Spool for Ashford Country Spinner Mk1

Reccomended print instructions:

These pieces go together in the order: Drive Disc - Large Disc - Rod - Large Disc - End Piece.

No matter how you make this, I recommend honeycomb infill at at least 20% and extra perimeters for strength. Print with the protusion of each piece up and add paint-on supports. Organic ones worked best for me. The pieces fit together tightly, and your flyer should keep everything in place, but using glue to make this into one solid piece is not unwise when using this to actually spin with. 

If you have a printer that can handle a height of 241mm and a diameter of 190mm--Just use the files from the folder “Print one piece” and print them in the orientations presented with the suggested supports. 

Technically, all these pieces fit on something as small as a Prusa Mini's print bed without using the modular pieces. Having at least the rod as one single piece makes it feel extremely sturdy. You just have to fiddle with the orientation for a while. And not mind extremely long prints. And have your support games dialed in to a T. I have tried it. It is possible. 

For Rod: Flip nubbin side down. Rotate X 45°, Y 45°, Z -10°. Add supports on Build Plate.

For Disc: Flip nubbin side down. Rotate X 25°, Y 25°. Add supports on Build Plate.

But maybe you are a sensible person who got a Mini, but still wants to leave the house on a weekend without leaving the printer on. Or maybe you don't have a filament recycling service as readily available as I do for the unholy amounts of support material printing all the pieces in one go calls for. In that case, the rod and the large disc have been divided into pieces that fit together VERY snugly and can be printed in sensible proportions with minimal supports. The large disc, because of its diameter, likes to wobble out of shape around the edges even when fit together perfectly. Definitely glue that together into a single disc if you choose that route. The rod has 1 piece that is different from the other 3. Test fit before gluing anything, making sure the lowest nubbin (see pic 3) is on the top of your tower. 

I test printed this in PLA, mostly scraps, which is the reason for the artsy color changes. It took over a kilo of filament. 

Backstory:

This entire thing happened because I found a used spinning wheel. It had all the parts, and based on the branding alone, I knew the price was extremely reasonable. It only had one spool, and three are definitely better. Since Ashford is a widely used brand that has parts available for almost all the wheels they ever sold, I brought it home without a care in the world. 

A little bit of internet research there, I learned I was now the proud owner of an Indian Spinner, renamed the Country Spinner Mk1, from the 1980s. And they no longer made the exact spool for it. The spools for the newer models should work fine, every source said. Ashford is a small, artisan maker and deserves to be supported, so I was prepared to suck up and fork over 180 euros for spools--except they were sold out. On every continent on the planet. You'd almost think most people don't get a wheel that makes pretty much only super bulky and art yarns, and this model is not a priority to make spools for.

So out came the calipers on these fairly simple shapes, and a mere week of semi-responsible printing later, I had one spool and my wife was ready to file for divorce if she didn't get a turn on the printer. 

Only time will tell how durable this is, but it should tide me over until they restock the actual spools.