Plying with a portuguese spindle

Surprisingly for me, most of my Portuguese Spindles have been traveling to the other side of the Atlantic. I guess it should be no wonder for two reasons: first, fiber culture out there is much more developed and intense than in our country, and second, I know that this spindle is quite unusual, so it should spark some curiosity in the community.
But I'm talking about this because I got the following email from Margaret:

"I am very pleased with the spindle I ordered from you. Thank you also for the illustration included in the package.  I am curious whether portuguese spindlers ply their wool and whether they use a different spindle for that purpose.  I brought the spindle to my spindle group this week here in New Hampshire, USA and it generated excitement. It is beautifully made and very pleasurable to use!"

Due to plain lack of time, I have been missing some essential things, like making a tutorial on how to use this spindle (there are several techniques!) and address some questions like the one Margaret placed. So I'll start by answering the plying question, using some of my older archives!
Portuguese spinners sure do ply their wool. This spindle is mainly used in the Minho region, in the north of Portugal and when it comes to plying, I've seen them use two solutions there.
The first one, is a similar spindle with a hook on the tip instead of the carved screw. Like this:

Bucos, July 2011

Bucos, November 2011

The second one, and the one I love most is using the exact same spindle, but hacking it with a little twig to turn it into a plying spindle. Like this:

Salto, September 2011

By the way, the yarn looks dirty because Benta spins her wool in the grease - not common in Portugal at all.
Benta has a very interesting plying method. She basically throws the spindle away from her, to make the twist travel up further and get the job done quicker. I captured a little bit of that way back in September 2011 - exactly 4 years ago! Time flies.
The video is spoken only in portuguese, but the language of spinning is universal: