Back when CL and I were "an item," back in our courting days at Summit Ave. Coop, I took a workshop to learn spinning wool into yarn. At the time, I was a poor graduate student, too poor to buy a bona-fide spinning wheel. Drop spindles were an economical alternative. CL offered to make one for me.
I remember looking on--horrified--as he rigged up a drill in some non-recommended manner to sand the oak whorl of this drop spindle. I didn't want him to get injured trying to impress me ... I couldn't watch the making of this drop spindle.
In the end, this is what he produced. It's pretty, but not at all practical. Oak is too heavy and the whorl too wide (5 1/4 inches and 3/4 inch thick) to be a workable/usable drop spindle. The fibre always broke before it had enough twist to be strong. No wonder I never liked spinning with drop spindles!
My first ball of yarn, spun more than 10 years ago and dyed with Kool Aid (makes a good acid-based dye for small quantities). It's good to keep samples of these first efforts--you can see how far you've come with practice.
