Two-Footed Spinning

Day 167: Apart from any of her other attributes, making it possible for me to spin with both feet was the most important advantage Bronka had to offer. My old Louët S15 is a single-treadle wheel, and particularly on Ply Day when I needed to devote myself to the task almost exclusively, I was prone to getting severe cramps in my right leg and a kink in my back from sitting cocked to one side for many hours. The double-treadle system is more like walking, both legs being used equally. That said, when I moved her from her overnight position and sat down to spin this morning, Bronka began talking to me with a rather loud squeak which had not been there yesterday evening. I could trace it to the treadles, but shifting my foot position or moving the treadles from side to side seemed to have no effect on it. As I shifted the spacers around, I noticed that the one in the center was wedge-shaped. Then I saw that the sides of the wedge weren't equally spaced from the axle hole, and the light dawned: Kromski intended the wedge as a central "foot," and I had the wrong side down. A half-turn, and Bronka's squeak disappeared. I'm finding other nuances in her construction as we become better acquainted, subtle things which make spinning easier and more enjoyable, and I am convinced that the person who had her before me had done very little spinning on her. Two of the three bobbins which come standard with this model don't even have leader cords on them, which tells me they were never used.