An apparatus for spinning a filament includes a vertical spindle carrying a bobbin of filament to be spun and having a balloonlimiting bell surrounding the bobbin and formed with an upwardly open mouth. The spindle carries at its upper end an upwardly tapered guide pin which projects through the bell mouth and around which the filament is wound several times. The filament is pulled tangentially off this guide pin at an acute angle to the spindle axis as the bell, spindle, and guide pin are rotated about this axis. A tensioning rod may be provided between the pin and the driven takeup spool. This rod is displaceable and may be resiliently biased parallel to the spindle axis. No other filament guide is provided on the bell.