How do drop spindles work

To spin your leader, take a small amount of fiber into the cup hook of the spindle, and start twisting gently in a clockwise motion. Then carefully remove the yarn from the cup hook, and start winding it around the shaft, taking care to trap the tail end of the yarn securely. To start spinning on a drop spindle, we recommend beginning with the park and draft method, this way you can focus on each step of the spinning process.

Spin the spindle clockwise by rolling the spindle in a clockwise motion along your leg or by spinning it like a top with your fingers. I prefer using the outside of my leg, but you may have a different preference. Once enough twist has built up, pinch the spindle shaft between your knees, then using your non-fiber hand, pinch the yarn right at your other finger, draft your fiber a little, then slide the other fingers up allowing the twist to travel up that fiber.

It is important to not let that twist travel past your fingertips into non-drafted fiber. When all the twist has been used up, wind this yarn onto your spindle, and repeat the process. After you have practiced this technique, you can try drafting as the spindle spins.

This requires more attention and patience at first, but will quickly become muscle memory. When spinning, you want to make sure you have enough twist in the singles so when you ply it will be a durable and balanced yarn. To quickly check twist, relax the tension on your spindle and fiber hand and let the single twist back on itself.

Available in a rainbow of colors and thicknesses, there are lots of options to choose from when it comes to buying wool roving. Unlike wool roving, batting is formed into thin sheets which are then stacked on top of one another, resulting in textured, dense wool that is ideal for spinning and felting. Raw wool is, essentially, wool directly from the animal and it must be processed before it can be spun into yarn. If you have a particularly hairy pet cat or dog that loves to shed, you can actually clean their fur and use it for future spinning projects.

Even some plants, like flax or hemp, can be processed and spun into thin yarn or thread. Hand carders are simple to use, the goal is to remove tangles and line up the natural threads in the wool by brushing the fiber back and forth.

Coarse wool is carded with coarse carders, or combs, which is just an efficient way to clean the wool and line up the fibers before spinning.

When I found decided to finally learn to spin our angora wool, I started by watching this video on the basics of spinning angora yarn. My daughter, even at 4 years old, was able to park and draft and make a few feet of yarn all on her own after watching mama do a few rounds.

Now you need to connect your chosen fiber to the leader. If you are working with a drop spindle that has a long shaft, you can twist it against the inside of your thigh to get it started.

Keep an eye on the spinning direction, I usually stick to a clockwise direction for most fibers. If you forget the direction you were twisting, you run the risk of unwinding your spun yarn. Pinch the connected fiber to keep it spun relatively tightly, and move your finger upwards as the fiber continues to spin. When you have a length of yarn finished, wrap it carefully around the spindle shaft.

Begin at the top of the spindle closest to the whorl and keep the yarn wrapped near the top to keep the spindle evenly balanced. If the yarn is slipping, you can use an elastic hair tie to keep it close to the top. Leave a couple of inches of yarn unwrapped so that you can bring it through and up around the hook. Overlap both broken pieces by a couple of inches and gently hand-twist them together, rubbing them together with your fingers, before continuing to spin.

Long shank ball joints on the lower arm. This will increase the spindle height distance between ball joints , but will keep your current geometry very close.

You'll get a quicker camber delta during compression, but that could be a not-bad thing. Cheaper than custom spindles. There's no question that drop spindles are the best way to lower the car, but I hate to think what a one-off custom set runs.

Are you DIYing the design and just farming out the fabrication? I should be able to offset a good bit of that cost by selling parts that would no longer be needed if using the drop spindles. Had the exact issue with my brother Dakota. Just fiddled with the alignment untill it got to "ok". Did you find a 'correct' fix? Plus, depending on the suspension setup, adding negative camber can reduce positive scrub, so shoving the wheels out further or using drop spindles and increasing positive scrub may actually end up putting it back close to where it started from the factory.

Well now that's interesting I haven't found a fix yet, but if I don't use the drop spindles, I kill ball joints like crazy and have like a half inch of travel. You'll need to log in to post. Don't choose one that is too heavy, however, or you will learn why they are called drop spindles.

A well-balanced spindle is a delight, so check to see how well yours spins—tie on some yarn and give it a clockwise twist. The spindle should turn smoothly without a lot of wobble and continue to spin for some time," says Maggie. They tend to be forgiving of minor flaws in balance or shaping, so they're easier to make. A heavy low-whorl spindle will spin better than a heavy high-whorl. A low-whorl spindle may or may not have a hook, notch, or other device to assist with keeping the spun yarn secured to the spindle while you spin the next length.

If there is no notch or hook, a half-hitch knot is used to secure the stored yarn. The cop the yarn you've already spun and wound on the spindle shaft is stored above the whorl, either snug against it or just farther up the shaft. Low-whorl spindles are most commonly set in motion with a finger flick, meaning you need only a small amount of shaft to grip to get it started and can pack a lot of spun yarn onto the spindle," says Abby. Abby also says, "High-whorl spindles have the weight at the top.

Extremely light high-whorl spindles tend to spin better than extremely light low-whorl spindles. Build the cop the mass of yarn wound onto the shaft after it is spun as close as possible to the whorl.

High-whorl spindles get more top-heavy as they fill, with the spinning motion becoming irregular sooner than when spinning on a low-whorl spindle. Cops are also at somewhat greater risk of becoming unstable or slipping off a high-whorl spindle, meaning care must be taken when winding a cop. High-whorl spindles are often set in motion with a rolling movement.

The shaft of the high-whorl spindle is commonly rolled up or down the thigh to set the spindle spinning; this requires a greater length of shaft without yarn wound onto it. As a result, high-whorl spindles generally don't hold as much yarn in a single cop as low-whorl spindles do.