Monday, July 16, 2007

A Nodding Acquaintance

With all the dying and playing with spinning I've been doing lately, I've become remarkably knowledgeable about things I never knew existed, like a Niddy Noddy and what one does with said contraption. Once I had seen one, I knew I must have one. However, the list of priorities reared its financial head, and I kept thinking about the kick spindle I want so much. That lead me on a wild Google chase to see what I could find that would be an acceptable and financially feasible substitute, when I ran across this.

I can do this! I MUST do this. The only thing that would make this more Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor would be if duct tape were somehow involved. Off I go intent on procuring my list of materials from my local super mega hardware supply store (which I justify with the idea that I have to go buy a new mailbox anyway - but that's another story). A half hour and less than 6 bucks later, I have the raw materials.

I got a 5 ft length of 1/2 inch cold water PVC pipe, two T-joints and 4 end caps. The PVC pipe was just the cheapest. It's not as rigid as some might be, but for my purposes and at less than $1.30 how could I complain? The end caps are a total luxury item. A little elbow grease and some sand paper and the sharp edges would be taken care of. I think the end caps just make it easier, not to mention adding a little added slippage protection. You can probably get the hardware guys to snip the pipe into the appropriate lengths for you (I have before), but I was in a hurry and have the hacksaw at home. I've done surgery on PVC before.


Measure out the lengths: one 18" and four 6" lengths. With the 18" cut, cap each end with the T-joints. I didn't even bother sanding, since the ends were going to be covered by the joint. Once that's complete, it's just a matter of cutting the 6" lengths, and inserting into the crossbar portion of the T-joints.

Now, all that's left is to add the endcaps or sand the edges, whichever you prefer. Since I was a dope and bought 3 of the wrong kind of endcap, I covered them with packing tape for the time being (couldn't find any duct tape). I even had an 18.5" length of pipe left over, and I cut a 12" length which I can swap out with the other when I wish.

With a twist to put the two T-bars perpendicular, I had a lightweight and incredibly inexpensive but durable Niddy Noddy. Below you can see it 'naked' and with some yarn wrapped on it. I'm finding the 18" length to be a bit unwieldy for my short arms. It's mega convenient, since I can wrap, count the loops and multiply by 2 to get the yardage. It's not that the 12" would be hard to do the same, just more math. More math may be worth it if it's a bit easier to use.


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