yarn swift prototype I
Oct. 17th, 2009 20:49![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
piranhaif you were following my twitter yesterday, you already know all about this, because i couldn't shut up, i was too thrilled.
yes, i am easily thrilled. :)
i've lusted after a swift for a while because they're just enormously handy. the paramour refused to step in as the human version, i was getting tired of using the chair method, and the lovely umbrella swifts one sees in local yarn stores are way expensive.
i was feeling inventive last night, and didn't want to google (just for the challenge). the paramour was perfectly happy contributing superior kludge-meistery. a cardboard box, 4 toilet paper tubes, a former dogleash swivel clip, a cup hook, some polypropylene rope, and some practical math -- and a while later we had our first prototype:
it hangs from the ceiling, because there is no free horizontal space where i could place a tabletop model. the bridle keeps it surprisingly stable; i had expected to put a counterweight underneath the box, but its not needed. a slight resist in the swivel also (serendipitously) keeps just the right tension for the ballwinder.
i've since googled, and it looks like nothing else out there, *snicker* (though i don't think it is any worse than the "lazy susan with coat hangers and duct tape" model). we've also had some other ideas on how to make cheap swifts, but i think this is the most stable model of the lot.
today i am building prototype II with movable pegs so it can accommodate different size hanks.
yes, i am easily thrilled. :)
i've lusted after a swift for a while because they're just enormously handy. the paramour refused to step in as the human version, i was getting tired of using the chair method, and the lovely umbrella swifts one sees in local yarn stores are way expensive.
i was feeling inventive last night, and didn't want to google (just for the challenge). the paramour was perfectly happy contributing superior kludge-meistery. a cardboard box, 4 toilet paper tubes, a former dogleash swivel clip, a cup hook, some polypropylene rope, and some practical math -- and a while later we had our first prototype:
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it hangs from the ceiling, because there is no free horizontal space where i could place a tabletop model. the bridle keeps it surprisingly stable; i had expected to put a counterweight underneath the box, but its not needed. a slight resist in the swivel also (serendipitously) keeps just the right tension for the ballwinder.
i've since googled, and it looks like nothing else out there, *snicker* (though i don't think it is any worse than the "lazy susan with coat hangers and duct tape" model). we've also had some other ideas on how to make cheap swifts, but i think this is the most stable model of the lot.
today i am building prototype II with movable pegs so it can accommodate different size hanks.
no subject
on 2009-10-18 05:23 (UTC)no subject
on 2009-10-18 06:18 (UTC)Mother's got a swift and a ball winder, so I send my yarn out to be wound. *g*
no subject
on 2009-10-18 06:29 (UTC)no subject
on 2009-10-18 06:46 (UTC)no subject
on 2009-10-18 13:51 (UTC)no subject
on 2009-10-19 03:55 (UTC)