Recently I made a new hackle (much larger than the first one) to blend wool on. I used 6 cake breaker heads on this one for 2 pitch hackle with a working length of about 10 inches.

We used a nice chunk of maple wood for the base.

We made custom clamps to hold the hackle to my desk. I was pretty excited about these clamps; they look so much nicer than bar or C-clamps. They are made from a 3/8 square U-bolt cut in half. That bolt is at this link: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/national-hardwarereg%3B-2192bc-675-square-u-bolt-zinc

We also picked up 2 each of 3/8 washers and wing nuts for each clamp. We used 2 pieces of oak wood for the clamps’
pads

It works wonderfully for blending. I’ve been using it to mix some alpaca/angora to spin.

 This hackle cost about $38 to make. Some of the supply costs are listed below, in case you are interested in making your own hackle.

• 6 cake breakers – $30
• Square U-bolt, washers and nuts – $6
• Maple wood – Free

We had the wood and epoxy on hand, and we also had the tools, such as a router, various saws, a power sander and a drill.

Thanks for reading!