HOW TO CONSTRUCT A
DODEC SPINNING
WHEEL
Jennifer Wagner
LIS 7963
July 30, 2014
NOTES ABOUT THE INSTRUCTIONS
 The instructions I found and followed are available online.
They are available through Spinning Daily’s website
(http://www.spinningdaily.com/media/p/ 9016.aspx).
 The instructions that follow are mostly a simplified version of
those on Spinning Daily with some advice on how to make it
even simpler and cheaper for anyone who may want to
construct one for themselves.
WHY?
 Why a spinning wheel?
 I am a knitter and a spinner. Currently, I spin only on spindles and it
takes quite a long time to spin up a skein of yarn on a little spindle.
 Commercial spinning wheels, however, usually cost $300 on up, even
for a used one. I do plan to purchase a wheel someday, but for about
$40 or so, I was able to construct a simple wheel to give learning to
spin on a wheel a try without the big investment.
 Dodec?
 Short for Dodecahedron – a shape with 12 sides. The wheel part of
the spinning wheel is made out of 12 small pieces of wood.
MATERIALS AND TOOLS
Materials:
 (2) ¼-20UNC x 3½ full thread, hex-head
bolts
 (1) ¼-20UNC x 3" full thread, hex-head
bolt
 ( 2 ) 1 " x ¼ " fe n d e r wa s h e r s
 ( 3 ) ½ " x ¼ " wa s h e r s
 (1) 3/8" nut
 (6) ¼-20UNC nuts
 (2) ¼-20UNC lock nuts
 ( 1 ) d owe l ¼ " x 1 2 "
 ( 1 ) s h a ke r p e g s ( ½ " x 17 ⁄ 3 2 " te n o n )
 ( 1 ) 1 " x 4 " x 10 ' p i n e b o a r d ( I
p u r c h a s e d 1 2 fe e t )
 (1) hinge
 (1) ball of butcher’s twine
 (1) box of 18 gauge 1¼" brads
 Re g u l a r o l ’ h a m m e r a n d n a i l s
 P a r a f fi n wa x ( n ot g r e a s e o r o i l )
 Wo o d g l u e
To o l s :
 C i r c u l a r s aw ( p o s s i b l e w i t h h a n d s aw,
b u t n ot p r e fe r a b l e )
 Hand drill
 D r i l l b i t s i n s i z e s 17 ⁄ 6 4 " a n d 9 ⁄ 3 2 "
( M o s t p e o p l e w i l l h av e to b u y t h e s e ;
c o m m o n b i t s e t s o n l y g o u p to ¼ " )
 Hammer
 Sandpaper (This wheel will work rough
c u t , b u t m o s t p e o p l e w i l l w a n t to s a n d
it)
 P r ot r a c t o r
NOTES ON CONSTRUCTION
 Look over the supply list and see what you may have in your
home, workshop, or items your friends may have that would
meet the criteria for constructing the wheel.
 For example, the design I used called for brad nails. In our
ignorance, we bought a box of brad nails, not realizing that they
require a nail gun. We do not have a nail gun. And the size of the
brads was odd, so finding a non-pneumatic nail gun was difficult.
 Odd sizes became a thing while I was building this wheel.
 The bolt sizes were odd; the drill bits in the plans were not in our drill
bit kit; a fender washer the design called for proved impossible to
find unless I wanted to order a huge box of them.
 If I had to do this again, I would consult some of my engineering friends or
sat down and mathed it out myself to make it easier and less expensive.
REMEMBER THIS DURING CONSTRUCTION
From the original instructions:
“Having said that, the drilling of this
hole is like everything else in this
project: poor craftsmanship won’t
keep the wheel from working.”
MEASURE
T WICE,
CUT ONCE
B o r r owe d a
f r i e n d ’s t a b l e
s aw ( w i t h a
laser!) and cut
m o s t o f my
wood pieces.
S o m e p i e c es
are small and
f i n g e r s c o ul d
be lost when
using a table
s aw. I s av e d
those pieces
f o r l a te r.
TEN FEET
OF LUMBER
IS ALL IT
TAKES
W h e n yo u t h i n k
a b o u t i t , te n
f e et o f l u m b e r
isn’t all that
m u c h . I f yo u
know someone
with a work
s h o p , t h ey m ay
h av e p i e c e s o f
1 x 4 t h a t yo u
can use.
O t h e r w is e , te n
f e et o f p i n e i s
about $8 at
H o m e D e p ot .
LABEL THE
PIECES
M a ke s u r e to
label the
pieces. It
would be zero
f u n to t r y to
f i g ur e o u t w h a t
yo u h av e l a te r
o n i f yo u c a n ’ t
b u i l d yo u r
wheel
i m m e d ia tel y.
INGENUIT Y
IS
IMPORTANT
W h e n yo u r
w o o d g l ue i s
t h e c o n s i s ten c y
of peanut
b u t te r a n d
won’t come out
of the bottle on
its own (and
yo u d o n ’ t w a n t
to b u y a n ew
bottle), a little
c r e a t i v i t y to
g et i t o u t .
THERE IS
NOTHING
WRONG
WITH OLDFASHIONED
Don’t own a
p n e u m a t ic n a i l
gun? No need
to g o o u t a n d
b u y o n e ( p l us a
compressor). A
good ol’
hammer and
nails works just
fine for this
project.
CONSTRUCT
THE BASE
Glue and nail
the pieces for
the base (that
yo u l a b e l ed , o f
course).
POWER
DRILL:
ESSENTIAL
&
BEAUTIFUL
Po w e r d r i l ls
m a ke d r i l l in g
the necessary
holes in the
wheel assembly
s o m u c h e a s i e r.
N o n e e d to g o
o l d - f a s hi o n e d
h e r e . I f yo u
d o n ’ t h av e o n e ,
yo u p r o b a b ly
know someone
who does.
MAKING
ANGLES
I ’ m a l i t t le
e m b a r r a s s e d to
admit that I do
n o t h av e a
p r o t r ac to r i n
my h o m e . A t
all. It helped
that we had a
3 D p r i n te r i n
t h e c l a s s r o o m.
3 0 m i n ute s
l a te r a n d
p r o bl em
solved.
WHEEL:
ASSEMBLE!
U s i n g yo u r
handy dandy
p r o t r ac to r,
measure 30
degree angles
on the pieces
of the wheel in
3-piece
sections.
AN ALMOST
PERFECT
CIRCLE
Arrange the 4,
3-piece
s e c t i o n s i n to a
c i rc l e ,
maneuvering
t h e m i n to a n
ev e n - a s p o s s i b le c i rc l e .
BRACING
Attach the
wheel braces,
a s c e n te r e d a s
p o s s i b le .
SANDING
DOWN THE
STEM
T h e s te m o f t h e
w h e e l n e e d s to
f i t s n u g g l y i n to
the base.
I n i t i a l ly, my f i t
was so snug,
that the wood
was creaking
and groaning
a s I t r i e d to
w e d g e t h e s te m
i n to t h e b a s e .
Rather than
b r e a k a ny t h i n g ,
I sanded the
b o t to m o f t h e
s te m to m a ke
t h e s te m s l i d e
i n to t h e b a s e
s n u g , w i t h o ut
cracking the
wood.
IT’S
COMING
TOGETHER
T h e s te m i n t h e
base with some
S t a r b uc k s to
help me power
t h r o ug h t h e
c o n s t r uc t i o n
process.
HOUSTON,
WE HAVE A
PROBLEM…
T h e s te m a n d
the upper
receiver pieces
n e e d to h av e
hole that align.
I thought it was
a b r i l l ia n t i d e a
to g l u e t h e
p i e c e s to g et h e r
w i t h a to uc h o f
w o o d g l ue , d r i l l
the holes, and
s e p a r a te t h e
pieces. It
h e l p s i f yo u
a c t u al l y
r e m e m be r to
s e p a r a te t h e
pieces. Even a
little wood glue
can go a long
w ay.
WHEN ONE
ISN’T
ENOUGH
I n s te a d o f o n e
p u t t y k n i f e to
pry off the
u p p e r r e c e i ve r,
l et ’ s t r y f o u r …
EIGHT IS
ENOUGH?
Added some
t a b l e k n i v e s to
the equation.
T h ey d i d n ’ t
help a whole
lot.
ATTACHING
THE HINGE
I te m p o r a r i l y
g av e u p o n my
u p p e r r e c e i ve r
p r o b l em ( n ex t
s te p : h a n d s aw )
a n d i n s te a d
attached the
h i n g e to t h e
treadle and the
base. The
s c r ew s f o r t h e
hinge were a
little long.
M ay b e n o o n e
will notice the
small holes in
t h e to p o f t h e
kitchen table.
THE
SITUATION,
AS OF
MONDAY,
JULY 28
All of the major
components
a r e to g et h er.
Once the upper
receiver
p r o b l em i s
f i xe d, t h e r e s t
of the
assembly
should
c o n c l ud e
quickly (fingers
crossed) and I
s h o u l d h av e a
f u n c t io n a l
wheel by
We d n e s d ay ’s
p r e s e n t a t io n .