I t r i e d to w e d g e t h e s te m i n to t h e b a s e . Rather than b r e a k a ny t h i n g , I sanded the b o t to m o f t h e s te m to m a ke t h e s te m s l i d e i n to t h e b a s e s n u g , w i t h o ut cracking the wood. IT’S COMING TOGETHER T h e s te m i n t h e base with some S t a r b uc k s to help me power t h r o ug h t h e c o n s t r uc t i o n process. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM… T h e s te m a n d the upper receiver pieces n e e d to h av e hole that align. I thought it was a b r i l l ia n t i d e a to g l u e t h e p i e c e s to g et h e r w i t h a to uc h o f w o o d g l ue , d r i l l the holes, and s e p a r a te t h e pieces. It h e l p s i f yo u a c t u al l y r e m e m be r to s e p a r a te t h e pieces. Even a little wood glue can go a long w ay. WHEN ONE ISN’T ENOUGH I n s te a d o f o n e p u t t y k n i f e to pry off the u p p e r r e c e i ve r, l et ’ s t r y f o u r … EIGHT IS ENOUGH? Added some t a b l e k n i v e s to the equation. T h ey d i d n ’ t help a whole lot. ATTACHING THE HINGE I te m p o r a r i l y g av e u p o n my u p p e r r e c e i ve r p r o b l em ( n ex t s te p : h a n d s aw ) a n d i n s te a d attached the h i n g e to t h e treadle and the base. The s c r ew s f o r t h e hinge were a little long. M ay b e n o o n e will notice the small holes in t h e to p o f t h e kitchen table. THE SITUATION, AS OF MONDAY, JULY 28 All of the major components a r e to g et h er. Once the upper receiver p r o b l em i s f i xe d, t h e r e s t of the assembly should c o n c l ud e quickly (fingers crossed) and I s h o u l d h av e a f u n c t io n a l wheel by We d n e s d ay ’s p r e s e n t a t io n .