Oiling Your Flyer

Do you ever have those times where you know you're supposed to do something, you know it's supposed to be fairly easy, yet you don't really know what you're supposed to do?  Well, oiling the flyer on my spinning wheel was one such thing for me.  I knew I was supposed to keep the thing lubricated, but I wasn't really at all sure where to put the oil or how often.  I was also confused when I read that I should oil every hour of spinning.  Should I deconstruct my flyer just to oil it every hour or was there a way to oil with the bobbin on and the spinning uninterrupted?  I did my homework and thought I'd share with you how to oil your flyer and keep your spinning wheel happy.

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The first and most important thing for you to do is to read your manual.  If you have a modern spinning wheel from a prominent company, there are manuals available online. If your spinning wheel is an antique or perhaps not from a larger manufacturer, proceed with caution and perhaps try and find literature on how to maintain such wheels.  For example, I have a Schacht Ladybug wheel.  The manual explicitly states that the wheel hub should not be oiled.  Had I not read that, I would have naturally assumed the wheel would be one of those places that should be oiled often.  I would have been very wrong.

Once you're confident that you should oil your flyer, you should take it apart like you are going to load a new bobbin.  Using a dry clean cloth or paper towel, wipe down all the bits.  You'll be surprised how much grime builds up between the oil and the fluff.  

Using oil that is appropriate for a spinning wheel (Wheel oil is commercially available and typically comes in handy dispensing bottles that allow you to use small drops.) place a small dot of oil in four key locations on your flyer.  You will want one small dot on the orifice, on the flyer axle on both the end near the orifice and the end near the whorl and finally that little bit of flyer axle that fits into the nut on your wheel.  A little dab will do you!  If you use a small amount, you do not need to wipe or rub anything, thus saving yourself a little time and oily mess.  The spinning of your wheel will ensure the even distribution of these dots of oil and you should never use enough oil to get any kind of dripping or oozing.  Really, a very little bit goes a long way, I promise. 

Go ahead and slide your bobbin on over your oiled flyer and assemble your Mother of All as you would any other time you change bobbins.  Make sure your hands are clean before you start handling your fluff, though!

As for oiling during a spinning session, it is recommended that you oil every hour of spinning.  I think perhaps you are the best judge of timing on this.  I tend to always remember to oil and the start of a spinning session...perhaps I'm not so good at the during.  Regardless, if you have a bobbin loaded and fluff spun up, you do not want to dismantle everything to oil your wheel!  And you don't need to.  Simply place a small dot of oil between the bobbin and the u-bend near the orifice and then another dot between the bobbin and the whorl.  This will be enough to keep your wheel happy!

I hope this helped!  Happy spinning!