Oh dear! It looks as though I'm becoming as bad as Eric with his guitars! Look what arrived during the week :-
Yep, it's another spinning wheel! I've had my eye on this wheel for quite a while, but waited until my private pension paid out a nice little lump sum (yeah, showing my age here) before I ordered it. It was sent direct from the manufacturer in New Zealand, but unfortunately didn't survive the journey totally unscathed.
Those are scratches, some of them quite deep. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed, but not really worried because I knew the nice people at Majacraft would sort out the problem for me. I sent an e-mail with photos of the damage and they immediately replied saying they would send a replacement part. This may take a few weeks to arrive, and I decided I couldn't wait that long to try out my new wheel, so yesterday afternoon I set all the pieces out and started the rather daunting (to me, not being very technical) task of putting it together correctly.
After a few hitches and confusions (and a bit of help from The Resident Engineer!), it was finally finished:-
Ta Da!!! My new Majacraft Aura, and what a pretty girl she is! They've used beautiful wood for her construction - New Zealand Rimu - and every bit is fastidiously finished to a high quality.
So, now to play. I'd read on Ravelry on the Majacraft Owners site that this probably wasn't going to be an easy wheel to get used to because of it's very different and complex tensioning systems. Well, they were right. After spending a frustrating couple of hours trying different tensioning possibilities, The Resident Engineer got involved again. Another couple of hours of him tweaking, removing bits, putting them back and altering the whole set up, and I finally managed to make some progress.
Not the best yarn I've ever spun, but it's a start. And today's Sunday so I can play some more!
I'm just a bit worried about these though . . .
Yep, it's another spinning wheel! I've had my eye on this wheel for quite a while, but waited until my private pension paid out a nice little lump sum (yeah, showing my age here) before I ordered it. It was sent direct from the manufacturer in New Zealand, but unfortunately didn't survive the journey totally unscathed.
Those are scratches, some of them quite deep. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed, but not really worried because I knew the nice people at Majacraft would sort out the problem for me. I sent an e-mail with photos of the damage and they immediately replied saying they would send a replacement part. This may take a few weeks to arrive, and I decided I couldn't wait that long to try out my new wheel, so yesterday afternoon I set all the pieces out and started the rather daunting (to me, not being very technical) task of putting it together correctly.
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| A not-very-flattering photo of the workman! |
Ta Da!!! My new Majacraft Aura, and what a pretty girl she is! They've used beautiful wood for her construction - New Zealand Rimu - and every bit is fastidiously finished to a high quality.
So, now to play. I'd read on Ravelry on the Majacraft Owners site that this probably wasn't going to be an easy wheel to get used to because of it's very different and complex tensioning systems. Well, they were right. After spending a frustrating couple of hours trying different tensioning possibilities, The Resident Engineer got involved again. Another couple of hours of him tweaking, removing bits, putting them back and altering the whole set up, and I finally managed to make some progress.
I'm just a bit worried about these though . . .
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| Ooops! |
Congratulation, nice new toy. Happy spinning.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ella. I'm enjoying spinning on it.
DeleteAaaagh - why are there always left over screws! That wheel looks fab. I've been cowardly over getting to grips with new spinning technology, but I have splashed out on a lace flyer. It is still in the box, presently. Congratulations on taking the plunge.
ReplyDeleteI think (hope!) the screw packs they send are probably standard for all their wheels and the ones left over fit a different wheel. It's still working anyway and I love it. I've been using my Ashford Traveller recently for some alpaca and am amazed at how clanky it is after the Aura - maybe it needs a bit of tlc.
DeleteI bought a lace flyer too but haven't used it yet. I'm spinning a sweater batch at the moment and don't want to risk altering the tension set-up until I have to!! Coward's my middle name! Want to use it for spinning the cotton I grew over the summer though so I'll bite the bullet soon.