How to Easily (and Cheaply) Make Wool Combs!

Do you happen to have a bagful of fleece? And not very good quality fleece? Pretty bad quality, in fact. And also, you're very very new to working with wool, and have access to very few wool working implements?

Well I've been experimenting with making my own tools. I didn't have a hackle and had never seen one in person, so I made one out of bamboo skewers to see how a hackle technically works. There were, of course, limitations with a bamboo hackle, being wood and all, but the proof of concept did work, and I went on to make one with the longest nails I could find at the local hardware market.

Now, one of the problems with making a hackle (as well as combs) with nails is setting the nails in straight. This problem could be due to the nails being uneven (in length, width and even straightness), or just not being able to drill straight holes in the wood. I bypassed this issue by using a material every DIYer has hoarded in their stash - good old cardboard. While I didn't keep a video or photographic record of making of making the hackle, I did keep step by step video clips of making the comb.

You will need:

°31 nails per comb (62 for a set) that are over 3" long. This is variable, depending on how thick your nails are, and how wide you want your combs to be, and how many rows you want your combs to be. My combs are about 3 1/2" wide.

°Scrap cardboard. Go thorough your cardboard pile and select one with holes your nails with fit in snuggly and keeps a good hold. This is literally the most important "equipment" of this project.

°Frames and handles for your comb. This is where you'll set your nails in resin. You can design the frames and handles as a single unit, or make them separately- I made mine separate due to the materials I had available to me- in this case, scrap wood. Do a bit of research on commercially available combs and decide how wide and deep you want the frames to be. The frames should be made ahead of time.

°2 part resin

°a straight edge

°Packing tape and two sided tape or glue

Keep in kind that this is a flexible project and nothing, except perhaps for the measuring of the resin, needs much precision.

Using the straight edge, cut the cardboard into into four 1" strips about 4" wide (depending on how wide you want your combs to be).

Slip the nails in the structural holes of the cardboard with the pointy end facing downward. This will ensure that the nails are aligned at the pointy ends and spaced evenly. It doesn't matter if the heads are slightly uneven in height. My combs have two rows of 15 and 16 nails. Align the rows as indicated in the image. You can use glue or double sided tape to keep the rows together.

With the packing tape, seal the bottoms of the frames. You don't have to use packing tape- you can use wood, or even paper, but I think it's kind of cool to be able to see through. When that's done, get your resin kit ready.

Now, place the nails in the frames head first, keeping the pointy ends in the cardboard strip facing up. You can use a support to keep the nails straight if needed. Prepare the resin as instructed by the supplier and pour it into the frames. For stability, the resin should cover at least 1/4" to 1/2" of the nails. Let the resin set as per the instructions.

Once the resin has set, you may remove the cardboard placers. Don't throw away the cardboard placers- keep them as protective caps for when you are not using the combs.

Now attach the combs to the handles, and there you have it- your new super cheap wool combs. You've probably saved yourself at least 80 dollars.

While I'm quite happy with these, there are a few changes I'd like make in my next set. For example, I'd grind down the edges of the nails to reduce snagging. I've also finally figured out how to bend the nails to an even curve as seen in commercial combs, so perhaps there shall be another tute on that... eventually.

Anyway, hope you got something out of this. Cheers!