Interested in learning how to spin? Check out Amy King's Craftsy class, Foundations of Spinning.
I walk you through how I clean my Lendrum DT (double treadle) spinning wheel using Method's Wood For Good Polish, a cheap cloth from IKEA (the Tekla Tea Towel), as well as where I apply oil (and where I don't).
Whether you oil your Lendrum at all comes down to personal preference. The sealed bearing in the middle of the wheel does not need to be oiled, and technically the spots that have either plastic-on-plastic or plastic-on-metal rubbing together do not need oiling, but I find I have a smoother and much quieter spin when I oil in a few spots. YMMV.
I use a light sewing machine oil in a few places. I strongly caution against using something like WD40 on your spinning wheel (it leaves a sticky gunky residue). Super Lube is awesome.
The Super Lube grease is fantastic for bobbin ends too (that's what I use on my Hansen Mini Spinner bobbins), as is white lithium grease (I used this on my wheels before I bought the Super Lube grease).
I try to clean my wheel at least 4 times per year (once per season), but often I end up cleaning it only 2 or 3 times per year. I spot clean and remove bits of fiber and lint fairly regularly, but the full once-over usually happens either just before Tour de Fleece or Spinzilla at the very least.
In 2016, I spun on spindles for Tour de Fleece, and mostly on my Hansen Mini Spinner for Spinzilla, so my wheel only (luckily) had a cleaning during the week of Spinzilla when I took it to the Sweet Georgia Studio for one of the Spinzilla Spin-Ins.
Although I do quite a bit of spinning, my wheel doesn't see a ton of use, since I switch between equipment often. Still, I know that's no excuse for not shining it up regularly.
I have heard amazing things about Wood Beams, but I haven't tried it out personally since it costs almost the same amount again for shipping to Canada. Some day I'll take the plunge though.
This week's regular episode will be up in the next day or so. I'll share my finished Spunky Eclectic + Into The Whirled Combo Spin then!
