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  Spinning Wheel Terms And Parts 

• Bench... also called table – the table of the wheel where the wheel and spinning mechanism are mounted
• Bobbin... the shaft of the spool onto which spun yarn is wound on a spinning wheel
• Distaff... a staff that holds the flax or wool fibers which are being drawn from a needed when spinning. It can attach to a belt, mount on bench or be free standing
• Drive band... cord carrying the power from the large wheel to the spindle or bobbin/pulley
• Drop spindle... (Hand spindle) a stick with a weighted whorl that is used to twist fibers into thread
• Flyer... u shaped device on a treadle spinning wheel that twists the yarn
• Footman... the straight piece of wood or wire that connects the treadle to the axle/crank of a spinning wheel
• Maidens... (Or sisters) two upright pieces of wood that hold the spinning apparatus in a horizontal position
• Mother of all... usually, the entire spinning mechanism on a wheel; maidens, flyer, and bobbin
• Spindle pulley... the small grooved whorl that carries the drive band connecting the spindle to the drive wheel
• Treadle... the foot pedal that turns the main wheel, or the process of pushing the pedal of the main wheel
• Whorl... the weighted part of a drop spindle that helps it to spin. Also the spindle pulley that regulates the speed of the spinning wheel spindle