# Carding cloth?



## Nellie

I am looking for some carding cloth, the leather/rubber/whatever "fabric" with the wires in it. I have some antique carders that are totally useless, and I'd really like to fix them up so I can use them. I know at times people here have ordered some, I was wondering if anyone had any left over I could purchase from them? My wool is calling me, and I don't have anything to card it with!!


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## rabbitgeek

The Howard Brush company sells carding cloth in custom sizes and can make it to fit your requirement.

Write to them for prices.
http://www.howardbrush.com/drumcards.html

If you need something fast, I've carded wool with "slicker brushes" for dogs.

You can also search online for "DIY wool hackles" to see some very cool hackles made from plastic hair picks. It's amazing what people are doing with these home made hackles that are not nearly as deadly looking as the traditional combs.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios


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## marinemomtatt

I looked into carding cloth last year and found out that it's cheaper to buy new cards but like you my carders are antiques that are begging to be used.
Cloth for drum carders is so expensive that I WILL be getting a new Drum Carder...someday.


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## marinemomtatt

Check out this link...I used Rabbitgeeks search suggestion... http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=308767.0

Dollar store here I come!!!


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## Nellie

Oh wow! Ok, I'm starting with raw wool. I do not have carders or a drum carder. Can I comb/card the washed or raw wool on this hackle? I have dog slicker brushes, but in no time the handles slipped off. Yeah, yeah, I bought cheap ones.... lol.


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## Wisconsin Ann

If you look at "viking combs" you'll see that they're basically pieces of wood with handles on one end, and er..nails..driven through the boards. Single row or double. You need a pair of them. Very easy to make (rather like the crafster link but longer teeth) and use. 

You load up one comb with raw wool, then comb through it at 90degrees with the other comb. You end up with a large lock of combed wool. Remove from the comb. reload and continue.

We've looked for carding cloth for years, and howard brush is about the only place to get it, other than ordering from one of the carding drum manufacturers...at retail. 

If you are anywhere near a carpet manufacturer....you could try talking to the folks there to see if they have extra carding cloth, or offcuts. It's a long shot, but ....


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## rabbitgeek

Check out these two web pages
Fiber Prep 1
http://kero1au.tripod.com/id24.html 

Fiber Prep 2
http://kero1au.tripod.com/id25.html
Has links to DIY combs

Have fun!
Franco Rios


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## rabbitgeek

Also look into DIY wool hackles

You can make them yourself with plastic hair picks
http://whimsyknits.lightshines.net/archives/220

http://yarnzombie.net/Travis/?page_id=87

http://allthingsshea.blogspot.com/2008/07/diy-my-new-toy.html


Here is a youtube video showing how to load one up and make roving.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A80mAQKNqQo[/ame]

Have a good day!


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## notasnowballs

I did the one on Youtube, where the gal took a coffee can, glued pet slicker brushes onto the coffee can, then put a wooden dowel through the coffee can. Then she slid it into a drill and turned on the drill. Used a seperate pet brush in her other hand for combing the other direction, like you would on an electric drum carder. It was ungainly at first, but worked. My husband's drill was older, so it didn't go "slow", like the video. We had two speeds... stop... and wool flying everywhere! Until we got some wool loaded on the thing. It DID, however, card up a bunch of wool in short time, probably about fifteen minutes for a half of a 80 lb feed sack of wool that I hand picked first. It was Romney wool. It took a bit more for my tougher, dirtier, Columbia wool, in which I found that I needed the tougher combs of a hand carder to deal with that. In all, I liked tougher wire combs, because I found pet slicker brushes got worn out faster, and were too thin and flexible to deal with the constant stress of the wool pulling on it. Obviously, because it was made to brush your dog once in a while, NOT to card wool. I haven't found a pet brush that's tough enough to hold up under that yet, or big enough, or not round. Or if I do, they want like $10 for one little brush, and I need about twelve. For that, I could go buy some carding cloth. It's about $50 online for a length of it. Sigh... Oh, and lastly... My wooden dowel that fit into the drill... got eaten up by the drill and continually broke until I figured out that wooden dowel wasn't going to work. It was just one of those ones from Walmart in the craft section. Total cost for the experiment, however, was about... $10, with the pet brushes being the most expensive. I got them at Walmart for about $2.50 each. Could have gotten them at the dollar store, I suppose. 

I started working on a combined unit with a bicycle wheel spinning wheel, slide picker, and hand crank drum carder all in one, but I am not a very good wood worker and got frustrated with it. Hubby refused to help and said I was "being hokey again". At present the entire thing is chucked out in the back yard out of frustration (throwing things outside is a WONDERFUL outlet and doesn't hurt anyone...LOL) until I get brave again. I still have the drum carder thing in a drawer in here in the house. Sigh...


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## lathermaker

I tried doing the one with plastic combs. It will work for little bits of fiber, but after doing about 8 oz. the tines started breaking off on the combs. I think it would be less hassle to just bite the bullet and buy either new/used carders or buy the carder cloth.


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## Callieslamb

When Dh built my drum carder last year, he ordered the carding cloth from howardbrush link given above. It cost $125 for the cloth for both drums. DH sized them so he didn't have any of the cloth left over. You have to buy it by the foot. I didn't think it was THAT expensive. New carders are $85? Is there a surcharge or something if you only buy enough for hand cards? Maybe a couple people could go together to buy it?

Here's what it says on their website.
"Card clothing is available in standard width of 8&#8221;. Wider widths available upon request. For your drum carding requirements it can be purchased by the linear foot and is available in 5 densities from 54 TPI to 190 TPI. Also, being the manufacturer, we can fabricate carding cloth for many of your special fiber process requirements."

Dh called them for pricing.


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## foolsgold

I know I am starting up on a dead thread but Callieslamb.... could you describe or link to the how to for making your own drum carder? How is yours working? Wish you had bought one vs make your own? I REEEEEEEALY want a drum carder but that is a LOT of $$$ for me and I love DIY projects.


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