Picker, take 2

A picker is a device (looks more like a torture device!) that separates wool fibers from one another after (or before!) washing. Washing tends to make the wool clump up, and it’s difficult to deal with in that state. Enter the picker. I’ve seen much larger pickers in factories, but this is fine for home use, once I get it laid out and working like I want.

The nails are bright-finished 16d finish nails that I got at Home Depot, and I used a bench grinder to clean the nails to a nice sharp point so the fibers don’t snag. There are about 150 of these nails in the whole picker, 63 of them in the sled, and another 96 or so in the bed. I was too busy avoiding bloodshed to actually count the nails… These suckers are sharp.

A note to anybody who needs a sawhorse or something like it, I find the Black and Decker WorkMate to be quite handy. My in-laws bought it for me one Christmas, and it’s a great tool. I might need to buy another one. $25 at Amazon, with free shipping if you subscribe to Prime. Much the same pricing at Walmart.

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These are pictures of my picker – while I followed some information that was on the internet, and actually at one point purchased plans to make a picker, this is really my own design, and right now it’s substandard. It doesn’t work like I want it to.

Part of the problem, I suspect, is that the nails are not at the correct angle – I went for a 15° angle, which is way too shallow. Other pickers I’ve read about have the nails as low as 45°.

I have purchased more wood and nails to make another attempt at it. This time the nails will go in at about 45°, which is much steeper than I think they should be, but seems to be the commonly-used angle. Commonly used typically outweighs my own sensibilities, with good reason.