See the drive belt and how it goes around one drum in one direction and the other direction around the other? Eureka!
I bought the wheel on eBay. I paid immediately. I got an email from the seller that it would take a few extra days because her husband had to have emergency surgery. Don't they always. I started to feel a little ill and worried that I just lost $250. What do you know, the carder actually arrived! In pieces. I contacted the seller. There were lots of emails and phone calls and so many trips to the post office I have completely lost track. It turned out the seller didn't insure the carder for the full price I paid. Only for $200. I managed to find a very, very kind gentleman in Oregon, who is apparently a master at restoring wheels and fixing things like carders, to write a repair estimate based on photos I sent. He was so kind he did it over Thanksgiving weekend. His repair estimate was for a little under $100. So I figured, with luck, that I would get a little under $100 from the post office and try to fix the carder myself. Otherwise I would have had to hand the carder over to those bastards at the post office (not a slur against all postal workers just the complete pricks I was stuck dealing with at my post office). So I would be out $50 and have nothing to show for it but a seething rage. During this time I also submitted a complaint through Paypal which I was prepared to drop when or if the post office came through. I started to get many angry emails from the seller because her Paypal account was frozen pending investigation. She also accused me of trying to double dip and get money from both the PO and Paypal. Imagine my surprise when a check for $200 came from the post office! At last, resolution! I immediately notified Paypal, emailed the seller and considered the matter done. Except for fixing the carder which Wes promised he would do before New Year's Eve. He's a little behind on chores. The piece that fell off last night was just the knob for the drive belt which makes a lot more sense now that I see it was the wrong belt. I'm really hoping I can get this sucker working. It will be such a huge waste of emotional energy if I can't. And I will never, ever make a large purchase on eBay ever, ever again. And if any of you catch me thinking about it remind me about sitting in my car crying after every trip to the post office. Bastards...
