a spinning experiment

I've completed spinning trial #1, in an effort to get a feel for the difference between spinning on a modern spindle vs a medieval spindle. As a reminder, using my "moosie" (36 grams with a 22 cm shaft) I spun 155 meters at 10 wraps/cm. I stopped spinning when the total spindle weight was 81 grams and the thread tended to slip off the shaft.

For the medieval style spindle I used my #6 whorl and the Ribe style shaft. The total spindle weight is 26 grams, and the shaft length is 30 cm. The purpose of the experiment was only to test the amount of thread which could be held by the spindle.

I began by spinning a thread at a gauge of 14 wpc. When the total spindle weight reached 35 grams I needed to add a second half hitch to the shaft to keep the thread in place until the spindle reached the ground. At 45 grams the second hitch began to slip occasionally, and I had to be more careful tying it on. At 52 grams it was very difficult to keep a consistent thread diameter. The spindle spun backwards before I could draft more than once. When the total spindle weight was 53 grams, I stopped. The result measured 170 meters of thread. However, by the end my gauge had changed to 12 wpc. It had happened so gradually that I hadn't even noticed. When I spin for a particular project, I generally make a little sample to help me keep a consistent gauge and twist. I did not do that this time. But, the ordinary medieval spinner probably didn't do that either. While there is a visible difference in the size of the thread at the beginning and end, I do not believe it is enough to make an appreciable difference in the finished cloth.

In retrospect, I would have had a more consistent thread if I had stopped spinning when the spindle weight reached about 50 grams. That would have given me about the same amount of thread as the modern spindle.

I forgot to take a picture before I took the thread off the spindle, so here is what I spun in the first trial, and the beginning of the second trial.