Clemes & Clemes Elite Series Drum Carders feature a proprietary mill style 72 teeth per inch carding cloth. This cloth allowed us to increase batt capacity without having to increase the size or weight of the drum carder. Our carding cloth does not create neps or noils and can handle any fiber without changing drums or having multiple carders for different fibers. The Elite Drum Carder can be adjusted to change the spacing between drums, if desired.
The Elite Series Convertible Drum Carder is our most feature-laden hand crank drum carder! It is unmatched in versatility, efficiency, and capacity by any other hand crank drum carder in the world. It is an 8″ wide carder that includes clamps and six tools to make carding and blending fleece and fiber easy and enjoyable.
Mill-Style Matters
Our proprietary mill-style carding cloth sets us apart from all other drum carder makers. Our cloth does not tear fiber or create nepps or noils, and has a much higher capacity than other carders on the market. Our Elite Series Drum Carders have handled every fiber we have thrown at them, from dozens of wool breeds to specialty fibers such as alpaca, angora rabbit, cotton, mohair, cashmere, and down fibers. Short, long, fine, coarse – these carders can card and blend them all with ease.
Buy Your Second Carder, First
The versatility of our carding cloth means you only need to buy one drum carder to card any and all fibers. Our competitors use low quality, generic carding cloth that is harmful to most fibers, and they recommend purchasing multiple carders or multiple drums in order to process a range of fibers. We often hear from customers who regretfully purchased a budget carder as their first carder, thinking they would eventually need a whole stable of carders. When they find out they could have just bought one carder to do it all, we hear, “I wish I would have bought your carder first!” In the long run, it is much less expensive to buy the best carder available than several budget carders that do not work very well or last very long. On top of that, one carder takes up less space than owning several, and you will always be using the right carder for the fiber you are working with.
Big Batts and Beyond
Our Elite Series Drum Carders have a generous four ounce capacity – that means more time spent carding and less time spent removing batts! The maximum capacity will vary with every fiber or blend of fibers, and a comfortable working weight is usually around two-thirds of maximum capacity. The batt size is approximately 8″ wide and 27″ long, but that will also vary with each type of fiber, blend, or preparation. With the included Diz, fiber can be removed as carded sliver, also called roving. With our Rolag Dowel Block (not included) fiber can be removed as rolags.
More Than Just Good Looks
We take pride in our drum carders looking like more than just a couple of drums mounted in a wooden box. Along with its elegant styling, the Elite Convertible features an integrated carry handle, fiber deflectors, stainless steel doffing strip, and roller crank handle. The frame is made of solid Red Oak hardwood. All wooden parts receive a durable lacquer finish prior to assembly, to protect them for a lifetime of use. While we source locally whenever possible, carding cloth is no longer made in the U.S.A., so our mill-style carding cloth is custom made for us at precision factories in Europe.
A Box Full of Carding Fun
Tools included with our Elite Series Drum Carders: a Cleaning Brush, Burnishing Brush, Diz, Doffer, Packing Brush, and Batt Lifter! That’s all the tools you need to card and blend any type of fiber. Adjustment tools and a User Manual are also supplied.
Hand Crank or Motorized? The Convertible is Both!
With a built-in carrying handle and weighing just sixteen pounds, the Convertible is made for carding on the go. When paired with our Electric Drive, it is a motorized work horse. It takes about two minutes to convert from a hand cranked to motorized carder, or vice versa. The Convertible and Electric Drive give you the best of both worlds!