The Wheel - with pictures.

The Museum Night in Mainz was very nice, if quite taxing - it's just a difference whether you are doing all the showing and explaining during the day and normal working hours with good lighting or during the night. We had a rather warm night, but unfortunately not a dry one! The visitors who braved the spouts of rain, however, were a wonderful audience, and it was a delight to show them crafts with wool.

The wheel did very well on all accounts, from an easy and unproblematic setup to its performance all during the night, even with changing air temperature and changing humidity levels. The only little thing that needs fine-tuning is the adjustable connection for the leather drive band - but I already have an idea for that. 

And here, finally, are the promised pictures of the new Great Wheel:

 The last step in construction - cutting the mortises for the spindle stand tenons.

 Fitting the tenons.

The finished, disassembled Wheel - a base board, four legs, spindle stands, wheel stand, the wheel itself and a box of small things for assembly and adjustments.

It fits! It fits! That's the car with the presentation stuff, just before I left for Mainz. The wheel is hanging under the car roof, and the rest of the parts are hanging out with my other wood utensils and furniture.

And here it is finally, in action! Wedges hold the stands, and additional wedges under the spindle stands and in the leather spindle bearings allow adjustment of the whole setup so spinning is smooth. One night's worth of testing says: It's a fine, functional tool!