Steps in Processing our Wool.
Prior to arriving at Nundle Woollen Mill, the fleece is shorn, sorted
and classed in the shearing shed, and conveyed by semi trailer to the
major wool buying centres in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and
Geelong.
Following sale by auction, the wool is scoured or washed to remove dirt
and grease, and sold either locally or for export.
Here at Nundle, we use 23 to 28 micron Polwarth and Merino lambs' wool
with very little vegetable matter. Fine 23um wools for apparel garments
and the stronger, coarser 28um wools for rug wools. Wool is also blended
with mohair, angora, alpaca and hemp.
Machine No 1 – The Opener.
The Opener or Picker was built by Tomlinsons of Rochdale, England in
1916 and was purchased from Australian Textile Recyclers, in Victoria.
Built to last, the machine was sometimes used asa rag shredder.
The Opener is now being restored to good running condition, and its primary
role at Nundle is to “open and mix” the scoured wool in preparation
for carding.
After opening, processing oil and water is added to the wool to reduce
fibre breakage and minimize static during carding.
Machine No 2 – The Carding Machine.
Built by the Platt Co. in 1914 at Oldham England the Card was purchased
in 1989 from J L McGregor Pty Ltd of Geelong.
In woollen processing the yarn is made in the card. The fibres are opened
in the feed hopper, measured in the weigh pan and dumped onto the feed
sheet ready for carding.
The carding process mixes and opens the mass of wool to individual fibres.
The fibres are assembled into a web at the doffer at the end of the scribber
(first) section. The large metal rollers in the Parelta section are used
to crush any vegetable such as burrs in the fibre web.
The web is formed into a sliver to be transferred and turned across
the card feed sheet via the Scotch feed connecting the scribber and carding
sections together.
The carding section further mixes and opens the fibres using the finer
wires of the worker and stripper rollers. The fibres are stripped off
the carding section using the doffer roller and comb to produce a fine
fibre web of constant weight and evenness.
This web is split into 100 narrow strips by the tapes in the condenser
section before being rubbed with a false twist into slubbings and wound
into cheeses on one of the four levels of card spools.
Machine No 3 – The Whitin Spinning Frame.
The Whitin Spinning Frame was manufactured in the United States in the
early 1950’s.
The function of this machine is to draft and twist each of the slubbings
on the spool into single threads. The drafting draws out the fibres to
the thickness required and the twist adds strength to the yarn. This machine,
also from McGregor’s, has been reconditioned and shortened to match
the four spool output of the Card.
Machine No 4 – The Platt Spinning Frame.
Manufactured in England, this Spinning Frame will be commissioned at
a later date.
Though shorter in frame length, the machine is capable of higher speeds
and productivity than the Whitin and will be used as an additional Spinner
or converted to a Twister.
Machine No 5 – The Dandy Rover.
Built in 1938 by Prince, Smith and Stells in England, this machine has
been converted to a Twister to suit our mill’s woollen spinning system.
The Dandy is now used for twisting (or “plying”) 3 or more
threads (or “ends”) together to make the 8 and12 ply knitting
yarns for the local Nundle knitters.
A special and unique feature of this machine is its ability to produce
our special bulky rug and 20 ply yarns.
Machine No 6 – The Hank Reeling Machine.
Manufactured in Germany by Croon & Lucke the “Hanker” winds
yarn from cone or bobbins to a hank or skein ready for sale, or for dyeing
into many colours in our Dye House on the other side of the building.
Machine No 7 - The Dye House.
Yarn is dyed in hank form on rotating rollers in the dye bath using fibre
reactive wool dyes. It takes about one hour to apply the dye under acid
conditions for the lighter colours and a maximum of two hour for the darker
shades. To finish the dyeing the excess dye stuff not exhausted is washed
off and the wool is neutralised before spin drying.
The coloured yarn is then dried for a day in the sun outside on the drying
racks.
It is necessary to half turn the hanks in the middle of the day to ensure
even drying.
A check for wet and dry dye fastness is made before the hanks are wound
onto cones.
Machine No 8 – The Cone Winder.
The Leesona Cone Winding machine is used to wind yarn from spinning and
twisting bobbins, onto cardboard cones ready for placing on the creel
of the Hanking machine.
The Mill also has a single and three head Cone Winder to wind dyed yarn
hanks onto cones ready for balling. Machine knitters can use this coned
yarn directly on their machines.
Machine No 9 – The Ball Winding Machine.
Manufactured by Croon & Lucke this machine winds balls to a predetermined
shape and size.
The main use at Nundle is for winding 8 ply yarns from cone to a 50gm
ball ready for sale to hand knitters.
The finished balls are labelled by hand at this stage.
Local Knitting.
The woollen yarn produced in the Nundle Mill is suited to the production
of bulky knit garments such as sweaters, hats, beanies, scarves and gloves.
There are twenty-eight local knitters who knit for the Mill Shop under
the direction of local Nundle fashion designers.
The Future.
This is an exciting time. Our aim is to:
Produce the basic yarns in the current session fashion colours as 8,
12 and 20 ply yarns for local knitters and mail order.
Develop special yarns in different fibre blends that combine wool with
such fibres as mohair, cashmere, alpaca, cotton, linen, angora rabbit
and wool.
Develop effect yarns with unique textures and colour combinations not
available from any other yarn suppliers in Australia or the world.
Commission the weaving machines and the laboratory processing equipment
for product development in woollen weaving such as blankets and speciality
garments.
Train local people in the textile and tourist industries.
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