I designed this base for the Electric Eel Wheel 6.x electric spinning wheel after a member of my local fiber arts guild requested it. While Maurice, the inventor of the EEW, has published several styles of bases for his wheels, none of them combine all the features into one piece.

The original request was for a simpler design than I ended up with. But as I continued to test and refine the design, I decided to add more features and capabilities.

My design has been very well received by the EEW community, and overwhelmingly gets 5-star reviews. So far, it’s become one of my better selling products compatible with the EEW 6 series.

During one of the first weekly fiber spinning meetings I attended, one of the members approached me about a custom base for her EEW 6. The base it had come with was fine for the most part, but she was frustrated by a few different things.

First, the battery’s original orientation places the power switch on the back of the wheel. It can be hard to find the switch while blindly fumbling for it, unless you pick up the wheel and turn it around.

Second, it’s impossible to see the charge status indicator lights on the battery using the original base. Newer models such as the base for the 6.1 shown in this picture have a cut-out that allows the lights to be visible from the bottom. However, this means you have to lift the wheel and look at the underside to see the charge status.

For older spinners or those with impaired mobility or hand strength, these two issues can make the wheel less convenient to use.

My first prototype fixed both problems with one relatively easy change: rotate the battery 90º clockwise. This places the indicator lights where the spinner can see them on the right of the wheel. It also makes the switch easy to see and use, and places it right next to the power switch for the wheel itself.

I used the shape of the original base as a template, then centered the battery in its new position. To make it easier to slide the wheel on and off the base, I also added two ridges to hug the outside of the bottom of the wheel.

Getting the position of the battery right took a few tries; while centered, the lights were still covered by the wheel. I offset the battery to one side enough for the lights to be visible.

Once I got the position of the battery correct, I decided to move it towards the back of the wheel so that I could add a small storage cubby. This cubby is deep enough for accessories like the orifice reducer, extra orifice hooks, and spare parts such as bearings and brake bands.

One of the other spinners in my group also mentioned I might add magnets to hold the orifice hook. I tried this, but couldn’t come up with a placement and design that I liked better than the orifice hook magnets built into the wheel itself. I ended up taking this out of the final design since it’s somewhat redundant.