I'm one of those people who always wonders how things work. I just LOVE the TV show by the same name, even though it's a little tough to knit while watching it :-)The problem is, I'm great at taking things apart, and not so great at getting them back together.
So...when my ball winder developed a squeak, I asked my 2 most mechanically inclined friends--who also happen to be fascinated by my yarn baller--if they could try to get rid of the squeak. They both work on computer hardware and systems and I know they're systematic and meticulous, so I figured I could trust them. Disassembly, de-squeaking, and reassembly took a while, and turned out to be a little more challenging than they thought it would be. There was some nervous laughing, and I had to look away. I was a little scared, to tell the truth.
The happy ending is that all is reassembled (look ma, no extra parts left over!!), and there is no more squeak! For the record, we used the WD-40 pen to lubricate the insides, and gave it a good wipe-down afterward so as not to unnecessarily lubricate any yarn being wound.
In case anyone else wonders what goes on inside the miraculous ball winder, I took a few photos to share with you:
