Craft me Happy!

I make no secret of how much I love the Electric Eel Wheel Nano. Maurice Ribble developed it with the intention of making it the smallest, most affordable electric spinning wheel on the market. Maurice wanted to bridge the price gap between drop spindle and spinning wheel, at a price that was competitive enough for non-spinners to satisfy their curiosity about e-spinners, without having to make the significant investment of a production-level spinning wheel.

Full Disclosure - I’m an affiliate of both Dreaming Robots and Amazon. The following blog post contains links to products on both sites. If you click through and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no additional cost to you. This blog makes no profits and any income from my blog goes a small way towards funding future blog projects.

I personally backed the Kickstarters for the Nano 1 and Nano 2 as I couldn’t resist purchasing a tiny little travel spinning wheel that’s small enough to spin from my lap in the car, or just perch on the arm of the sofa next to me.

Spinning from my lap in the car passenger seat

I own several e-spinners now, but I reach for the Nano more often than say, my Electric Eel Wheel 6 or my Hansencrafts Minispinner, purely because it is so tiny and portable.

Maurice intentionally built the Nano to be as basic as possible to keep the costs down. He knew that spinners, generally being a creative bunch, might modify and accessorise it to suit their needs. This minimalist design approach helps to keep the price of the Nano as affordable as possible.

About 5 years ago, I wrote a blog post about the modifications I made to my Nano 1.0. I changed the yarn guides, and the tension system, designed an orifice reducer with a twist keeper, and found a way to attach my battery to the base.

Well, the Nano 2.0 is quite an improvement on the Nano 1.0 but there were still modifications I felt I had to make to the Nano 2.0 to make it perform better than my modified Nano 1.1. - the wheel that, for a long time, became my most used e-spinner.

The Tension System

The most important improvement I made to my earlier Nanos was to switch out the elastic tension band for a beaded cord and spring tension system. I find the tension from the supplied elastic band on all of the Nanos so far to be a little unresponsive and I have to turn the tension up to the point that it slows the wheel down more than I would like as the bobbin becomes fuller.

Unlike the Nano 2.0 - the first Nano didn’t come with a tension knob, but I thought I would mention my earlier modification because there are still advantages to this system.

As the tension is chosen by positioning tiny crimp beads, there is no guesswork involved in choosing the tension level, and, as the beads are so small, the tension changes are made in tiny, measurable increments.

For my Nano 2, I just cut the elastic off and knotted the 1mm Chinese knotting cord onto the tension knob instead. There’s no difference in the feel between this and the beaded system, it’s just a lot less fiddly with a tiny bit more guesswork.

I opened up the last two coils of the spring and attached them to the base with Gorilla Tape

The tension is created by the downward force of the Chinese knotting cord on the bobbin, attached to an Ashford brake band spring on the other side.

If you’re looking for an alternative to the Ashford brake band spring, I find sewing machine tension springs to be quite similar and cheaper. (I ended up buying a whole pack of these and I’ve modified a couple of Nanos for local spinners that were ready to give up.) Both springs, however, need a little trimming with memory wire cutters to allow them to fit.

I can achieve much higher speeds with the spring and cord system and I can feel the yarn being gently pulled onto the bobbin. With my modified Nano 2 and its stronger motor, I will happily ply a full bobbin - something I would have found far too slow and laborious on the previous models - modified or otherwise.

Shielding to Prevent Flyer Erosion

Unfortunately, I was one of the first Nano 2 owners to discover that the flyer isn’t as resistant to erosion as the earlier 1.x models.

Owners of antique wooden spinning wheels often see little channels that have been worn into their wheels by yarns rubbing over the edge of the spinning wheel orifice over time. The plastic of the Nano 2 is a different type of plastic to the one used on the Nano 1.x and unfortunately, it has proven to be less resistant to erosion. If you spin fine and fast - especially with stronger fibres like silk and bamboo, or coarser, abrasive wools - the speed at which the flyer erodes increases dramatically.

After just 2 or 3 weeks of spinning a fine single of blended Devon Closewool, Romney and Exmoor Blueface wool this is how my Nano orifice looked. My final yarn is quite a bit itchier than the merino I spin more often so I’m guessing I was pretty unlucky to begin my first Nano 2 spin with a significantly more abrasive fibre.

To prevent further erosion, I very quickly covered the channel with some sticky back copper tape… This stopped the yarn from cutting into the plastic but the foil would eventually dig into the groove causing me further tension issues.

After replacing the copper for the third time I decided to use something less flexible to shield the orifice.

Some people have had success by enlarging the orifice with a file or Dremel and then gluing in a ceramic ring (designed for a fishing rod). As you can see, I bought a set of ceramic rings for this purpose but realised that it would reduce the size of the orifice, making threading the orifice slightly trickier, so I decided against this solution.

Next, I bought a pack of 10mm metal eyelets to glue into the orifice. To make them fit, I filed down one side with my Dremel and ground down and polished the base so that the yarn would glide smoothly over it.

This worked really well to cover up the groove and prevent further erosion but again, it made threading the orifice a little difficult. I work with a slightly smaller and longer orifice reducer so it was quite fiddly to thread the single through with my orifice hook.

Maurice’s 3D-printed orifice insert covered in epoxy to reduce friction

Maurice also came up with a solution to shield the Nano 2’s orifice with a 3D-printed insert. I tried it for a little while but I found that as 3D printed items aren’t glossy smooth, I had to increase my tension further which again, slowed the wheel down.

After mulling it over for a few months I began to wonder if shielding the full circle of the orifice was absolutely necessary… I’m right-handed and I will always thread the Nano to the right so shielding the left side of the orifice felt a little redundant:

As the centre of the Nano travels at a slower speed than the flyer arms - and the Nano doesn’t reach the same speeds as the Electric Eel Wheel 6, would it be an issue to use just part of the metal eyelet to shield the orifice? After all, this was the best solution I’d come up with so far. The metal eyelet gave me the smoothest spin with longer-term protection than a 3D-printed insert; it was only threading the yarn that was the issue.

If it works, I can always add the same shielding to the reverse side which will balance the flyer a little better anyway.

Cutting Down a Metal Eyelet to Shield the Nano 2.0 Orifice

With my Dremel Flex shaft positioned firmly in a vice, I used a sanding disc to cut a flat edge into the metal eyelet.

I stopped frequently to check the fit. (Unfortunately, I cut off slightly more than necessary but that’s just an aesthetics issue.)

With my Dremel Flex shaft still in the vice, I cut the eyelet in half using a cutting disc. (This is actually the second version I’ve made of this version. The first time I tried it I didn’t leave enough protection at the bottom and my yarn would occasionally get stuck on the sharp bottom left edge so the additional width at the base is necessary.)

I returned to the sanding disc to file down the base of the eyelet and round off the sharp corners. I kept placing it in the orifice and feeling with my finger underneath, filing it down until the base of the eyelet was just long enough to protect the plastic of the Nano without being in the way.

Finally, to ensure that the yarn didn’t catch on any burrs on the eyelet edge I rounded and polished the lower edge of the eyelet until it felt glossy and smooth against my fingers.

I then used a two-part epoxy to glue the metal eyelet section in place.

...Several months later, my partial shielding of the orifice with a section of metal eyelet is still working well for me and I've experienced no issues with the slightly unbalanced flyer. The black enamel coating has worn away, revealing the brass of the eyelet underneath but it shouldn’t get any worse than this.

I’m so pleased to have finally found a solution that has allowed me to fall in love with the Nano again! It was touch and go there for a little while…

Changing the Yarn Guides to 3D-Printed Ceramic Ring Guides

The day I opened my Kickstarter Nano 2, I switched out the plastic yarn guides for some wire split ring guides made out of 0.8mm jewellery wire. I much prefer super-smooth guides and I felt that the original plastic guides had too large a surface area and, being made of plastic, are much more likely to add unnecessary friction. Reducing the friction on the yarn means that I don’t have to increase the tension as much and I can therefore increase the maximum speed that the Nano is capable of when the bobbin is at its fullest.

You can see the video of how I made wire yarn guides for my Nano 1.0 here.

Unfortunately, as the Nano 2 arms are narrower, more flexible, and don’t unscrew like the ones on the earlier models, over time, my wire yarn guides became a little wonky and loose so I thought I’d have a go at designing some ceramic yarn guides.

I have ceramic yarn guides on my Hansencrafts Minispinner and, as I’d already bought the ceramic rings to try to fix the eroding orifice, it was the next logical step for me to have a go at designing ceramic yarn guides for the Nano.

My 3D-printed yarn guides fit snugly on the Nano 2 flyer arms and a little shrink tubing is added for friction. The addition of tubing means that the guides flex a little which helps to hold them in place. This does also mean that I needed to use a different plastic to the regular PLA filament I used in the beginning.

Over time, I found that my PLA yarn guides expanded due to flexing, and became loose so I reprinted them in PETG. After several months, they’re still holding on nicely.

I used a 2 part epoxy to glue the size #16 ceramic ring in place. I put down grease-proof paper to protect my work surface and pressed it down with a cocktail stick to protect my fingers.

I then wiped off the excess glue with kitchen roll.

I cut 4 x 5mm lengths of 4.5mm heat shrink tubing and threaded them onto the open end of the yarn guides.

It’s then just a case of pushing the tubing down until it sits snuggly over the corner of the lower section. (I wouldn’t advise actually heat shrinking the tubing as this can easily distort the 3D printed plastic. Ask me how I know…)

The shrink tubing sits discreetly under the flyer arm, adding just enough grip to hold the yarn guide in place while still making them easy enough to move with one hand.

If you would like to print your own yarn guides, you can find the stl file here -

These are provided free for personal use and not for resale. Snortimer’s hub designed the original ceramic yarn guides for the Nano and they can be purchased here.

Fix for the free-rotating tension knob

One issue a lot of Nano 2.0 users have experienced is that the tension knob will rotate back due to the pull of the tension band. I spin with very light tension on the Nano, so this isn’t something I’ve experienced myself but I thought I’d share the solution that has worked for other spinners here, and make the modification to my Nano 2.0 at the same time.

A lot of people find that just tightening the screw helps to fix the problem. However, a more secure way to prevent the tension knob from rotating when it’s pulled on is to add something behind the tension knob to create friction and hold it in position. Firstly, I used a screwdriver to release the knob from the wheel.

Spinners that have carried out this fix recommend placing a rubber or silicone washer between the knob and the wheel. I couldn’t find either of these at my local DIY store, and I didn’t want to send off for 50 washers online so I decided to make my own. I cut little circles out of a silicone sheet I had already, and then punched holes in the middle with my Crop-a-dile.

I threaded one of my makeshift silicone washers onto the screw. If you don’t have any spare sheets of silicone lying around, a piece of rubber or nitrile glove would probably do the job.

It’s then just a case of screwing the knob back on tightly and wrapping the tension band around it.

Fix For the Bobbin Binding on the Flyer

If you're still having tension issues, and you're struggling to get the yarn to pull onto the bobbin, it may be that the flyer arms are too tight on the bobbin, causing it to brake, even with no tension.

When I first unboxed my Nano, I couldn't get any take-up. One of the issues was excess plastic flashing inside the orifice reducer, causing the singles to get caught. However, the main issue was that the front bearing hadn't been properly pushed on during assembly.

With my thumbs positioned on either side of the front bearing, and my fingers gripping the back of the bobbin, I gave the front bearing a firm push and felt it click into place.

You can tell if your bearing is not seated properly as less of the orifice will be visible in front of the bearing than is shown in this picture.

Another thing that can cause the bobbin to bind on the flyer is if the flyer arms are angled inwards slightly.

Maurice made a video about this issue that is present in a small number of Nanos. You can see his video here. If you're not comfortable heating up the flyer arms to bend them outwards, alternatively, you could grind off a little of the plastic on the end of one of the bobbins to see if that helps to fix the problem.

Improved Orifice Reducer with a Built-in Twist Keeper

I shared my idea for an orifice reducer with incorporated slits to prevent the twist from travelling up or down the singles at the beginning of 2020. My own design has evolved a little since then and I’ve seen many 3D printing companies selling their own versions.

Mine now has a section behind the front to wrap a good long length of singles around, and I doubled the number of slits - purely to save rotating my arthritic wrists… there’s always a slit in the right position regardless of where it stops.

I might pop my Nano into a bag 2 or 4 times a day and this helps to prevent too much twist travelling down into my fibre while it’s still attached to the wheel. It also acts as a secure place to repeatedly hold the twist in the end of my singles whilst preparing my next handful of fibre when I'm spinning from the fold or just grabbing for my next rolag.

You can download my updated Nano orifice reducer here.

Again, this is provided free for personal use and not for resale.

Blanking Plate for the Nano 2 Base

In my blog post about the modifications I made to my Nano1.1 I wrote about how I'd managed to attach it to my battery for increased portability -

Well, my needs have changed a little since then. I originally attached it to the battery so that I could pick up everything I needed to start spinning with one hand and take it up or downstairs. That battery was pretty large but it didn't matter too much as I wasn't travelling far with it.

Over the last year, I've been taking my Nano out to more craft and spinning groups which means I have to pack it away in a bag and walk a short distance with it so, (with a chronic spinal condition), the weight and size of the battery became really important to me.

I needed the Nano to be even more portable and lightweight which meant using a much smaller battery that didn’t attach to the base.

I designed and wove myself a little bag that’s just big enough to hold the Nano, switch, a tiny battery and 50g of fibre above the wheel. .

With the smaller woven bag, I found myself fumbling to pull the Nano out as I don’t like putting my hand underneath the Nano and touching the exposed motor, wiring, and circuitry so I designed a base plate to protect the internal wizardry from my clumsy hands. I can now happily grab hold of the Nano by sliding my hand underneath and it all just feels a lot more solid.

The suction cup feet are perfect for holding the Nano bottom in place. An added bonus is that with a thicker base, the feet don’t fall off nearly as often as they used to.

You can download and print your own base for the Nano here -

These can be downloaded for resale, but please mention this blog post as the original source for the design idea.

Orifice Hook with a Kumihimo Cord

I love the little orifice hook that comes with the Nano but it does have a tendency to get knocked off the tiny little magnets. After losing one and struggling to find a spare, I decided I needed to put it on some kind of leash to attach it to the wheel. That way I would never lose an orifice hook again.

I've seen spinners tie the hooks to their wheels with ribbon or yarn but I didn't want it to be permanently attached.

I came up with the idea of threading the whole thing through a large jump ring so that I could remove it easily if I needed to, but otherwise, it would always be on my wheel. The cord also makes it a lot easier to see from a distance, or just prevents it from getting lost in general - I’m far less likely to lose it down the side of the couch with a long cord attached!

You can read how I made the kumihimo cord for my Nano orifice hook here.

Extension Cable for the Switch

I usually spin with my Nano to my right side, an arm’s length away. As the Nano is not in my eye-line and I tend to avoid rapid movements, I needed to find a way to turn it off quickly without having to lunge for the wheel.

I bought myself a Micro USB extension cable for the supplied Nano switch and I can now sit with the switch and battery in my lap without the requirement to reach out quickly to turn the Nano off. It also means that my hands are pretty much in the correct position when I’m ready to start spinning again.

---

Testing my Modified Nano by Spinning a Core-spun Yarn

I read so many spinners on the Electric Eel Wheel Facebook group saying that the Nano is only really suited to spinning fine, smooth yarns so I thought I’d challenge this belief on my modified Nano 2. Now that I’ve improved the tension system, shielded the orifice, and installed ceramic yarn guides, my Nano 2 should be much more capable of spinning a lumpy, bumpy textured yarn.

I keep a big basket in my craft room, purely for storing my combing waste. When inspiration strikes (or my basket starts to overflow) I like to turn it into something fun!

I managed to spin this highly textured core-spun yarn from combing waste which required a responsive, firm pull from the tension system at a very low speed.

Admittedly, I had to split this bouncy, fluffy, core-spun yarn over two bobbins, and I still only managed to fit 30g* across both bobbins, but I did manage to produce a very usable weaving yarn with no issues at all. I’m pretty pleased with that!

*(For reference, I usually manage to fit between 55g and 65g of fine yarn onto a Nano bobbin.)

The Future Nano 2.1

With the Nano, Maurice wanted to design and manufacture a spinning wheel that was as affordable as possible, to make spinning accessible to anyone who might simply be curious about spinning but didn’t want to make the significant investment of buying a regular, full-sized spinning wheel. Unfortunately, the original basic design meant that sometimes a little tinkering was necessary, which is not ideal when you’re new to spinning.

I regularly read other spinners on the Electric Eel Wheel Facebook Group telling newcomers to the forum that the Nano is not the best starter wheel. In the past, I would always recommend the Electric Eel Wheel 6 over the Nano as it would be challenging for a non-spinner to pinpoint the source of a particular tension issue, especially if there is more than one factor at play.

Maurice Ribble is a regular contributor to the Electric Eel Wheel Facebook Group and the Electric Eel Wheel Ravelry page. He has taken on board all of the issues that spinners have with the Nano to bring out an upgraded version of the Nano 2 which is far less finicky and much more suited to beginners than earlier models.

I’m a product tester for Dreaming Robots and I’ve recently been testing the Nano 2.1 which is due to be released later this year. In my opinion, this is a much more significant upgrade than the name modestly suggests. The difference between spinning on this and an 'out-of-the-box' Nano 2.0 is huge! Maurice would disagree with me, but I really think that Nano 3 would be a more fitting name to reflect the massively improved spinning experience. -

The Nano 2.1 has a completely redesigned flyer with a tilted orifice, making it much more forgiving of beginner yarns.
The flyer is made from glass-reinforced nylon which firmly tackles the problem of yarn eroding the flyer orifice.
The tension knob now stays solidly in place when you turn the tension right up.
The yarn guides are much more rounded, reducing friction and the need for additional tension.
The bobbins have bearings at either end to reduce bobbin chatter, are much more open in design and now only have one brake band pulley end to avoid confusion.
The Nano 2.1 now uses a spring and cord tension system and is much more responsive than the original elastic tension system.

Phew! Well done if you’ve made it to the end! As you might have guessed, I will always have a soft spot for the Nano, regardless of model. It’s a very capable little wheel with ultra, Spin Anywhere portability. I’m so pleased that the future Nano 2.1 will finally be a brilliant beginner’s spinning wheel too.

If you've found any of this post interesting or useful, please pin this image to Pinterest. It makes a big difference to me and helps other spinners find it too.

At this point, I normally suggest similar related blog posts, however, my list of spinning-related content is becoming a little unmanageable... If you'd like to read more blog posts about spinning and fibre preparation, please take a look at this page here where you will find links to all of my spinning and fibre articles.

Thank you for reading, and happy spinning!