Mini hand combs, hand cards both full size and mini are available, as are 4 models of drum carder. If you are interested in the electric drum carder, please let me know so we can discuss getting one ordered for you.
To feed the Louet drum carder, take some fibers in your left hand, and have the in-take drum pull this fiber out of your left hand, while you turn the crank on the large drum. Carefully, do not allow too much fiber to be pulled out of your hand. You will develop a kind of sliver between your hand and the in-take drum. This is a fiber preparation, akin to the teasing required for other drum carders, and is therefore a time-saving feature of the Louet drum carder. As a result of the fibers being pulled out of your hand, the majority of fibers will be orientated in the direction of the carding action.
This effect cannot be created by teasing, but it is essential in obtaining the required carding effect.
Other drum carders with feed trays will experience tufts of fiber being delivered to the in-take roll perpendicular to the direction of the carding action; this is unavoidable. Partial compensation for this problem is having a larger difference of surface speed between the in-take drum and the large drum. The drawback to this solution is that it takes longer to card the same amount of fiber with other drum carders when compared to the Louet Drum Carder. The higher surface speed differential is also harder on the fibers. To calculate the surface speed differential, multiply the drive ratio with the ratio of the diameters of the two drums.
To have the fibers pull out of your hand smoothly while turning the drum carder handle requires some practice. The results, however, are worth the effort.
The Louet drum carder has ½" high carding cloth instead of ¼" like our competitors. The practical result of higher teeth on the carding cloth is that the Louet drum carder can hold twice as much fiber as competitors drum carders.
The quantity of fiber that can be carded to a batt depends on the size of the large drum and the size of the teeth. If you want to card a small amount of fiber, we advise to fill only the center portion of the large drum. It is easier to remove the batt from the middle of the drum than to remove a thinner batt from the whole drum.
Drum Carder Quick Comparison Chart
Drum Size
(all are 10"
Carder Teeth/sqin Surface Ratio diameter) Price
---------- ---------- ------------- --------- -------
Junior 72 12:1 4" width $385
Standard 72 12:1 7.5" width $575
Classic 46 9:1 7.5" width $575
Electric 46 9:1 7.5" width $2075
Elite 72 23:1/34:1 7.5" width $780
Carding Equipment
