A New (to me) Drum Carder!

More to talk about than seemed right for a single post, so here goes post number two of the day.

In other news, I found another piece of equipment I've been lusting after and it's now in my studio.  I've been studying up on drum carders for several months, and after trying out a friend's machine recently, had made up my mind that I would really like to have one for all the fiber I have dreams of processing.  After studying up on all the different carders available, I had decided on either a Pat Green, Strauch Finest, or a Fancy Kitty carder. All seem like good quality, well-built machines.  And users of all three are very happy with their products.   I finally determined that a Fancy Kitty "Big Tom" motorized carder was the one for me.  The biggest selling feature is that the drums are interchangeable.  So I could start with the standard 120TPI carding cloth and eventually purchase other drums with finer or coarser cloth depending on my needs.  Still expensive because the carding cloth is the costliest part of the machine, but still better space-wise and pocket-book-wise than buying multiple machines. 

I also lurked in the Fancy Kitty forum on Ravelry and was impressed with the customer service.  It seems as though every time someone mentions that they have a problem, Ron is there immediately to answer questions and even asking them to call so he can walk them through the steps.   And there are frequent follow-up posts saying that Ron spent considerable time on the phone and helped them solve their problems. 


So I had made up my mind what I wanted and decided to set aside a chunk of my paycheck every month until I had saved up enough to order directly from Ron.  In another moment of serendipity, a lovely lady from Missouri named Erin posted on Ravelry that she wanted to sell her Big Tom with not one, but two drums (90 TPI and 120 TPI) at a hugely reasonable price.  At the same time I had a windfall - not enough to buy the new drum carder, but enough to buy Erin's gently used one.

Isn't This the Coolest Thing?

 We talked on the phone several times and agreed on the price and shipping details.  A couple of clicks on Paypal, and the drum carder was packed up and on a UPS truck before I even caught my breath.  I emailed Ron at Fancy Kitty to ask if there were instructions on the carder.  He charged a very small price for the copies and I had them in the mail in two days.  That's good customer service.

I had decided that since it was such a big ticket item, and since Erin would want the delivery signed for, I should have it shipped to my office.  First mistake.  Wednesday morning bright and early, I got my text message from UPS saying that my package had been delivered.  Huh?  Not to my office.   Some searching on the UPS site and a live chat later, I learned that the truck driver opted to deliver to Central Receiving rather than to the building and room specified on the label.  So Central Receiving accepted it.  And put it on their truck for delivery to me that afternoon.  And of course my department was their last stop.  Just before close of business.  So much for my plan to unpack, assemble, and make sure it worked properly before taking it home.

Rushed home and before going to my Wednesday night class, I had just enough time to assemble it and briefly try it out. I did have a few tense moments at first. The big drum motor worked right off the bat but the licker in didn’t. Fiddled with things and found one plug that wasn’t all the way in. So got both motors working and put both drums in according to instructions I got from the Kitty people. Turned it on and nothing happened! Somehow I had managed to turn both of the speed dials all the way down.  Phew!

I tried it out on the Dorset wool I’ve been preparing and it was a disaster! I think the carder was working fine but the fiber needed more prep (or may need to be a felting project).  This photo shows the batt that refused to come together.  Lumpy and slubby and yuck.

 I thought the Dorset was not a fair test of the drum carder and certainly not a fiber for learning to fine-tune the drum placement, so I decided to try out some of my alpaca.  Since I had already successfully made several batts on a friend's drum carder, I knew what to expect.

First I took a few minutes to pick the fiber because there were loads of intact locks.   Used my Kaydessa picker, and it quickly turned the clumps into fluffy clouds of softness.

Don't think I've shown what it looks like.  It's an interesting and fairly innocuous looking box.


















Then you open it up and it's a lethal weapon!


















Here it is in action:

So I ran the picked alpaca through the carder, and still had problems getting smoothly from the licker-in to the big drum.  I certainly need to do some studying and adjusting before I get this right, but once I do, look out!  Major art batts coming soon.

Here's the first pass being taken off the drum.  Left behind quite a bit in the carding cloth and need to work on that skill as well.

And here's the finished batt - after two passes through the carder.  Not quite a smooth as the ones made on my friend's machine but pretty good for a first try.  But you can clearly see that there are tiny (and some not-so-tiny) bits of VM throughout the fiber, despite vigorous cleaning and picking.  Guess I really do need that fiber tumbler.  Hmm...  wonder what my beloved woodworking nephew is doing this weekend?