Cher is selling one of her old Fricke drum carders.
It is very old
and very dirty.
She is asking $50 for it. I found the website of the guy who bought Curtis Fricke out in 2000, and is manufacturing the current Fricke/Strauch drum carders. He also refurbishes the old ones for a price, of course. So, here’s my question…. ok, I have two.
1. Is an old, semi-rusty drum carder salvageable? Can I clean it up and use it?
2. Is it worth it to buy it and ship it off to Virginia to have Otto Strauch refurbish it for about $300 when I can afford it, sometime in the future?
ok, there’s a third question, too.
3. While we’re on the topic, does anyone have any opinions they’d like to share about other carders that I’d be better off with?
Thanks in advance.
I’m heading off to Oregon to see my mom. The kids and I will be gone until Thursday evening. I am taking the laptop, my camera, and everything I think I’ll need to post while I’m away. It is possible that nothing will work and the blog will be stagnant until I get back, although Nate has been a peach and spent most of Sunday night getting it all ready for me. He dug out our old, orange iBook, charged it up, installed OS X, and set up bookmarks for me, as well as my new email accounts. So we should be good to go so long as I can find somewhere in Central Oregon that has a wireless network. I’m just warning you ahead of time, considering I haven’t missed a day since the birth of the blog back in May. (Except for my regular break each Sunday). I’d hate to worry anyone.
Maybe Nate can re-start that R2 scarf he was working on and post about it while I’m gone!
But if not, here’s what you have in store… I’ve been knitting on some wonderful Koigu socks that I’m making for my Grandma, provided she likes the colors. They are sooooooo pretty! If all goes well, I’ll be able to show you pictures tomorrow!
Ooh, ooh! before I forget, I FINALLY brought home yarn to make the Weasley sweaters! It’s so exciting! And I bought lots so I can make them big. I want the girls to get many years of wear out of them. Goodness knows HP will be popular that long.
February 20th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
I am really excited to follow your course in spinning because I am taking it up myself….as I am a student, I am working my way towards a wheel with a Navajo spindle. My husband offered to gift me a wheel this Christmas, but I really would like to make sure I have the skills down first.
That said, I also wondered about to what extent I want to work from fleece vs. roving etc. Right now, I am purchasing dyed roving and enjoying it. Next step is dying my own yarn followed by getting some hand carders.
I think that with the cost of the drum carder, I would just save towards getting a new or like new carder. If it was $50 for the old carder and $150 to refurbish it, then that would be a steal. As it is $350 + shipping is coming pretty darn close to the cost of a brand new one. If you are going to be spinning enough to need a drum carder, I would hold off until you can get the one you deserve!
February 20th, 2005 at 11:05 pm
My two cents is to buy the drum carder now — $50 seems cheap compared to some I have seen! I like your idea of hanging on to it until you have the extra cash to have it refurbished. And if later you decide that you just can’t afford it or just don’t want to card your fiber or don’t want to mess with cleaning it up, you could put it up on ebay or give your blog readers a chance at buying it from you for the same price. All you need to worry about is storage for it.
Since you’re talking about getting a carder, I was just wondering about the next step — have you have ever dyed your own yarn or rovings? If so, what kind of dye did you use (Kool-Aid or commercial) and what were your results?
Hope the weather is nice for you during your trip.
February 20th, 2005 at 11:32 pm
My first question for the drum carder is; is that dirt or rust I see?? One is significantly more difficult to clean off than the other. But if you think that the cleaning would be ok, and if you’ve been assured that it will work (whether it gets refurbished or not) then I’d say go for it!
February 20th, 2005 at 11:44 pm
It’s both. The needles on half of the large drum are a little rusty. That’s the side you see in the pictures. The other half looks pretty clean. It doesn’t turn very easily, although it does turn very smooth. There’s a lot of fiber around the axel. It doesn’t look like it’d be TOO difficult to clean, but I couldn’t find any info online about cleaning rust, so I don’t know if that means it’s ruined or not. It certainly isn’t rusted through.
February 20th, 2005 at 11:48 pm
And no, I haven’t done anything with dyes, however, I just picked up the Color in Spinning book from my LYS, and it looks magnificent. It’s an Interweave Press. It talks all about dyes, carding, etc.
February 21st, 2005 at 12:13 am
I know only what I see in catalogs and websites, but, I say save up for a new one. You’re doing so well, you’ ll likely want one anyway. Why bother paying for shipping and waiting for it to be done.
Take some photos of beautiful Oregon while there and have fun fun fun!
February 21st, 2005 at 12:43 am
For some reason I’m reminded of commercials that I see for CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) and how it apparently cleans ANYTHING…
And on a totally unrelated note! I have posted an image of a swatch for my Hayden in my livejournal 🙂
February 21st, 2005 at 2:57 am
Long time lurker….
Just throwing in my .02 to vote for saving to buy a new carder.
Hope you have a good vacation. Good luck with the treadmill.
February 21st, 2005 at 10:38 am
I would pass on it. If it was in better shape then 50 dollars would be a steal. But I have a Fricke, and I paid about 300 for it new. I would keep looking for a good used one, or save up for new.
February 21st, 2005 at 10:57 am
Hi Laura, my name is Lauren and I am also a long time lurker. I really enjoy your blog 🙂 I agree with the others, pass on this one for either a better used carder or save up for a new one.
I love the idea for the Weasley sweaters. My husband and I are HUGE Harry Potter fans. I hope that as I better my knitting skills I can take on bigger projects like this. Have fun making them for your girls!
February 22nd, 2005 at 3:54 am
He told you it would cost $300 to refurbish it? That seems crazy. Especially when the current ones come with a lifetime guarantee. Hmmm. I guess you should hold out for a new one. I’m in the same boat. I’ve ordered some hand carders but I want a drum carder–yesterday. Also shouldn’t you get a wheel first? 😉
February 22nd, 2005 at 5:05 am
Hello,
I currently have a fricke drum carder on lay-away with woodland woolworks. I would buy one from them on lay-away. That way you can make monthly payments toward the carder while you are saving (this also assures that you don’t spend the carder money on something else) and if you get a windfall you can just pay the balance early!
March 3rd, 2005 at 12:31 am
Having used an old, borrowed crum carder in similar (or worse shape) than the one you are considering, and now owning a Fricke’s Finest drum carder, I have to agree with the person who recommended buying a new one on layaway.
The refurbishing that is needed on that carder is quite extensive. It will be practically new with all the new parts; that’s why it will cost $300.
So it might save you $100 or so in the long run, but over the 10-20 years that you will use it (& hopefully care for better than the owner of the used one) is very little. The new carders have the benefit of some design enhancements.
I think you will have your drum carder faster (even if it costs more) if you use layaway to buy a new one. And then you won’t have a broken down $50 drum carder sitting around for a long time causing you guilt.