Alpenglow Yarn SkeinTwister User manual

In the box, you should have:
A. The SkeinTwister
B. The Hook
C. L-Key (2.5mm)
D. Power Supply
E. Power Cord
F. Foot Pedal
G. C-Clamps (2),
if purchased from
Alpenglow
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Captain’s
Guide
1Unpack Your SkeinTwister
F
E
A
BC
D
G

A. Install The Hook
I. Insert the hook into the
coupler until it hits the shaft.
Back it out just a tiny bit.
II. Using the L-key provided,
rmly screw down the coupler
as much as you can. Insert
the short arm of the L-key
into the forward screw on
the coupler, keep downward
pressure on the L-key as you
tighten it, and twist the long
arm of the L-key using a lot of
force. When properly tightened, the hook will not come out of the coupler
no matter how much you pull out on it.
III. Note that the motor shaft will be locked as you do this — you won’t be
able to turn the coupler. This is normal and good.
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2Set Up Your SkeinTwister
B. Clamp the SkeinTwister rmly to a table using 3” C-clamps
I. If you want to use the SkeinTwister while
standing, the most ergonomic table height will
be a little below your belly button. If you want
to use the SkeinTwister seated, any table height
will do, but it’s best to also use a chair with
adjustable height.
C. Plug the foot pedal into the
SkeinTwister.
D. Plug the power supply into the
wall, then into the SkeinTwister.
E. That’s it! You’re SkeinTwister is
ready to use! (Nothing beeps or
moves when you plug it in.)
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wall
power foot
pedal

3Start Twisting!
press
and hold
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keep
tension
Tip: The way you hold the yarn and motions you use with the SkeinTwister are
going to be dierent than the ones you’re used to when you twist yarn by hand.
It’ll probably take 15-20 minutes to adjust to your new tool, and gure out what
works best for you. Be sure to check out the alpenglowyarn YouTube channel and
the Instagram #skeintwister to see some dierent methods.
We recommend trying the following method rst:
A. Set the SkeinTwister to “Press and Hold”mode for your rst few skeins. In
this mode, the SkeinTwister will only twist while you’re pressing the foot
pedal, so if the skein starts to get too tight or twist back up on itself, just
take your foot o the pedal and it’ll stop.
B. Start with a 4-oz skein of relatively springy wool (if you only dye/
manufacture cellulose, that’s ne too, just use whatever you’re most
familiar with).
C. Place one end of the
skein on the hook.
D. Hold the other end
of the skein in your
hand, with 2 or 3
ngers inside the
loop.
E. Back away from the
SkeinTwister until
there’s no slack in the
skein. You’ll need to pull against the skein and keep a fair bit of tension it
as it’s twisting, otherwise it’ll twist back up on itself.
F. Press and hold down
the foot pedal.
G. Keep tension on the
skein as it twists.
H. When you feel like
there’s enough twist
in the skein, release
the foot pedal. Note
that you’ll probably
need more twist than
you think, it feels dierent than when you twist by hand.
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I. When the motor
stops, use your free
hand to pinch the
middle of the skein.
J. Move the hand with
the yarn to the hook,
keeping tension on
the yarn with both
hands.
K. Pinch the skein
at the base of the
hook with your yarn
hand’s thumb, gently
release and guide
the twist into the
skein with your other
hand. Slide the yarn
o the hook.
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keep
tension
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slide off
hook

L. Take your free hand, and mirror the
hold of your yarn hand — put 2-3
ngers near the loop, and your thumb
over the tail.
M. Push the tail through the loop with both thumbs.
N. Ta-da! You’re done. You can tidy up the twist with a couple of quick
motions if you’d like.
This method is just what works best for us at Alpenglow Yarn. The important thing
is to experiment and nd the motions that work best for you.
this
hand still
pinching

Press & Hold — as long as you are
pressing the foot pedal, the SkeinTwister
will twist. Release the foot pedal and
the SkeinTwister stops.
Automatic — Set the Twister to the
number of seconds you want it to twist
for. Tap the foot pedal once to start the
Twister, and it’ll automatically stop after
the number of seconds have passed.
This mode is very repeatable, and we
recommend using it for normal production.
Tip: If you need it to stop sooner because the skein is getting too tight and is
hurting your ngers, DON’T PANIC. Just tap the foot pedal again.
Tap On / Tap O — Tap the foot pedal once to start the Twister. In this mode, it
will twist until you tap the foot pedal again. It’ll also do a quick “blip”when you
initially tap the foot pedal — that just reminds you that the SkeinTwister will NOT
automatically stop in this mode, and you’ll have to press the foot pedal again.
There is an ultimate “oops, my cat stepped on the pedal in the middle of the night”
timeout after 30 seconds.
4SkeinTwister Modes
5Helpful Tips
• Minis will take longer times to twist, jumbo skeins shorter times.
• The shortest time the SkeinTwister can be set to is ~1.5 seconds, if you move the
knob to just past Press & Hold.
• The longest time the SkeinTwister can be set to is ~7.5 seconds, if you move the
knob to just before Tap On / Tap O.
• Need a longer twist time for a super skinny mini, say 12 seconds? You can use
the Press & Hold or Tap On / Tap O modes, or you can set Automatic to
6seconds and do 2twist cycles.
• Super springy wool will need less twist to produce a tidy skein, cellulose ber
will need more twist to look tight and tidy.
• The SkeinTwister can twist up to about 8 oz skeins. We recommend twisting
larger skeins slightly looser, as this will result in less wear and tear on the
gearbox, and your motor will last longer.
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The SkeinTwister’s motor and gearbox are moving parts that will eventually wear
out. How long they’ll last is very individual and will depend upon hours of use,
weights of skeins, type of ber, and how tightly you like your skeins twisted.
Springy wools, looser twists (in any ber), and skeins 4 oz and under produce
less wear and tear and the motor/gearbox will last longer. Cellulose ber, tighter
twists (in any ber), and skeins over 4 oz are harder on the motor and it’ll wear
out sooner. Replacement motors will be available at alpenglowyarn.com, we can
provide instructions for user replacement or we can replace your motor ourselves
for an additional fee.
SkeinTwister Lifespan and Repairs
More Resources
Tell the World!
Let’s Keep in Touch!
• Check out alpenglowyarn and #skeintwister on Instagram and YouTube for more
videos
• Read through the FAQs at alpenglowyarn.com
• Have more questions? Email us at [email protected]
We love to see our tools in action and rely on word of mouth to keep making tools,
so please don’t hesitate to post photos and videos to Instagram and Facebook and
tag us @alpenglowyarn and #skeintwister. We also love email feedback.
Get updates on the SkeinTwister and other tools by joining our infrequent
newsletter: alpenglowyarn.com/newsletter
Thank you for purchasing a SkeinTwister — happy twisting and we hope this
seriously helps your yarn business and enables you to grow!

#skeintwister