In my experience, feeding precarded locks in, tip or butt end first, makes for a *much* nicer batt and a lot easier to spin, besides. If I want a messed-up batt, I'll just spin roving--easier to do :)
I card mostly medium wools like Perendale, soft BL, and the occasional softer Romney, plus of course lots of Shetland. These wools have a longish staple--usually at least 5"--and tangle rather than properly card if not fed in from one end of the lock. I also card finewools like Merino quite a bit, and their silky handle means they can tangle easily, too, so again, I feed them in end first. I've shown students the differences between batts made from various fiber preps. For example, using fiber that's been picked by a commercial picker, but not commercially carded; fiber that's been teased; fiber fed in whichever way; and of course fiber that's been precarded. None can compare to the quality of batt I can get from the precarded locks fed in tip or butt first. If I want a true-woolen yarn, I won't use the drum carder; I'll handcard instead. Spinning from a rolled drumcarded batt, pretending it's a giant rolag, isn't much fun, in my experience. There's just too much fiber packed into even a lofty batt to spin as well that way as a properly-carded rolag. I guess it depends on what sort of spinning experience you want. I like effortless drafting and long-draw because, for me, it's the fastest and easiest way to spin. That equates to batts from precarded locks fed end-first. Holly
