Hi Katie,

Very handy little sewing kit; where did you buy it (I googled Clover but could not find a supplier)?

My mother is always doing mending when she visits us kids or grandchildren and this would be very useful for her.

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Kris,

I just found a metal bobbin to measure and they are slightly larger in outside diameter than the plastic version by about 0.010".

The metal bobbin materal is thinner therefore it appears that more line could be wound on it; but it would be more difficult to reduce the diameter of the metal bobbin vs the plastic version to allow them to fit to the bottom the matchcase.

The metal bobbins were made by; Prym-Dritz Corp ( www.dritz.com ) of Spartanburg SC, they are called Class 66 Drop-in Bobbins and I bought a pack of 4 at Wal-mart for a couple dollars.

Standard Stuff: I have no connection to the above company, other than there bobbins are in my PSK!

Mike

It's kind of a pain but I put wire/fishing line on 1 in nails. First I tie the wire to the nail and then put the nail in a Dremel. On low speed I slowly spin the wire on the nail. I've always thought that bobbins were a waste of space as they have the hole in the middle and you can't use an empty bobbin for much. Not so with the nails.

Hi Kris,

I had no problem reducing the size of a bobbin.

I could not find the correct size dowel to use as a spindle (arbor) so I cut a 3 inch piece off a regular pencil. I tapered one end with a utility knife then locked the other end in the chuck of a power hand drill. I used a file to smooth out the tapered end so the centre of the bobbin would fit onto it snugly.

I pushed the plastic bobbin onto the spindle and held the coarse file of my Leatherman against it, the diameter was reduced quickly. I checked it a couple of times for fit and finished the job with the fine side of the file.

The bobbin now drops easily into the bottom of the matchcase. It now has a diameter of 0.750 inches and a capacity of 25 feet of 50 lb Spiderwire.

Wear safety glasses when doing this modification as the bobbin flew off the spindle once.

Neat idea Kris!

Mike