Featured Walked away from antique spinning wheel.

Guy at a sale had an old spinning wheel that he wanted 75 obo for. It was the big 4-5 ft. wheel on it. Should I go back?

We don't really have room for it, but I don't see those often.

 

Personally I wouldn't go back. Hard to store, even for a little while, and I can't imagine there's a big market for them.

 

I see them every now and then in secondhand stores. Seemingly No great value and also hard to sell (well here)

 

Once in huge demand, there is little interest these days. I would also say pass.

 

There is a fair amount of spinning interest in my area of the midwest US, and several spinning groups. It's a "cottagecore" hobby.
Value would depend on how old it was, condition, if all parts were present, and -crucially- if it was usable.
Not long ago, I bought a 1980s traditional spinning wheel at an estate sale for $50, all parts present and in excellent condition. (I bought it for half-off original price on the last day of the sale, and I sat in my car and researched it before I took the plunge.) I listed it on my local FB Marketplace for $350, there were several interested parties and it sold within a week for asking price. But vintage/antique spinning wheels only have significant value if they can still be used for purpose. Parts for antique ones are impossible to find. If it's not actually usable it has decorative value only, which would be about $50-$75, IMHO, if a buyer could even be found. And one as large as you describe is larger than most people would want when buying for decorative purposes.

 

The only one I ever had around belonged to my great-grandmother, who used it. My cousin has it now. I agree that they're a tough sell unless they're in fully functional condition. Flax wheels are really cool, but does anyone still spin linen yarn?

 

Long time fiber arts geek who lurks on this blog. At core, a spinning wheel is a complex tool, requiring considerable training to use (you actually start out with a prehistoric tool, the drop spindle, but that’s another blog). An antique version is usually only decorative. There isn’t even a flat surface to rest a cup of coffee, or a beer. Few antique spinning wheels have all the fiddly parts, bits, and bobs to make them operational. All of them are hand made, so whatever is missing was custom designed and made for just that wheel; which means that the bobbin or spindle from some other wheel won’t fit. A working wheel is a joy and delight to any experienced hand spinner. If you have all the parts, they can always be repaired and tuned. A missing flyer-the key bit of spinning wheel tech-on a hand made spinning wheel means it is inoperable. Oh sure, you can spend a year of your spare time reverse engineering it in a shop full of wood and metal working tools, but you are not likely to make the wheel work. Antique wheels from Scandinavia, the Baltic area, and many parts of Slavic speaking countries have beautifully built wheels, with lovely paint work. I recall many photos of black paint with winding, lush floral designs, enhanced with birds and small animals. They are quite deserving of wall space in any home. So, use your eyes, and you will see what I have seen.

 

Also-the big 4-5 foot wheel was known as a walking wheel, and it was common in the early days of the US. It did not have a treadle, so the wheel had to be turned by hand. At the same time, the spinner “walked “ away from the big wheel, hence the name. This never made sense to me. I never got a good explanation for the name or the design. I suspect it required two sets of hands to work as the person spinning “walked” away from the wheel and the other person turned it. Maybe the second person being a slave. Maybe both. Which is my speculation.

 

A high quality modern wheel (and 1980s is modern) can go for a thousand dollars, depending on the maker.

 

Thank you all for your replies!