Our Mill Machines

Carder  ¦  Pin Drafter  ¦  Spinner  ¦  Skeiner
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All the machines are used. The Carder, Pin Drafter, and Spinner came out of closed mills in the Carolinas.

Carder
We have a Proctor & Schwartz Sample Carder, circa 1950s. Before it was shipped to us, new wire was installed on all its rollers. The Carder's job is to straighten the fibers out so they are all going in the same direction, much like your hair brush. It creates a loose roving that is then fed into the Pin Drafter - OR - by attaching a batt drum, it creates batts.


Pin Drafter
The Warner & Swasey Pin Drafter was built in the 1970s. The Pin Drafter's job is to comb the fiber to give a smooth sliver or top. It has two sets of combs (upper and lower) that smooth all the fibers, like your comb. It creates a continuous coil that either goes back through the pin drafter, on to the spinner, or into a bag (if roving is the final product you want). We typically run it through three times to give us a super fine product before it is spun.


Spinner
The spinner is the first 10 feet of what was originally a 40 foot Roberts Arrow spinner, built in the early 1960s. It has 28 heads in all, 14 on each side, and was designed to create fine yarns. We are using 14 heads for spinning and 14 for plying. It can really fly!


Skeiner
Our skeiner is a "home made" machine that was given to us in parts (that might or might not have worked). Ken got it working and it does the job.