Posted by Sue Maness on Saturday, 1 June 2002, at 1:23 p.m.:
In Reply to: beginner wheel posted by Jane on Thursday, 7 March 2002, at 3:30 p.m.:
The best beginner wheel is the one which likes you best. My friend will not sell a wheel unless the person purchasing it has sat and spun on it and most others in his shop for a couple of hours each. Now he did sell my hubby and son the Ashford Kiwi before I sat down and used all the wheels in his shop. Now he wants to upgrade my wheel. I like the use of double treadle as one leg does not get tired. I prefer the scotch tension as it is the easiest to adjust. That is for the "sit down wheels". The wheel I most prefer is the Great Wheel.
To my son, it doesn't matter whether a wheel has double treadle, single treadle, no treadle, scotch tension, double drive, or what ever else. He can and does use and teach on all types. He learned to spin in the thought that he had to teach "Mother" how to do it. Now, we lay back in semi easy chairs and spin for hours.
Best advice is to go to the shop, get sufficient roving to spin for a couple of hours, predraft it into friendly portions, and sit and spin for several hours. (Son says "spit n sin") Then you will be ready to think about a purchase. Do not lightly spend $250 and up on a thing you have not test driven!!!!!