want wool, read this.....

PS

bill tindall

>I can pack about 10 pounds of wool in a feed sack, so a typical box is not going to hold much more than a pound. But that is a lot of pads...........

It's perfectly fine, Bill, and very gracious...

Ted Owen, Moderator

>I just hope you don't wind up getting too many requests. Don't expect folks will be sheepish about asking.

Best, Ted

Re: want wool, read this.....

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Bill,

Well, I'll pass on the wool - there's 30 or 40 pounds of it around the house along with some angora, alpaca, camel, llama, linen and some sort of synthetic corn fiber. (This is a vicarious gloat in my wife's behalf.) However, what Bill says about the lanolin and other less pleasant "inclusions" is very true, my wife washes her fleeces in the washer - a couple of times. (special wash procedures - no agitation or it ends up felted. Although if anyone is using it for pads felting might be good.

She keeps looking at the Baby Doll sheep at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and wondering if brought a couple of them home if she could convice the HOA they're just funny looking sheep dogs. :)

Skip

Post Office flat rate boxes

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>The post office flat rate boxes are $8.10 for a box 8-1/2 x 11 x 5 inches, roughly - if you can get ten pounds in a feed sack, then this might be a pound or so parcel post. Better to go parcel post, I think.

Re: Post Office flat rate boxes

Wendell @ Murphy, TX

>After the "Woodwork Magazine" article on making a shellac applicator, I bought 2lbs of raw lambs wool from a farm in Wisconsin. They shipped it to me in a 12"x12"x8" box by Priority mail. The shipping cost was $6.85 to Texas which is cheaper than flat rate boxes. I think you can go online and order some of these boxes and your mail carrier will bring them to your door.

Wendell

Related ?: Washing Wool

Wendell @ Murphy, TX

>I have some raw wool I need to wash. I've read that you're not suppose to use detergent with phosphates in it to wash the wool. Everything at the grocery store has phosphates. The web page I read suggested Ivory detergent. All I could find was Ivory dish washing soap. Is this what they're talking about or do I need to find a grocery store with a better selection of detergents?

Wendell

Re: Related ?: Washing Wool

John Jesseph

>How about Dreft? I will look into it and see...

I was thinking about the same Woodwork magazine article when I saw Bill's kind offer.

What about...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Woollite? Makes sence to me anyway...

Thanks for the generous offer Bill!

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>

Re: Related ?: Washing Wool

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Wendell,

My wife just uses laundry detergent. Her method for fleece is:

1. Fill the washer with hot water adding the detergent at the beginning.

2. When the tub is full, stop the washer, add the wool and push it down and let it soak for 20 or 30 minutes. Then *advance* the washer to the spin cycle and let the washer drain and spin it dry.

3. Take the wool out and refill the tub with hot water and put the wool back in and let it soak for 20 or 30 minutes. Again, *advance* the washer to the spin cycle.

Depending on the amount of lanolin, you may have to repeat this again. She only does a quarter or a third of a fleece at a time.

She emphasizes that the wash and rinse water need to be the same temperature and *no agutation* or you'll felt the wool. If you're making pads, agitation might not be a problem. She's used this method for numerous fleeces and it works great. She does all her fiber stuff by hand and has been doing this a pretty good while.

I'm including a picture of a small drop spindle I just got working for her. She's had the bone whorl for a while and I made the spindle and hook for it just today. She says it'll be used for spinning cotton. .......I'll take her word for it. :) BTW, also in the picture are two newly bent (future) brass saw backs.

Skip

Might want to check again

Dan Donaldson

>Phosphates have been outlawed in detergents for a long time. (at least in most areas) That is why TSP is usually not really TSP anymore.

I just had a flash back

Terry Quiram

>When I was a wee lad my dad sheared sheep as a way to help support our family. As the oldest it was my duty to come along (when not in school) and tie and weigh the wool. Mom hated shearing season because the lanolin was so hard to get out of our cloths. Dad finally kept one set of cloths for shearing and at the end of the season just burnt them. He sheared around 500, for the most part by himself. I don't know how he was able to stand up after all that. By the way, totally unrelated but my observation is that sheep are dumber than domestic turkeys!

Terry

Re: Might want to check again

Wendell @ Murphy, TX

>Dan,

You're right. I went and looked at the the box of Tide we use and it specifically says no phosphates.

I went back to find the website where I had read the warning about no phosphates but I can't seem to find it. I did find some others that I don't remember finding on my previous google attempt. Several of them recommend dishwashing detergent for it's grease fighting ability.

Thanks,

Wendell

Re: Might want to check again

Dan Donaldson

>If you pick a dishwashing soap, use Dawn. It is used by bicycle mechanics to clean chains and other dirty items, and some of the hasmzt teams use it by the truckload to clean up oil off the roads. Weird ;-) It really is a good grease cutter.