MILL PROCESSING
When starting the fiber
processing business we thoroughly researched equipment and processes and now
feel we can offer you service, quality and competitive pricing. We welcome
any questions and will help you any way we can with your fiber needs.
Fiber will be weighed
upon arrival and pricing is based on arrival weight. If there is excessive
vegetable matter or trash, fiber will be returned unprocessed at your
expense. Prices are subject to change without notice. We reserve the
right to rewash any fibers sent in for processing. Our equipment requires
the fiber to be free from grease and vegetable matter to run properly. Any
fiber not meeting the standards needed to run the equipment would have to be
rewashed and the charges will be set accordingly.
Fleeces that are very
slick such as mohair, angora, alpaca, etc. will process into a better-finished
product if they are blended with at least twenty per cent wool. the wool
should be of a crimpy type and of similar length of the exotic fiber. This
will give more body to the resulting product in the roving form, later in the
yarn and again in the finished article made from the yarn. Wool has a
memory and retains its original configuration whereas the slicker fibers tend to
grow and become misshapen.
FIBER PREPARATION
Carefully look over the
fiber you are preparing to send off to be processed and envision what you want
to come back to as an end product. Will this fiber be dyed after it is
returned, do I want roving, batts or webs made? If you are going to dye
the roving you receive back, please specify a heavier roving so it will hold up
to handling during the dying process. Will the roving be used for
weaving? If so, you will want to specify a heavier roving. The
regular spinning roving is very thin and needs little or no drafting. We
can put the roving in small bump form or loose in a bag. The finer roving
does drop out more of the trash as it is being processed.
The following is a
checklist to use as a guide when preparing the fiber to be sent:
 |
Look over the fiber you are sending and remove any manure
tags, this will save on shipping cost. |
|
If you can see feed, straw, hay, grass, etc. in the fiber,
you will get much of that back when the product has been processed.
It will not all be
removed. |
|
Light matting of the fiber on the animal will result in
broken fibers as it is processed through the equipment. Heavy
matting will be skirted and thrown away prior to
washing. |
|
Extra long fibers will also break during the picking and
carding process. Ideal length is three to five inches and over seven
inches (stretched) will break. We can do very short fibers but
recommend they be placed in batt form. |
Fibers can be brought to the ranch,
sent by UPS or sent by regular mail. We ship back by US Mail and use
either Priority or Parcel Post depending on the cost. Many times the
Priority is very close in price to the Parcel Post cost.
PRICING
Wash, Pick and Card into Web, Roving or Batt: $6.50/LB
Washing Only: $3.50/LB
Carding Only on Clean Fiber: $4.50/LB
Fiber Blending: $5.00/Batch
Additional Charge for Greasy, Dirty or Exotic Fibers;
$2.00/LB
Fiber length must be under 7 inches.
