Altered Aero Shuttle

[rsmre]

Hi All,
My husband got out the tin snips, a file and sandpaper, and he altered my Aero Shuttles, today. I've been using them, and I like the way that they handle. They may become my favorite shuttles.:smile:

[tatknot]

Good for him! And for you! Now imagine a forum full of children bouncing up and down repeating, "I wanna see. I wanna see." That's us! :wink:

[xstchntat]

In what way did he alter them? Are we allowed to know?

[Kaira]

Picture please?

[stashtamer]

Used to refer to those as the neutered Aeros. Bet you had him take off the winding post.

[squeeky]

Good for him! And for you! Now imagine a forum full of children bouncing up and down repeating, "I wanna see. I wanna see." That's us! :wink:

yea! I wanna see!!

I've been thinking about doing that to mine in the hopes that I'd like them better and might use them more. I fingertat with the bobbins more than I use the shuttles.

[rsmre]

Hi All,
Yes, Stashtamer that's exactly what he did to the shuttle. On the Aero shuttles there is post that protrudes from the back of the shuttle. It is used to hold the bobbin while you are winding the thread onto the bobbin. Mostly, it gets caught on the working thread, thus, the reason for its removal. I don't have a photo, but if you go to Katie's Tatting Khronicles Blog and look for the Wednesday, November 4, 2009 post, there are photos of the Aero shuttles that she altered/neutered and decorated. Also, she gives directions on how she neutered her Aero shuttles. They are the same directions that my husband followed. My shuttles look exactly like hers, but mine aren't decorated. I really don't like the dull grey color, but I don't have any plans to decorate them. Although, the thought of masking off the hook and using the Kryon/Krylon (not sure of the spelling) spray paint, that sticks to many surfaces, did cross my mind. I guess then I'd have to apply some kind of sealer to keep the paint from wearing off with use. It's always something!

[rsmre]

Hi All,
I just wanted to add how my husband altered the Aero shuttle. He used tin snips to cut off the winding post from the back of the shuttle. For the first sanding, he used a file. It was a tool, not a nail file. He laid the file on the table, and he rubbed the shuttle back and forth across the file. Afterwards he hand sanded the shuttle with 80 grit sandpaper, then he used the 100 grit sandpaper for the final sanding. He didn't seem to have to put too much pressure on the tin snips, and the filing and the sanding only took a few minutes, total. It was a pretty easy process. I guess the most important thing to watch out for is to not snip off too much of the end. Hope this is helpful.

[Joy]

I also nutered my German Aero shuttles...(wouldnt touch my precious English ones) and I also put a finer hook into them after taking the original out.
Hugs
Joy

[Marty]

Oh, my tummy hurts! I have to stop reading about chopping up poor little Aeros! :cry:

[crazytatter]

Ha, I don't even know that thing that sticks out on the Aero is for winding bobbins!

[carolivy]

Hee Hee. I plan on finding an Aero just so I can do this and decorate it. I want a shuttle with a bobbin and a hook. ;-)

[BahmaTerri]

I did the same thing to my shuttles and they fit much nicer in my hand. It only takes a couple of minutes but makes a world of difference.

[themadtatter]

Oh the poor Aeros!!! I can hear them screaming! Oh the humanity!
I LOVE my Aero just the way it is! Although I do have one of LaCossettes "neutered" versions and I love that one too..... Its kind of like declawing a cat, its horrible and inhumane but if was done before you came along, you love it all the same.....LOL

[stashtamer]

I like my Aeros just as they come, the older English made are the ones I prefer, but I won't bother to change the new ones either. However, for folks who find that they can actually use the shuttle after the post is removed, I guess it works for them. Because of the way I hold my shuttles, I can handle just about any size/shape. A lot of people hold the shuttle in toward their hand and I hold mine kind of out.

[carolivy]

I may get mine and find I don't need to change it all. I barely hold on to the shuttle, holding on to the end of it, while letting the rest of it just kind of "rest" in the cup of my hand.

[Joy]

I have small hands so neutering the Aeros makes them small enough to make my tatting comfortable....I also have a small David Reed Smith one that was made specially for a small hand and was sent to me by a very dear friend in the U.S.A

Hugs
Joy

[rsmre]

Hi All,
I worked with the Aero quite a bit before I decided to alter the shuttle. It just kept getting caught on the working thread. It was very annoying. I like the convenience of the attached hook and being able to switch out the bobbin to work on different projects. I have read that some tatters have trouble with the hook getting caught in the thread, too. That only happens to me from time to time. Not enough to be annoying.
Joy: Wow, I didn't know that the hook could be changed.
I'd never alter an English Aero, though.

[Joy]

Hi rsmre,

You wont get the thread caught if you use the shuttle with the hook facing away from you and the thread coming from the right back of the shuttle...the hook is easily removed with a pair of pliers and a smaller one put in ....just find the size hook you want......clip off the end to the right length and insert into the hole left from taking the old one out and use super glue

I never alter my English ones either
Hugs
Joy

6534http://www.intatters.com/images/misc/pencil.png

[rsmre]

Hi Joy,
Thanks for the advice about how to hold the Aero. I have been using it just the way that you suggested. It only catches occasionally. I guess that it's operator error. :-D
You have me thinking about changing the hook on one of my Aeros. The Aero's hook works well with the smaller threads, but it tends to split the size #10 thread. I might just give it a try. Thanks.

[TeresaW]

I have a German Aero that I purchased a number of years ago from Gale of Tat's All. It is a neutered shuttle but not in the same fashion. Gale removed the hook and then cut, filed and smoothed that end to be compatible with the shuttle body. She then drilled a small hole into the end to wind bobbins on and inserted the hook. The hook was inserted so that not so much of the shank remained but you still had the use of both hook and the ribbed area to place a bobbin to wind it. I have several English Aeros that I wouldn't touch but where they have been manufactured in other places I will probably used this method. Just another side note, the resin used to make the shuttle bodies has a very different feel between the English Aeros and those manufactured elsewhere. I can feel the shuttle in a project bag and, without looking, know by the feel of the shuttle body whether it is an English one or not.

[Batty Tatter]

Shucks, I wish my shuttles could reproduce.