but a MerinoXCorriedale is nothing but bumps. Does anyone have any foolproof method for dealing with this?
Foolproof? No. But I have successfully used mine for finer wools like Polwarth. The fleece has to be really, really well scoured. (Knowing you, June, I'm sure it is!)
Then, the swinging head needs to give the wool more clearance on the teeth, so I moved the swinging head higher above the bottom teeth. The moving teeth should brush the surface of the staples oh so lightly. Very gentle, wispy strokes across the fiber, at slower speeds than you'd use for something like Romney. (Just as when you use a drum carder, these fine, elastic fleeces require more time to process than coarser wools.)
Each fleece is different and success will also depend on the length of the staples -- I found that shorter wool will work up more easily than longer wool, because there's less chance of the individual fibers tangling up in themselves and breaking.
So, it's really a matter of adjusting the picker and modifying your "swing" to suit the fragility of the fiber Expect to lose some wool in the beginning as you experiment. But once you get things set up, it should work.
Good luck! Elaine --------- Elaine Benfatto (Cambridge, MA) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.urbanspinner.com/ To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
