The Drum Carder: A Sneek Peek

We've recieved a product request last year for a home-printable drum carder. Joseph has spent the last few months prototyping, and we're nearly ready to release it to the shop. 

In the pictures below, Joseph is carding brown alpaca fibers. The filament is blue.

I cheated, incidentally, with this paint. I took a bottle of brown, generic toll paint that had been sitting in my craft bin since the pyramids and diluted it with water. Then I brushed it onto the individual pieces. I've mentioned this before, but really do paint BEFORE you put the pieces together, unless you've been treasuring up your Irish swears. 

It has been quite a journey to get the pulley systems at the proper tension. However, after this trial run, the roving came out raw and fluffy, as pictured above. The handle turned easily. Note that Joseph positioned the carder near the edge of the table to allow full range of motion for the handle. The machine was so simple, in fact, that the mini spinners wanted in on the gig. (Much enthusiasm.) 

The drum carder is completely prototyped. However, we're waiting to release due to supply chain problems. ("Yes, I said 'carding cloth', not cloth with cards on it.") Also, we're working on a set of build instructions and an assembly video. Thanks for the suggestion! 

Ideas, please!
Speaking of suggestions, if you have a suggestion or a question about a new product for the Good and Basic Etsy store, leave a comment here. We'd love to hear your ideas. We can't promise to make everything, though a Full Metal Alchemist yarn bowl does sound pretty epic.