Homemade carders for wool?

[Beekissed]

Any of you fiber queens out there have a simple solution for some homemade or very cheap carders? I have a Shetland fleece that I would love to card and clean the straw and chaff from and I don't want to spend a lot of money to do so.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Any of you fiber queens out there have a simple solution for some homemade or very cheap carders? I have a Shetland fleece that I would love to card and clean the straw and chaff from and I don't want to spend a lot of money to do so.

Hmm, I've never heard of anyone making cards so I can't offer any advice. I'm not sure how you'd go about inserting the little pins in the wood. :/ If I were you, I'd just go ahead and spend the money to get 2 decent cards, especially if you have a whole fleece to do and want to do more in the future. I have two of these I use for carding and they work really well.

 

[Beekissed]

I've seen currying brushes for pets with a similar design...wonder if they would work? Definitely cheaper!

As my wool was drying on the fenceline, my silly sheep came along and stole some to eat! What in the world would be the attraction to this? They could chew each other's wool if this is a treat....

 

[freemotion]

Someone talked about using dog grooming brushes on a previous thread here, with great success. I may switch to those since my grandmother's carders seem to be falling apart....little bits of leather come off, and I don't want to ruin them.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

The dog ones might work if you find heavy duty ones. All the ones I've seen look like they'd be too flimsy.

 

[patandchickens]

At least around here, handspinner type folks are pretty generous about letting people borrow things, including carders (hand or drum)... might be worth putting word around you're looking for something to use

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[goodhors]

Slicker brushes are square, flat, with pin bristles. Not sure they would be sturdy enough for heavy wool, or long enough bristled for deep wool.

Another brush would be a Rake, heavy row of bristles, might be single or double rows. I use this for my heavy coated dog, nice for first combing of coat to get out tangles down deep, items tangled in the hair. Rakes come in several models, get one with a comfortable handle for long usage, or your hand will cramp up. I like a rubber covered thick handle for being easier to hold, but I have long fingers and my dog can get really messy!

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks! A couple more questions?

This fleece has a lot of debris in it, despite two washings. I find it impossible to pick out all the hay and straw particles in the present form, will this be easier as I card the wool or will this just entangle them further and should be done before carding?

 

[freemotion]

I am FAR from experienced, but I found that in the carding process, some of that stuff falls out. I've only carded a little bit of one fleece, like a quarter to a third, mind you. Then spring hit and there is no time!!!

 

[goodhors]

Thanks! A couple more questions?

This fleece has a lot of debris in it, despite two washings. I find it impossible to pick out all the hay and straw particles in the present form, will this be easier as I card the wool or will this just entangle them further and should be done before carding?

This would be why I use the rake BEFORE I wash the heavy coated dog!! Once washed, that dirty stuff gets hair wrapped around it, matting happens.

Hate to be a killjoy, but have you thought of sending the wool out to a mill, to be carded for you? Those mills can clean and card the wool so fast you would not believe it. Gets about 95% of stuff out, only tiny things might be missed.

My hands can't take that carding motion, time needed for cleaning wool well. Enough work doing the dog, cleaning her to be clipped, getting the junk out of her soft, curly hair.

I have heard these folks are very nice to work with, do custom work for you, clean, card, spin, make special yarns for you. The local Alpaca lady can't say enough good stuff about them, has them make her yarn for projects she sells.

http://www.frankenmuthwoolenmill.com/