Drive Bands

My dream wheel was always a 30 inch Schacht Reeves in cherry. After a lot of saving, a got one about a year ago. It is a thing of beauty but we just didn't click; my CPW was just way more fun for me because it has a more aggressive take up.  I was complaining about it and my friend, Lisa, suggested I change the drive band. Well, first, wishing I'd thought of that myself, I started trying different material the second that I could. I tried hemp first. The hemp is the kind that is used for stringing jewelry and it was perfect; nice and grabby and gave me the take up that I like. Big problem? Noisy. Really. Noisy. And, I really can't stand a noisy wheel.

Next, I tried some candle wick (size 2/0). Pretty good but too thick for the wheel. So, off to order something thinner from Amazon and retie the original drive band. I ran a candle over the band which helped a ton.  Now, I wait for Amazon to deliver a thinner candle wick.

Tying a drive band is a pain but it really isn't that hard.  Here's how I do it:

1. Cut a 6 yard length of material (this is plenty for most wheels and leaves plenty to tie). If you know the length needed, cut to size and add 6 or so extra inches for the knot.

2. Tear off a couple of pieces (an inch or so) of masking tape and put them someplace handy so you can get them easily,

3. Remove the flyer/ bobbin assembly. Move the MOA as close to the wheel as it will go,

4. Wrap the end of the band around an upright twice so you'll  have two big loops,

5. Tie the two ends of the band very loosely,

6. Pull the band into two equal loops,

7. Loosely tape the loops to the drive wheel in a couple of places,

8. Get the flyer/ bobbin assembly back on the wheel and make sure the drive band goes over the assembly,

9. Untie the loose knot and pull until the drive band is tight over the whorls (the tape should fall off easily),

10. Tie a square knot and ta da!

I use a tiny drop of white glue on the knot and let it dry completely before trimming the ends. You can run the knot and/ or band with candle wax or beeswax now that it is on the wheel, should you desire.