Readers Ask

The Wind Mountain Spinner
Susan Sullivan Maynard of Brisbane, CA, owns Wind Mountain Spinner #21 made by Steven J. Gray in Bozeman, MT, in 1978. She acquired this wheel secondhand in the mid-80s. Just a few years ago at SOAR (a spinning conference), she finally met someone who owns another Wind Mountain Spinner. The other owner said that Gray made 30 - 50 wheels of this unique design.

This wheel has a rectangular wooden base with another crossbar about two-thirds back. Two parallel diagonal wheel posts go from the right side of the base to the top of a U-shaped vertical framework attached to the left side of the base. The frame holds the movable bobbin/flyer unit on top and has a holder for three bobbins incorporated into the side. The drive wheel, assembled from five separate pieces, is 22" in diameter. The pivoting double-action treadle can be folded up for storage. The spinning assembly is a double-belt bobbin lead.

Susanis goal is to track down the other 20-49 owners of Steven Grayis Wind Mountain Spinner wheels. Please contact us if you have any information

Wind Mountain Spinner #21 made by Steven J. Gray in Bozeman, MT

The Quest Goes On!
We are still hunting for more double-flyer wheels. If you have a double-flyer wheel, marked or unmarked, please send pictures and specifications to The Spinning Wheel Sleuth. The more examples we can find, the more hope we have of seeing patterns and finding connections.

There are several stylistic and structural variations that have been seen. The spinning wheel below, in the collection of the Home Textile Tool Museum in Orwell, PA, is marked RUSSEL FIELD. It is similar in structure to the wheels made by the Sanfords, featured in Issue #30. Other wheels like it have the initials A.L. and A.K.

Russel Field wheel

The wheel below, in the collection of David Pennington, has four tensioning screws at the top to adjust the bobbin/flyer units. It is signed J. MILES. Other examples of this style have been marked D. BIRD and G.K.

J. Miles wheel

The wheel below, in the collection of Faye Frei, does not have an upper table. The two bobbin/flyer units are attached to a T-shaped piece of wood extending out from a rear upright. It is marked J. HOPKINS. Other wheels of this structure have the initials, A.T., T.M., A.L., and D.T.

J. Hopkins wheel

INQUIRY
Janet Rognvaldson Taylor seeks information about spinning wheels made by her grandfather, Jon Rognvaldson, that were sold through the catalog of Eaton's of Canada in Winnepeg, in 1934-35. They have only two extra bobbins as opposed to the later models which have three as shown here. If you know of such a wheel, please contact us.

Jon Rognvaldson wheel