Originally Posted by
leonf
Other than making sure the handwheel is going in the right direction to start with and to keep it from rocking back when you are finished, I can't understand why you want your fingers involved. Most treadlers would have them guiding fabric once a rhythm is started.
I just find myself manually turning the wheel on somethings. Usually it is around a long curve or for a stretch over thick pieces that if going fast the needle hits the plate instead. This machine will go through anything, it seems, but some stuff needs to be at a slow, deliberate pace, and slower than the treadle allows. When coming out of the thick stuff, I pick up the pace and seem to get my fingers tangled in the wheel when I am “jumping onto the treadle”.
Another reason is I would like to teach my grandchildren to use the machine but they cannot reach the treadle but can the wheel. Probably gonna have to just break down and get a handcrank for them.