HIGH-SHEARING COMB

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27404, 17 July 1954, Page 5

HIGH-SHEARING COMB

Wool Board’s New Development POSSIBILITIES FOR BACK COUNTRY A snow comb which will leave half an inch of wool on the skin of shorn sheep has been designed for high country use by the shearing instructor to the New Zealand Wool Board, Mr W. G. Bowen. Snow combs have been available for a long time, but they have usually had defects which have made them less acceptable than blades to runholders, and almost all highcountry flocks are shorn with blades. Many sheds are -equipped with machines for crutching, and the new comb, which has been given .exhaustive tests by Mr Bowen, should enable runholders to use these machines for shearing. Mr Bowen will demonstrate the new combs, and the rather different technique they require, at Lincoln College on July 21, and at Timaru on July 30. Tlie Wool Board is anxious that as many high-country runholders as' possible will attend the demonstrations.

In announcing the new comb, the Wool Board says:— Tlie New Zealand Wool Board has evolved a new type of high-running shearing comb which should go far to meet the particular conditions which obtain in South Island high country shearing. The board recognises that there is a need for a comb which will leave enough wool on the sheep to permit it to stand up to high country weather conditions. Losses of newly-shorn sheep, especially in the South Island, have been at times considerable in sheep shorn with conventional combs. Such losses do not occur to a comparable extent with blade-shorn sheep. Protection from Weather Some months ago the Wool Board, asked Mr Bowen, to investigate the possibility of perfecting a comb which would leave enough wool on the sheep to protect it from hard weather. This work was not done to replace blades by machines, but to give those sheepowners who desired to shear with machines an opportunity of utilising them. Mr Bowen considers that the comb which he has finally designed will meet South Island high country conditions. Mr Bowen found that no shearer would use existing high-running combs, because they would not enter

the wool easily. Starting with a common make of high-running comb having 13 teeth all with high runners, Mr Bowen ground off eight of the runners, leaving five runners to keep the comb off the sheep. While this permitted the comb to enter the wool more easily it still fell short of the desired performance. A second comb, with only nine instead of the standard 13 teeth was then tried. This comb entered the wool fairly easily but did not cut well and resulted in a rough finish to the work. It was also too fine in construction -and was easily broken. A slightly heavier comb was then designed. This third comb, while still having nine teeth, differed in that four runners were taken away leaving five teeth with high runners and four teeth without high runners. The performance of this comb under test was outstanding. It entered the wool as freely as a standard comb and left the desired amount of wool on the sheep. It was fully tested at Omarama, on tight Merino wethers with 15 months’ wool on,' and in this difficult shearing, did all that was asked of it. Its faults were that it did not cut absolutely cleanly and did not shear many sheep before it became blunt. While it left a good amount of wool on, it was obvious that when it was ground down a little it could fail to do so. The fourth and final comb was then designed and has been given its final test. This comb is submitted with confidence by the Wool Board to the sheep industry. It is a much heavier and stronger comb than any of the earlier designs and enters the wool just as easily. It has more metal at the base of the teeth, which gives the cutter a better lead, resulting in efficient cutting. This comb will stand up to solid work. While this comb is the same as the third one in that it has five runners and four ordinary teeth, the runners are deeper so that it is able to stand grinding and still do the job for which it has been designed. The points of the teeth are kept reasonably bright since, running high, they seldom touch the skin. This permits of sharper points than the standard comb, and easier entry into the wool. It has been designed to take any straight cutter.

Narrow Comb A narrow, high-running comb has also been designed on exactly the same principle. It is recommended for tight Merino shearing in preference to a wide comb. It is the same width as the standard gear used in Australia. The wide comb, however, will be the most generally used as it will shear Corriedales, halfbreds and more open Merinos, and also makes an excellent job of crossbred sheep. It should find general use throughout New Zealand in pre-lamb and early stud shearing. Both wide and narrow combs leave about half an inch of wool on the sheep. On an average sheep this amounts to a good half pound, estimated to be eoual to two week’s growth of wool. This amount leaves the natural grease on the skin, the pores not being exposed to the cold. It is considered that this is all the wool that needs to be left on. Excellent Finish

The snow comb gives an excellent finish in comparison with blade shearing, but is not as neat as machine shearing with standard combs. The Wool Board emphasises that although it has had the co-operation and assistance of a shearing equipment manufacturer throughout its experiments, it is not promoting any one kind of shearing equipment. Since the new comb has been ’ principally designed by the board’s instructor, it will be open to all firms manufacturing shearing equipment to make or market the comb should they desire so to do. Mr Bowen makes the following comments concerning the use of the snow comb:— “In ordinary clean shearing two combs should be used in each run, because since they have only nine teeth the combs become blunt more quickly than standard combs. They are ground in the same way as an ordinary comb. Straight cutters should be employed in the usual manner, changing as soon as cutting dulls. The cutter should be kept well up to the start of the cutting edge on the comb, that is, at the base of the small scollop on the tooth which is approximately g of an inch back from the tip. The points of the comb do not need rounding off and are kept brighter than on normal gear because they seldom touch the skin. When the comb is ground down after considerable use and is grinding out to the tips, a slight rounding of the tins should be effected after each grinding with fine emery paper. If this is not done

the teeth will become needle sharp and pick up the skin. “On sticky sheafing it will be found that the sides of the runners will cake up with grease, and to ensure easy entering, this should be cleaned off after every four or five sheep. It takes only a few seconds. “The final and perhaps most important factor in the use of the comb is the particular style required to use it proficiently by the shearer. The hand and wrist have to be flattened down more on to the sheep than in normal shearing to allow the runners to do their job of keeping the cutting high. The comb will enter and go through the wool easier, and make a better finished job if used in this planner.**