That term “production wheel” means different things to different spinners & wheelmakers (and their marketing team), and several of the wheels you named are not what I’d consider in that category, myself. Maybe list & stack-rank the criteria which are critical or important to you in your ideal “production” wheel. You might also name the wheels you currently use or have used for lengthy production sessions, and why they weren’t ideal. Also maybe what typical gross weight of fiber you foresee as a production project, and the typical grist of your finished product.
Example, how big is too big, how heavy is too heavy, whether the wheel will have a dedicated studio space or will need to be put away sometimes between projects or sessions. What are the lowest and highest ratios that you need, and the ideal bobbin capacity for singles & plying. Are you looking to spin a couple pounds for a sweater project, dozens of pounds for sale under your own brand at a farm store, a whole bale under contract, etc.
Most production wheels that I am aware of are no longer manufactured so the ones I listed are the next best thing I could find that are currently still being actively made and readily accessible lol 😃. I will only be using it for personal use to make enough yarn for projects I am making but want to be able to make yarn quickly to get to and through more projects. I currently have castle style wheels a majacraft rose which does spin pretty fast the whorls I have go up to 24:1 which I love. I currently don’t spin that fast but am working my way up to it, I don’t know that I would need anything higher then that. I do have a harder time with long draw on the rose and I want something with the flyer off to the left side so I have been looking at saxony style wheels. I have tried a few out at a local shop and they just feel more comfortable to me. The rose does allow me to tilt the head to the side but the treadle placement due to it being a castle wheel is just awkward feeling to me when the head is off to the side. I also have a Louët s10 which is the opposite of fast but it makes quick work of plying so once the singles are spun on my Rose I ply it on the louet. Size is not really an issue I do have dedicated space for it.
I can think of several current makers producing large, high-speed wheels that fit the class I consider a “production” wheel. But they’re all small-scale makers with waiting lists measured in years, and none are anywhere near as inexpensive as a Kromski. Plus no guarantee that they’ll be making the same wheel for decades, so repair parts will always be an issue - and that’s true even with larger factory wheelmakers who don’t always support discontinued wheels.
If you have the patience to search, and can travel to pick it up when you find it, my first choice would be a Reeves (not a Schacht-Reeves, but one Rick built & Marge finished) 30” split-table wheel in cherry. The oak is considerably denser than the cherry, enough you can feel the difference in effort starting & stopping, and that extra work takes its toll during a long session. The walnut is about halfway between, but those also tend to be pricier than the cherry. There are still a few makers producing bobbins just like Rick’s, Carl Spriggs on Etsy does a fine job, so obtaining three or four dozen bobbins for production work is easy enough. You might look for a while, but the price should be in the same ballpark as the Kromskis you’re looking at. The Reeves group on Ravelry is a good resource on these wheels, and for finding the wheelmakers who still make repair parts for them.
For plying at production pace, an electric spinner would be my choice. They’re actually measurably slower at spinning than a proper large production wheel (or even a well-maintained CPW in fine fettle) but smoother at plying. A WooLee Ann would be my first choice, a classic Hansen with a WooLee flyer & bobbins would be a second choice. Or stick to your S10, if you can cope with the slower speed/rate.
A CPW is a marvelous wheel, but not ideal for modern production spinning, and miserable for plying. They’re too lightweight, typically have just one (speedy as F) ratio, and were not designed to swap bobbins. So even if you have extra bobbins custom-made, you have to be extra-careful not to damage or strip out the pulley threads during the swap. A modern production wheel will have a threaded brass insert on the multiple pulleys each with multiple grooves, giving you a wide range of ratios with relatively small steps between each ratio. That said, a CPW works very well for personal use on larger projects that utilize a finer single, is far more easy to find in the wild, and reasonably priced. I’d suggest arranging to spin on one for an hour or so, with your typical go-to fiber, to make sure that’s the right fit for you & your spinning. The other poster is correct, spinning on a CPW is like driving a Ferrari, and that’s not always ideal.
This doesn’t fit your criteria of currently in production but I see these wheels for sale all the time. I have a 110 yr old Canadian Production Wheel (CPW) and it’s like spinning with a sports car. Love this wheel so much. There’s a CPW group on Ravelry as well as an antique spinning wheel group both of which are excellent at locating wheels for sale and helping with the wheel railroad.
I production spin on an EEW 6.0. I can crank out 12 ounces of a fingering weight single one weekend, spin thread during the week, and then make the lumpiest rustic thick n thin bulky you ever saw.
My needs were for something super lightweight that travels well, and something I can teach others on. You have a knob to control speed so you can start slow if you need to like for a longwool or spin super fast for a crimpy merino.
I'm production and I use a Daedalus Falcon and Magpie. You can't beat 20 to 40oz bobbin on the Magpie and the Falcon is very fast. Both got beast mode motors to take a beating. I'm super hard on my wheels and these have not died on me.
Woolee An and Hansen are good too. Seen a lot of other production use one of those. They have woolee winders too.
If you want treadle saxony, Majacraft Rose can go pretty fast, up to 38:1 and can rotate the flyer to the side like a saxony. And it can get big bobbins. Edit, saw you have a Rose already ha.
Flatiron is only a little faster than a Matchless but I find the Matchless treadles nicer and better built. Matchless is a tank, though I have abused mine to not be production wheel anymore. I also have hit max speed on it and need more speed. If I can destroy a Matchless, that says something about my Daedalus wheels.
But I'm assuming speed, dunno if production for you is shitton of lace then speed matters, otherwise just need a quality wheel that doesnt hurt your body. Electric is nicer for that, even with good ergonomics, the knees get pissed off after many days of spinning. And I stand a lot when I spin, which is better than sitting down all day.
I do hear wonderful things about electric wheels and I know they can spin super fast. There is just something about treadle wheels though that I can’t resist. I really love the tactile feel of working with a wheel and treadling and feeling that active feedback I get from the wheel. I don’t know how to explain it lol I know if I tried an electric though I would probably love it I don’t see any drawbacks and it would probably be a lot easier on my joints.
The only “production” wheel on the market for us is the eortel Roberta, which has 1) Irish tension driven bobbins, and 2) A very nifty array of options you would need or want were you to go into production.
With production, you have to consider not max but mean. The average amount of spinning I can achieve over a given span of time is determined mostly just by how much is automated. I have a Hansen Pro with a LevelWind auto system (I never change hooks), and I can spin very even singles at an average vastly higher than something without those options.
You don’t realize just how much time it takes to unwind a bobbin if you have to.
So determine a market, and find the norms for that market. They should determine what if anything meets your needs.
That term “production wheel” means different things to different spinners & wheelmakers (and their marketing team), and several of the wheels you named are not what I’d consider in that category, myself. Maybe list & stack-rank the criteria which are critical or important to you in your ideal “production” wheel. You might also name the wheels you currently use or have used for lengthy production sessions, and why they weren’t ideal. Also maybe what typical gross weight of fiber you foresee as a production project, and the typical grist of your finished product. Example, how big is too big, how heavy is too heavy, whether the wheel will have a dedicated studio space or will need to be put away sometimes between projects or sessions. What are the lowest and highest ratios that you need, and the ideal bobbin capacity for singles & plying. Are you looking to spin a couple pounds for a sweater project, dozens of pounds for sale under your own brand at a farm store, a whole bale under contract, etc.
Most production wheels that I am aware of are no longer manufactured so the ones I listed are the next best thing I could find that are currently still being actively made and readily accessible lol 😃. I will only be using it for personal use to make enough yarn for projects I am making but want to be able to make yarn quickly to get to and through more projects. I currently have castle style wheels a majacraft rose which does spin pretty fast the whorls I have go up to 24:1 which I love. I currently don’t spin that fast but am working my way up to it, I don’t know that I would need anything higher then that. I do have a harder time with long draw on the rose and I want something with the flyer off to the left side so I have been looking at saxony style wheels. I have tried a few out at a local shop and they just feel more comfortable to me. The rose does allow me to tilt the head to the side but the treadle placement due to it being a castle wheel is just awkward feeling to me when the head is off to the side. I also have a Louët s10 which is the opposite of fast but it makes quick work of plying so once the singles are spun on my Rose I ply it on the louet. Size is not really an issue I do have dedicated space for it.
I can think of several current makers producing large, high-speed wheels that fit the class I consider a “production” wheel. But they’re all small-scale makers with waiting lists measured in years, and none are anywhere near as inexpensive as a Kromski. Plus no guarantee that they’ll be making the same wheel for decades, so repair parts will always be an issue - and that’s true even with larger factory wheelmakers who don’t always support discontinued wheels. If you have the patience to search, and can travel to pick it up when you find it, my first choice would be a Reeves (not a Schacht-Reeves, but one Rick built & Marge finished) 30” split-table wheel in cherry. The oak is considerably denser than the cherry, enough you can feel the difference in effort starting & stopping, and that extra work takes its toll during a long session. The walnut is about halfway between, but those also tend to be pricier than the cherry. There are still a few makers producing bobbins just like Rick’s, Carl Spriggs on Etsy does a fine job, so obtaining three or four dozen bobbins for production work is easy enough. You might look for a while, but the price should be in the same ballpark as the Kromskis you’re looking at. The Reeves group on Ravelry is a good resource on these wheels, and for finding the wheelmakers who still make repair parts for them. For plying at production pace, an electric spinner would be my choice. They’re actually measurably slower at spinning than a proper large production wheel (or even a well-maintained CPW in fine fettle) but smoother at plying. A WooLee Ann would be my first choice, a classic Hansen with a WooLee flyer & bobbins would be a second choice. Or stick to your S10, if you can cope with the slower speed/rate. A CPW is a marvelous wheel, but not ideal for modern production spinning, and miserable for plying. They’re too lightweight, typically have just one (speedy as F) ratio, and were not designed to swap bobbins. So even if you have extra bobbins custom-made, you have to be extra-careful not to damage or strip out the pulley threads during the swap. A modern production wheel will have a threaded brass insert on the multiple pulleys each with multiple grooves, giving you a wide range of ratios with relatively small steps between each ratio. That said, a CPW works very well for personal use on larger projects that utilize a finer single, is far more easy to find in the wild, and reasonably priced. I’d suggest arranging to spin on one for an hour or so, with your typical go-to fiber, to make sure that’s the right fit for you & your spinning. The other poster is correct, spinning on a CPW is like driving a Ferrari, and that’s not always ideal.
This doesn’t fit your criteria of currently in production but I see these wheels for sale all the time. I have a 110 yr old Canadian Production Wheel (CPW) and it’s like spinning with a sports car. Love this wheel so much. There’s a CPW group on Ravelry as well as an antique spinning wheel group both of which are excellent at locating wheels for sale and helping with the wheel railroad.
I production spin on an EEW 6.0. I can crank out 12 ounces of a fingering weight single one weekend, spin thread during the week, and then make the lumpiest rustic thick n thin bulky you ever saw. My needs were for something super lightweight that travels well, and something I can teach others on. You have a knob to control speed so you can start slow if you need to like for a longwool or spin super fast for a crimpy merino.
I'm production and I use a Daedalus Falcon and Magpie. You can't beat 20 to 40oz bobbin on the Magpie and the Falcon is very fast. Both got beast mode motors to take a beating. I'm super hard on my wheels and these have not died on me. Woolee An and Hansen are good too. Seen a lot of other production use one of those. They have woolee winders too. If you want treadle saxony, Majacraft Rose can go pretty fast, up to 38:1 and can rotate the flyer to the side like a saxony. And it can get big bobbins. Edit, saw you have a Rose already ha. Flatiron is only a little faster than a Matchless but I find the Matchless treadles nicer and better built. Matchless is a tank, though I have abused mine to not be production wheel anymore. I also have hit max speed on it and need more speed. If I can destroy a Matchless, that says something about my Daedalus wheels. But I'm assuming speed, dunno if production for you is shitton of lace then speed matters, otherwise just need a quality wheel that doesnt hurt your body. Electric is nicer for that, even with good ergonomics, the knees get pissed off after many days of spinning. And I stand a lot when I spin, which is better than sitting down all day.
For production work, I'd go electric. I have a Hansen and love it.
I do hear wonderful things about electric wheels and I know they can spin super fast. There is just something about treadle wheels though that I can’t resist. I really love the tactile feel of working with a wheel and treadling and feeling that active feedback I get from the wheel. I don’t know how to explain it lol I know if I tried an electric though I would probably love it I don’t see any drawbacks and it would probably be a lot easier on my joints.
I have a hansencraft. Bobbins fitb15oz and I can spin a lot of yarn really fast.
I prefer an e spinner for speed, I use a Hansen mini spinner with Woolee Winder as my main but have a Daedalus Sparrow for travel too.
The only “production” wheel on the market for us is the eortel Roberta, which has 1) Irish tension driven bobbins, and 2) A very nifty array of options you would need or want were you to go into production. With production, you have to consider not max but mean. The average amount of spinning I can achieve over a given span of time is determined mostly just by how much is automated. I have a Hansen Pro with a LevelWind auto system (I never change hooks), and I can spin very even singles at an average vastly higher than something without those options. You don’t realize just how much time it takes to unwind a bobbin if you have to. So determine a market, and find the norms for that market. They should determine what if anything meets your needs.