* Clemes handmade products are produced to order, and by purchasing from Mondaes you're placing your order in the national shipping queue. Please expect at least 8-20 weeks lead time depending on the product, and email orders@mondaes.com anytime prior to purchase for product-specific updates. Makers who use Clemes equipment understand why the wait-time is so long! The quality can not be matched. A 15% restocking fee will be applied to items over $500 when requesting a refund due to lead time after purchase.
After years of listening to teachers, advanced fiber artists, and everyday users of The Clemes' Standard Carder and competitors' drum carders, Clemes & Clemes set out to create the ultimate drum carder.
It had to process all fibers with one tooth count and style. The batt size needed to be substantial. It had to be portable and easy to clean. It had to include all the tools necessary to process any type of fiber and it had to be convertible to an electric carder without being returned to our shop.
In June of 2013 at the Estes Park Wool Market in Colorado Clemes & Clemes introduced such a carder. The new Elite Convertible Drum Carder will process all types of fiber from angora rabbit to cotton, alpaca, mohair, cashmere, all types of wool - from fine to coarse and short to long staple - merino to churro to foot-long English Long Wool, as well as silk, bamboo, and every type of plant or manmade fiber we have thrown at it.
We process it all with the newly designed proprietary 72 tpi (teeth per inch) mill-style card clothing. No drums to change, no adjustments to be made. Simply feed the fiber in and begin producing gourmet batts ready for spinning or felting. Or if you prefer, remove the fiber with a diz to create your own carded sliver of any size.
Speaking of batts, this 8 inch wide carder allows you to produce batts over twice the size of the Clemes Standard 8" carder and as large or larger than batts from other manufacturers' 16" wide carders. Batts of 3 to 4 oz. are easily attained (depending on the fiber) with the packing and burnishing brushes included with the Elite Convertible.
Batts can be prepared as either woolen or semi-worsted with no damage to either the fiber or the carder.
The Clemes Elite Convertibele To Electric Carder Includes:
- Cleaning brush - enables you to quickly and efficiently clean you carder when preparing to card different fibers or blends
- No-Bend Stainless Steel Doffer - used to separate even the thickest of batts
- 8" Packing Brush - used to increase the thickness of batts and help control fly-away fibers
- Burnishing Brush - used to create the thickest and heaviest batts, also hones the teeth of the carder
- Batt Lifter - the ultimate batt removal and storage tool
- Diz- To create roving directly from your carder
The Convertible Features:
- Very portable, weighing in at only 20 pounds.
- Upgrades to an electric carder the Elite 8" is easily converted just by ordering the Electric Drive. Once the Electric Drive arrives it takes about two minutes to install the Elite on the Electric Drive. The really nice thing is that you can convert back to a hand crank carder in another two minutes and it is designed so you can convert back and forth as often as you like.
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Electric Drive for the Elite Convertible -
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From the day the Standard debuted Clemes was asked for an electric drive conversion. As a woodworker, Henry Clemes was familiar with the dangers of automatically-feeding machines and decided against releasing a powered version of the Standard. After seeing countless well-intentioned yet cringe-inducing home created conversions and with the introduction of the 8" Elite, Clemes decided to take matters into their own hands and make not only an Electric Drive, but the safest Electric Drive on the market today.
The safety of the Electric Drive starts with a key switch. Without the key in place and in the on position, the motor will not start. The key cannot be removed while in the on position. Once the key is switched on, a red LED will light, indicating power is on. Large industrial style push button controls turn the motor on and off - a recessed green button for on, an extended red button for off. A fuse protects the carder in case of over load. If the fuse happens to blow, the red LED will not light when the key is switched on, immediately indicating to the user the loss of power. All electrical components are UL approved and are mounted entirely within a ventilated steel enclosure , making the Elite Convertible with Electric Drive the first and only powered carder in the industry to meet all legal requirements regarding electrical safety. As an added measure of safety, power is transmitted from the motor to the main drum via a urethane drive belt. If the carder is jammed - by too much fiber or an errant body part - the drive pulley will slip rather than continually feeding like a chain drive. The 10 foot long power cord eliminates the need for an extension cord. No clamps are necessary as the unit is heavy enough that it will not move while in use.
Elite Convertible + Electric Drive= the " Elite Crankless"-
- The Elite Crankless is the only drum carder on the market that can convert back and forth between hand crank and electric drive - and it does so seamlessly. The Crankless is one entire unit that has the ability to be hand-cranked when the handle is attached, but it must be moved at one time and does not separate.Removing the drive pulley and belt from the Elite Convertible and installing the polymer roller crank handle takes less than a minute. The Elite Crankless weighs a total of 40lbs instead of the collective 50 lbs of the Convertible, though the convertible can be moved in two pieces if weight is an issue or traveling is frequent.
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This is the Mondaes' Top Pick of Carders, and the carder we rent in-store, so come in any time and take a look at it in person. To really get to know its incredible features, you'll want to bring in some fiber and throw all you can at it - seeing is believing, and you will be amazed at what you DO NOT hear... the Elite Electric has a quiet purrrrrrr.
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We do our best to keep Clemes Products in stock. However, they are handmade to order. Please expect your Clemes products to deliver within 2-4 weeks of ordering in some cases.
