Everyday for about the past week or so, my blog gets tons of hits from a Google search on the Whitehorse Mountain Woodworks spinner. Please, don’t be shy! Who is it that is looking for information? Fill out a comment and let me know if I can help you find the information you obviously are so actively seeking!
The Wool Merchant's Daughter 
I am very new to spinning and looking for a spinning wheel. I would like an upright wheel – limited space & tight budget. I would like one that I can use for years not just a starter. What would you suggest? Also do you know anything about the babes wheels or the heavenly spinning wheels. I live in the desert so I was think maybe the pvc would be better as the wood would dry out – I understand you have to keep them oiled, but I know its still hard on wood. I would love any help you can give me.
I was looking on craigslist at a spinning wheel they had a white horse mountain wheel. Googled that and found you 🙂
Thanks
Charlotte
Hi, Charlotte! Hope you don’t mind — I did a whole post on your answer! It occurred to me it might help others. After you read it, let me know what else I can help you with. The Heavenly Handspinning Bellus is probably the best bet for a new wheel, especially with a double treadle. The Ashford Kiwi is also fairly inexpensive. For oiling, you want to use boiled linseed oil. The rule of thumb is: once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year after that. I forgot to put this in the poset!
It is probably me searching your website and photos of the White horse mountain wheel. I just found one and am trying to learn how to spin on it. I have spun in a beginning way on a louette and I get everything to work on this little wheel but can’t figure out the tensioning. I have this odd shaped piece that fits in the odd shaped hole under the flyer support and have no idea if it is just a handle or part of some weird tension thing that is beyond my ability to comprehend. I have tried different tension on the cords. I love the idea of spinning on this little knowing the story about it. Help. What am I missing? By the way, it is rackety but in a good way. It is the short spool single treadle one. Any information would be great.
JoAnne
Joanne, hi! The odd-shaped piece — is it an L shape? Does it have a round piece on the end of it? If not, that would be your problem. The tensioning device is an L shaped piece of wood, held onto the wheel with a wing nut. At the end of the L under the drive band, there should be a thick, round disk. When you raise or lower the arm, the disk becomes the whorl for the drive band. I’ll see if I have a photo or, if not, can take one and post it so you can see.
Hi, I’ve just brought one of these little guys home to experiment with. It looks like someone put an ashford bobbin on it and it’s set up as a double drive: the drive band goes around the flyer and the bobbin, both meet at the drive wheel and that tension disk. Is it supposed to be a double drive? with thanks, Petra