Find of the Century!

Hi! I have finally resurfaced out of my post college finals-induced coma. And I want to share an awesome new addition to my family with you.

Its a Louet S70 ST: the only solid-oak wheel Louet has made. From what I've learned, the company stopped making the S70 because it was too expensive to manufacture. (Mine is a single treadle, so its slightly different than the one pictured above!) Supposedly, the wheel is now hard to find and is a collector's item.

Here's some specs if you're interested:

Orifice: 1/2''

Weight: 13 lbs

Ratio: 5.5:1 & 7:1 

Bobbin Capacity: 5-7 oz

The story of how it came to be: My sister was at a garage sale with her husband and they saw a wheel for sale, along with weaving looms and other fiber paraphernalia. She gave me a call and I asked her to make an offer; next thing I knew, I was the proud owner of a beautiful wheel in (almost) perfect condition. It has one small spot of wear that I can see and looks like it was barely used. It also came with a yarn swift, too.

The best part? I payed less than $100 for it; which is ridiculous as the S70 sells for $400ish to $500. Did I mention that that's kinda ridiculous? Also, all the spare parts are still available and its very easy to upgrade the wheel if I want, so thats really neat, too. And for what I paid, I don't feel as guilty as I might have if I'd paid full price for the wheel; it'll still be cheaper, no matter what :)

I've been eyeing some other wheels in the $350-$400 price range and was looking at getting a bulky spinning flyer and bobbin. Whats really awesome is that the S70 was made to spin medium to lofty, bulkier wool yarns. And if you noticed in the specs I listed, the bobbin capacity is 5 to 7 oz-- you can put a lot of yarn on that thing!

I'm tentatively planning on sanding it down and refinishing it with Tung oil, due to some research on this site about finishing Ashford wheels here and also the recommendation of my local spinning/yarn/fiber store. I'm kinda nervous about that part, but I figure its worth it as the poor thing looks as though it spent some time gathering cobwebs and dust.

So, thats it for the moment. I just wanted to share this awesome event and say thank you to my sister and her husband for finding this amazing wheel for me. Thats real love, right there I tell you.