New Top Whorl Drop Spindles

We have added five new top whorl drop spindles to our Etsy shop today.  The woods use by Dave to craft these beautiful spindles are from left to right:

*Walnut and Birch

*Hormigo Negro and Hickory

*Spalted Maple and Birch

*Birdseye Maple and Mahogany

*Cocobolo and Birdseye Maple

New Andean/Peruvian Style Bottom Whorl Drop Spindles

These are Dave's newest Andean style bottom whorl drop spindles. The woods used are from left to right:

*Cedar and Mahogany

*Oak and Redheart

*Walnut and Hickory

*Poplar and Cherry

*Paduak and Hickory

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Andean/Peruvian Style Reproduction Bottom Whorl Drop Spindles

These new spindles are reproductions of an Andean style spindle. Andean spindles are suspended drop spindles with no frills...no hook, no notches and no grooves. They were developed to spin long-staple alpaca and other camelid fibers native to the Andes. Spinning is done off the side using a half hitch.

I have made these spindles in the same affordable and basic fashion as the original Andean spindles with one exception--I mount the spindle whorl blank on the shaft, and then turn and shape the whorl and shaft together to achieve a well balanced spindle. My reading and research on Andean spindles indicate that the whorls are shaped first and then fitted on a hand shaped (sometimes not too straight) shaft. I assume that one benefit of this is that once a shaft is worn out the whorl can be removed and fitted to a new shaft, but I just cannot bring myself to make a spindle that wobbles so these whorls are permanently fixed and balanced.

Carved Moose Antler and Cocobolo Rim Weighted Top Whorl Drop Spindle

This unique 1.1 ounce (30gram) moose antler rim weighted top whorl drop spindle has been intricately carved by Dave with his signature leaf motif. The notched whorl measures 1 5/8 inches in diameter, and the cocobolo shaft is 7 1/4 inches in length. The bottom of the shaft has been shaped to accommodate a half hitch and a brass hook has been added to the top.  Please click here to view additional photos of this beautiful handspinning tool.

Carved Moose Antler and Purpleheart Bottom Whorl Drop Spindle

This unique 1.4 ounce (41grams) moose antler bottom whorl drop spindle has been intricately carved by Dave with his signature rose and leaf motif. The whorl measures 1 7/8 inches in diameter, and the purpleheart shaft is 9 1/2 inches in length. A brass hook has been added to the top, and a steel bumper to the bottom.  Please visit our Etsy shop to view more photos of this beautiful handspinning tool.

Pacific Yew and Hickory Tibetan Support Spindle

This beautiful Tibetan support spindle weights 1.2 ounces (35 grams). The hickory shaft measures 11 1/2 inches in length, and the whorl, which is crafted from Pacific yew, measures about 1 3/4 inches in diameter.  Additional photos can be seen in our Etsy shop.

Dave checks all of his spindles for balance. Occasionally he finds a spindle whorl that has two different densities (and weights) of wood which can occur naturally, and cause the spindle to wobble. He carefully drills and insets just the right amount of brass rod as a counterbalance to evenly distribute the weight. He has decorated the resulting brass dot as a sun symbol, paying homage to the Navajo people who are famous for their fiber spinning and weaving skills.

Myrtlewood and Hickory Tibetan Support Spindle

This beautiful Tibetan support spindle weights 1.1 ounces (30 grams). The hickory shaft measures 10 1/2 inches in length, and the whorl, which measures about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, is crafted from myrtlewood.  Click here to see additional photos of this tool.

Carved Moose Antler and East Indian Rosewood Rim Weighted Top Whorl Drop Spindle

**Due to export restrictions of wildlife materials, we cannot ship products crafted from antler outside of the U.S.**

This unique 1.1 ounce moose antler rim weighted top whorl drop spindle has been intricately carved by Dave with his signature leaf motif. The notched whorl measures 1 5/8 inches in diameter, and the East Indian rosewood shaft is 7 1/4 inches in length. The end of the shaft has been shaped to accommodate a half hitch and a brass hook has been added to the top.  Additional photos can be seen here.

**Moose antlers are naturally shed each year, so no moose were harmed to create this spindle.**

The Druid's Egg Tagua Nut and Hickory Bead Whorl Support Spindle with Figured Maple Support Bowl

This matching set of handspinning tools includes a vegan ivory tagua nut Druid's egg support spindle and a ceramic and figured maple spinning bowl. Please note that the tagua nut Druid's Egg cannot be turned while mounted on the shaft, therefore each spindle may have a slight wobble.

The tagua nut, also known as vegetable ivory, was beautifully carved by Dave to represent a Druid's Egg. He has crafted the 9 1/2 inch long shaft from hickory, and adorned it with a ring of turquoise. The weight of this supported bead whorl spindle is 1.1 ounces (29g).

Our originally designed support spinning bowl combines the efficiency of a ceramic surface with the stability of a wide beautiful wooden base. The ceramic bowl measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and the gorgeous figured maple wooden base is 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Cork has been added to the bottom of this bowl to keep the wood from scratching other hard surfaces.

Cocobolo and Hickory Pear Takli Spindle

Cocobolo and hickory are the woods used by Dave to make this beautiful pear whorl Takli spindle.  A brass hook was added to the top, allowing for use as either a drop spindle or supported spindle.  The weight of this handspinning tool is 1.3 ounces.

Ambrosia Maple Mini Tibetan Support Spindles with Matching Bowls

This is a new item and wood for Grizzly Mountain Arts!  Each ambrosia maple set is unique and one-of-a-kind.  Unlike spalted maple, which exhibits patterns caused by fungi often softening the wood making it "punky", the unique patterns found in ambrosia maple are caused by boring insects which often leave holes, channels and uniquely colored tracks throughout the wood.  The holes and voids found in some pieces allow for the artistic inlay of materials such as turquoise, brass, copper and silver.

Accompanying each spindle, is one of our originally designed support spinning bowls that combines the efficiency of a ceramic surface with the stability of a wide beautiful wooden base. The ceramic insert measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and the gorgeous ambrosia maple base is 2 3/4 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height.

All of the sets shown above have been sold.

Oregon Myrtlewood Tibetan Support Spindle and Spinning Bowl

This Tibetan style supported spindle was crafted by Dave from Oregon myrtlewood.  The matching support spinning bowl is also myrtlewood.  Both the spindle and bowl feature Dave signature pyrographed leaf motif.

Tibetan Lite Support Spindles with Matching Bowls

Four new Tibetan Lite support spindles were listed in our Etsy shop today.  Canary wood, bubinga, lacewood and goncalo alves are the woods that were used to craft these beautiful handspinning tools.  The spindles weight between 1.0 and 1.2 ounces.  Our originally designed support spinning bowls combine the efficiency of a ceramic surface with the stability of a wide beautiful wooden base.

Mini Rim Weighted Olive Burl and Chechen Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Dave has crafted the 1 7/8 inch diameter notched whorl of this rim weighted top whorl drop spindle from olive burl, and the 7 1/4 inch shaft from chechen. A brass hook has been added to the top.  The weight of this gorgeous rim weighted handspinning tool is 1.1 ounces (30 grams).  Additional photos can be found in our Etsy shop.

Moose Antler and Cocobolo Top Whorl Drop Spindle

This unique 1.0 ounce moose antler spindle features a notched whorl, and measures 2 1/16 inches in diameter. The cocobolo shaft is 7 1/4 inches in length. The end of the cocobolo shaft has been shaped to accommodate a half hitch and a brass hook has been added to the top.


Moose antlers are naturally shed each year, so no moose were harmed to create this spindle.

Padauk and Ash Top Whorl Drop Spindle with Myrtlewood Burl Inlay

Dave has crafted this beautiful notched top whorl drop spindle from padauk and ash. The padauk whorl measures 2 5/8 inches in diameter and the ash shaft is 8 1/2 inches in length, including the brass hook. The whorl has been inlayed with a stunning round piece of myrtlewood burl. The weight of this spindle is 0.8 ounce.  Additional photos can be viewed in our Etsy shop.

Carved Moose Antler and Honduras Rosewood Bottom Whorl Drop Spindle

This unique 1.8 ounce moose antler bottom whorl drop spindle has been intricately carved by Dave with his signature rose and leaf motif. The whorl measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and the honduras rosewood shaft is 9 inches in length. A brass hook has been added to the top.

Myrtlewood Russian Support Spindle with Matching Bowl

Myrtlewood Russian Support Spindle with Matching Bowl

Dave has crafted this beautiful Russian support spindle and matching bowl from Oregon myrtlewood. The 11 inches long Russian support spindle weights 28 grams (1.0 ounces) and has been adorned with his signature leaf motif. The 3 inch diameter myrtlewood support bowl has a mauve earthenware ceramic insert.  More photos of this set can be found in our Etsy.com shop.

Carved Moose Antler, Cocobolo and Fossil Walrus Ivory Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Carved Moose Antler, Cocobolo and Fossil Walrus Ivory Top Whorl Drop Spindle

This 1.0 ounce moose antler top whorl drop spindle has been inlayed with a fossil walrus ivory disk. Dave has left some of the unique surface area of the antler on the top of the whorl. The notched whorl measures 2 inches in diameter, and the cocobolo shaft is 7 1/4 inches in length. The end of the cocobolo shaft has been shaped to accommodate a half hitch and a brass hook has been added to the top. More photos of this spindle can be found at the Etsy.com listing.

Myrtlewood Tibetan Lite Support Spindle

Myrtlewood Tibetan Lite Support Spindle

This beautiful little "Tibetan Lite" support spindle weights .9 ounces (25 grams). The myrtlewood shaft measures about 10 1/2 inches in length and the whorl, which is also crafted from myrtlewood, measures about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. The end of the shaft has been shaped to accommodate a half hitch.

Additional photos can be seen at the Etsy.com listing for this spindle.