So the lovely and talented Katherine of it All brought her new wheel to S’nB tonight and learned a few amazing things.
First of all, according to newcomer Amanda, the wheel’s serial number indicates that it was manufactured on January 15, 1988. And that little “6″ means it was the sixth wheel ever made, as Schacht started production of the Matchless in 1988 (she knows this because her wheel is number three).
Then it dawned on us that today is January 15—which meant the wheel was exactly 20 years old today. How cool is that?
Along with Amanda, the new wheel had Warren (of the caramels) checking her over and offering a wealth of tips and pointers. And Warren knows his stuff–as I mentioned in that previous post, he has dismantled his Schacht Matchless entirely (for cleaning) and put it all back together.
Everyone “oohed” and “aahed” over the new girl—just like welcoming a new baby into the fold. And on her birthday, no less!
It’s the magic of the SLC-SNB, once again.
Comments 5
Celebrating the wheel’s birthday together at SnB has got to be the best karma for Katherine!
Posted 16 Jan 2008 at 5:02 am ¶Hmmmm . . . my serial number also ends with a “6″ and my wheel was manufactured in 2005.
Posted 16 Jan 2008 at 7:16 am ¶Maybe it means it was the 6th one manufactured on that day??
I’ve posted a question to the Schacht Spinners group on Ravelry ~ I’ll bet Spunky Eclectic will know!
Posted 16 Jan 2008 at 8:07 am ¶Hi there,
I want to apologize for spreading misinformation. The original owner of my Matchless wheel was misinformed; it was not the 3rd wheel made. When I got home and saw that my wheel’s birthday was 02/02/88, I knew I had it wrong, so I called Schacht to get the scoop. The date on the wheel is indeed the day it was assembled (its birthday), but the number following the date actually indicates what number it was for assembly that day. So, mine was the 3rd wheel assembled on 02/02/88 and Kat’s was the 6th assembled on 1/15/88. 1988 was indeed the first year they made the Matchless wheel, so it’s still pretty cool to have the original model (though the flyer has come a long way since then), and that sexy strip of walnut on Kat’s wheel is really attractive
If your Matchless is relatively new, the assembly date will be preceded by ST or DT indicating whether it was originally a single treadle or double treadle. In the beginning they were all single treadle, but when Schacht added the DT model, they offered an upgrade to those who owned a ST model. The woman I spoke with was very friendly and helpful and if you ever have any questions, you should just give them a call. Also, if you have one of those awful original flyers that has met it life expectancy, you can either have a wood working friend groove it out for you, or Schacht will sell you a new and improved one for about $100.00.
Keep spinning!
Amanda
Posted 24 Jan 2008 at 11:46 am ¶Thanks, Amanda, for tracking that information down. I still think it’s really interesting. My wheel was the first one made on September 28, 2007 (I bought it October 1). I just find it delightful to know that little tidbit about it, and thank you for getting us started thinking about this.
Posted 24 Jan 2008 at 2:54 pm ¶Post a Comment