Turkish Spindles

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As with my Drop Spindles IST Crafts Turkish Spindles are lovingly hand made from selected hard woods. With a design that is unique to IST Crafts they offer a very attractive spindle that will just keep spinning.

The heart of any Drop Spindle is the shaft.

In order to provide stable yet attractive shafts, I have selected English Ash for the Turkish shafts. All my timber is hand selected but I take particular care over my ‘shaft wood’, looking for straight close grained timber. The timber is bought killed dried and then further seasoned in my timber store. It is then cut into billets and furthered seasoned. This additional seasoning ensures a stable and straight shaft.

Each shaft is finely hand turned from the acorn bottom finial to the gentle taper of the main shaft. Particular attention is given to the joint to ensure each shaft fits securely to the cross members so ensuring the spindle spins true. The length of the shafts varies depending on the size of the spindle. Please note: the width given is at the topside of the cross members and the length is the total length of the shaft. The lengths may vary by a small amount as they are individually hand turned.

80mm:    length 140cm width 6.mm
100mm:    length 150cm width 7mm
110mm:    length 160cm width 7mm
130mm:    length 180cm width 8mm

The Cross members/Whorl.
I have hand select all of the timber for my Turkish spindles from a supplier that specialises in woods for Musical instrument. The wood is therefore of top quality and selected for its beauty. The Cross members are hand made in selected pairs ensuring the wood matches and they form a sung fit that assembles and disassembles smoothly.  

All my Turkish spindles are wrapped in acid free tissue, bubble wrap and shipped in their own individual post tube which provide a safe shipping container (see P&P on welcome page). To offer an additional benefit to my customer I offer a range of attractive colours. When shipped these are wrapped in brown parcel paper so the tubes may be kept. These then provide an attractive and safe means of travelling with your spindle to Guild and Ravelry meetings. Colours available are Gold, Silver, Red and Blue, please select your preference when ordering.


The weight of the spindle depends on what type of spinning you are doing. Lighter weights for finer threads, heaver for the thicker threads and of course your personal preference.
Weights and sizes:
Whorl size 80mm weight 10gm to 14gm
Whorl size 100mm weight 16gm to 20gm
Whorl size 110mm weight 24gm to 32gm
Whorl size 13-0mm weight 34gm to 42gm


All my spindles are shipped in their own individual post tube lined with CFC free foam to provide a safe shipping container (see P&P on welcome page). To offer an additional benefit to my customer I offer a range of attractive colours. When shipped these are wrapped in brown parcel paper so the tubes may be kept. These then provide an attractive and safe means of travelling with your spindle to Guild and Ravelry meetings. Colours available are Gold, Silver, Red and Blue, please select your preference when ordering.

Due to the unique design of my Turkish spindles I am able to offer the lighter woods with small Brass weights in the ends of the arms. This adds several grams to the extremities of the cross members producing a very long even spin.

Pao Amarello with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle Euxylophora paraensis A lovely lemon yellow with a silky sheen. Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £2880mm weight 10 to 14 grms with brass weights - £32100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30100mm weight 16 to 20 grms with brass weights - £34110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms with brass weights - £34130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 130mm weight 34 to 42 grms with brass weights - £36 Qty:

Tulipwood with matching shaft Turkish Spindle Dalbergia frutescens A deep red example of this wood. Prices from £32 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £32100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £34110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £34130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £36 Qty:

Brazilian Kingwood with matching shaft Turkish Spindle Dalbergia cearensis Prices from £32 Select box colour r Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £32100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £34110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £34130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £36 Qty:

Snakewood with matching shaft Turkish Spindle Piratinera guianensis This rare and beautiful wood is normally used for making violin bows. The selection of wood I have is all figured, but due to it scarcity I am unable to offer the 130 size. However the wood is very dense so the weight will be towards the top end of the range. Prices from £34 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £34100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £36110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £36 Qty:

Purpleheart with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle Peltogyne pubescens A deep purple example of this wood. Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £28100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 Qty:

Satin Rubain with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle Brosimum paraense Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £28100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 Qty:

Cocobolo with Ash Shaft Turkish Spindle Dalbergia retusa This wood does vary in colour from almost orange with darker stripes to very dark! I do have some with some sap wood which is almost white and make a nice contracts, if you would like one made with this please e-mail me. Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £28100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 Qty:

English Bog Oak with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle Quercus petraea Sourced from the East Anglian fenland basin this stock of Bog Oak has been carbon dated to 3,300 BC so is in excess of 5000 years old. Logs are excavated from a sunken forest caused by a rise in sea level that started about 7,000 years ago. Prices from £32 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 15 grms - £3280mm weight 10 to 15 grms with brass weights - £36100mm weight 16 to 20grms - £34100mm weight 16 to 20grms with brass weights - £38110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £34110mm weight 24 to 32 grms with brass weights - £38130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £36130mm weight 34 to 42 grms with brass weights - £40 Qty:

Santos Rosewood with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle Machaerium scleroxylon Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £28100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 Qty:

Satinwood with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle The selection of Satinwood I have is very pretty showing an almost ‘quilted’ effect. Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £28100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 Qty:

Zebrano with Ash shaft Turkish Spindle Microberlinia brazzavillensis Prices from £28 Select box colour RedBlueSilverGold Options 80mm weight 10 to 14 grms - £2880mm weight 10 to 14 grms with brass weights - £32100mm weight 16 to 20 grms - £30100mm weight 16 to 20 grms with brass weights - £34110mm weight 24 to 32 grms - £30110mm weight 24 to 32 grms with brass weights - £34130mm weight 34 to 42 grms - £32 130mm weight 34 to 42 grms with brass weights - £36 Qty: