Terminology for Spindles

There are two kinds of spindles: through (or central) and stopped (or terminal). We are here concerned with stopped spindles.

A stopped spindle has three parts:

a handle, usually shaped to fit the hand,
a long shaft with threads that goes through the threaded hole in the through jaw, and
a stub without threads that goes into the pit in the stopped jaw.

The overall length of the spindle should be 2 or 4 inches longer than the jaws.

Spindles

Through Spindles

Stopped Spindles

These are tough to describe in words.

There is no scale in any image below; the emphasis is on proportions, or "look", not absolute size. If you want tables of dimensions, then see the Models Pages.

Handles

The handle is usually cylindrical, but there are exceptions. See the gallery for many examples, and a finer classification. Most craft made spindles have handles that look like Bliss handles; they are easy to make.

The gallery has handles of most makers you are likely to encounter; more will be added as time permits.

Stubs

They all look much alike. Occasionally, there may be marks on the tip from the lathe; I haven't been able to make much out of the differences.

Threads

I'm working on tables of pitches versus diameters, but there is a lot of detail to enter.

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