Using

1. To make a ball of yarn, feed yarn through bridle hook. Start by placing yarn in slot at top of core. When winding yarn, give yarn a little tension by having it slip through your fingers. Too little tension will produce a loose ball, a ball that can fly off the winder entirely. Too much tension makes winding tiring.

2. You can wind clockwise or counterclockwise.

3. Draw wound yarn from centre of ball. If you want to unwind ball from the outside, fit a bathroom tissue paper core over ball winder core before winding a ball.

Maintenance

1. Oil occasionally. Place four or five drops of light machine oil into the hole mid-way down the core, one or two drops where the bronze bushing rotates on the steel nut under the core, onto the central shaft under the small cone, around the steel bolt in the top of the handle, and under the driven pulley where it rotates against a steel nut.

2. Keep winder out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources.

Troubleshooting

1. Ball is too soft. Review No. 1 under Using.

2. Handle is not easy to turn. Be sure no bits of yarn are caught in any part of the moving mechanism.

3. Winding is noisy and tiring. Oil as directed above.

4. Belt slips. Rub belt dressing in driving and driven pulley slots. Bee's wax will do. If problem persists, exchange for a shorter belt from Woolhouse Tools.

5. Yarn winds on core in same direction only, producing a form like an egg, not forming a ball.

a. Be sure no length of fibre is wound around base of central revolving assembly and retarding its motion.

b. Check revolving assembly's tire for bumps. Even a small bump can cause the revolving assembly's tire to skid on the stationary cone rather than turn on the cone. Be sure there's nothing oily on the stationary cone. By lifting the driven pulley, lift the revolving assembly off the stationary cone. The revolving assembly should spin freely -- like a top. If it does not spin easily, check for bits of yarn at under the hole's wheel.

c. Look underneath the base to see if the central post has slipped down, pull the hexagon head out as far as you can, work some epoxy glue under it, and push it back flush with the base.

d. Be sure stationary cone is not loose or turning around the central post. If it is, lift it off, insert a little epoxy glue in the mounting hole under the cone. Replace the cone, making sure it is exactly square with the post.

e. Using the drive pulley handle, spin the ball winder. See if the driven pulley touches the base. If it does touch the base, first check if the central post, as in "c" above has slipped down. If it has not slipped down and is flush with the base as it should, the steel arm that supports the spinning assembly needs to be bent up more sharply. To do this, grasp the driven pulley with one hand and raise the holed wheel's tire off the small central cone. With the heel of your other hand, push the steel arm up and in. Do this in small increments. The arm is bent enough when the driven pulley does not touch the base.