Alpaca Fleece Skirting Table F - Southern Iowa Alpacas

1 FHusbandry Hints by Bill and Sherri DueyAlpaca Fleece Skirting TableWell-planned barns and pastures, and innovative use of high- and low-tech gadgets can make life on the farm mucH easier. If you have any helpful husbandry hints, Alpacas Magazinewould love to hear from you. or about $60 and two hours of your time, you canbuild this Fleece Skirting Table that works great andstores easily when not in fleeces at shearing time is always a challenge. New procedures and specialized pieces ofequipment that help improve the process and savetime are most welcome. Cleaning debris from rawfleeces and then Skirting the Fleece helps insure abetter end are many different types of tables used for Skirting Alpaca fleeces. An excellent article on Skirting Tables was published in the Summer2001 issue of Alpacas Magazine. The article hassome excellent ideas on Skirting tables, how to make them and the distinct features of each.

2 After reviewing these Skirting Table designs andothers, we set out to design and build an even better Skirting Table that: Uses readily available components Is easy to assemble Is convenient to store Allows one to clean and skirt a Fleece Does not cause damage to a blanket being prepared for show Is relatively inexpensiveA trip to our building supply center producedsome likely candidates for components, but wequickly focused on two readily available compo-nents that make up the Table : wire closet shelving(also available online) and common PVC pipe Design, Easy to Make:PVC pipe and fittings make up the Table frame andlegs. Two close mesh or tight mesh wire closetshelves make up the Skirting Table top. Plastic elec-trical ties are used to attach the two sections of wireshelving to each other to make the Table top andalso to attach the Table top to the PVC pipe tableframe.

3 It is that spacing between the wires on the closemesh or tight mesh shelving is only 1/2inch apart.(AFCNA in the past has recommended one inch toone and one-half inch square openings.) We havefound that there are distinct advantages to the long,narrow openings. The biggest advantage to the wireshelving is that reasonably dense fleeces can be skirted for show and then slid off the Table withoutdamaging the Fleece . Second cuts, dirt, sand, peagravel, etc. fall through the wire mesh and leave thefleece in a cleaner Table Materials List 2- 20 inch by 48 inch, tight mesh wire closet shelves ($ each)..$ 20- 10 inch white plastic cable ties ($ bag) ..$ PVC cleaner (clear) ($ each) ..$ PVC glue (clear) ($ each) ..$ PVC pipe and glue type fittings, Schedule 40, 1 1/2inch diameter: 3- 10 foot long sticks of pipe ($ each) ..$ 4- 90 degree elbows ($ each).

4 $ 6- Ts ($ each) ..$ 4- Caps ($ .78 each) ..$ Hardboard (Masonite) 1/8 x 40 x 48 ($ each)..$ MATERIAL COST ..$ Procedure1. Cut PVC pipe lengths as follows (note: PVC fittings may vary in size)1- 35 inches, Table frame center support4- 4 inches, short connectors, Table frame ends(along 40 inch edges)72 AlpacasMagazineSummer 2007 73 The Skirting Table frame and legs are made from 1 1/2 inch diameter, Sched-ule 40 PVC pipe and fittings. Start the project by carefully cutting the pipe to specific lengths and laying out the Table top frame for the wire shelving on the Table the two wire shelves to each other with plastic cable ties andthen attach the wire shelves to the Table frame with plastic cable disassemble the Table by picking it up and turning it upsidedown. Then pull the four legs out of the T Table stores flat by hanging it up on a handle fleeces use a 48 x 40 piece of 1/8 thick hardboard to transfer the blanket (cut side down) from the shearing Table to the Skirting Hints 74 AlpacasMagazine2- 22 1/4inches, Table frame ends(along 40 inch edges)4- 20 7/8inches, Table frame (along48 inch front and back edges)4- 33 1/2inches, Table legs2.

5 Assemble all components withoutgluing to insure understanding Set wire closet shelves on top ofunglued frame to test Clean all fittings and pipe endswith PVC Glue pipe and fittings starting withone of the 40 inch end sectionsfirst. (Be sure to point the T s inthe end sections all straight up orstraight down.)7. Assemble and glue the front andback edge units. 8. Assemble and glue the center andsecond 40 inch end section Glue caps on end of each of thefour leg the four leg sections in the T s on the Table frame and setupright. (Note: DO NOT GLUEthe Table legs onto the frame if you want to be able to disassemblethe legs from the frame for easy storage.)11. Place the wire shelving on the Attach the two wire shelves to eachother with plastic cable Attach the wire shelves to the tableframe with plastic cable StorageTo partially disassemble: pick up thetable, turn it upside down, and pull thefour legs out of the T s.

6 Store the tableby hanging it up on a wall. The legs canbe secured together in a bundle with aVelcro cable strap and hung up alongwith the Table top (available at officesupply stores in the computer section).How to Use the TableAt shearing time, allow the blanket togather on a 48 by 40 piece of1/8 thick hardboard (Masonite) right offthe shearing Table or mat. Transfer theblanket from the shearing Table or matdirectly to the Skirting Table . The fleeceslides smoothly off the hardboard andonto the Table . A second piece of hard-board can be used to sandwich theblanket for flipping. A strip of1/4 hard-board that is 35 X 4 will help serve asa stick to slide the Fleece off the boardin one piece. Shaking, Skirting , andpicking are performed on the skirtingtable. The blanket can then be slide offof the Skirting Table and back onto thehardboard. Next, the Fleece can berolled and bagged for show.

7 Anotheroption is to slide the blanket directlyinto a flat 36 x 24 x 4 cardboardbox for storage. We store many of our Fleece blankets in these boxes forshowing to Alpaca Second TableA second Table really helps speed thingsalong at Fleece Skirting time. We madethe legs on our second Table about 1/4 shorter than the first so that we canslide fleeces off of one Table and onto a piece of hardboard setting on the second Table . The slide drop in heightallows the Fleece to slide without catch-ing on the lip of the second Table orthe about $60 and two hours of yourtime, you can build this Fleece skirtingtable that works great and stores easilywhen not in use. Have fun!Bill and Sherri Duey operate Southern IowaAlpacas ranch located in the hills of SouthernIowa 60 miles southeast of Des Moines. Theyspecialize in raising Accoyo huacaya have incorporated innovative features intotheir Alpaca ranch and conduct seminars onbusiness planning, animal selection and ranchsetup for new Alpaca ranchers.

8 They also enjoyhelping existing ranchers learn about newproducts and techniques. View their site or contact themdirectly at (36 x 24 x 4 ) cardboard boxes work great for storing Fleece blan-kets to show stack of twelve flat storage boxes holds a half blanket from twelvedifferent 2007 75 The blanket can be slid off the hardboard and onto the Skirting Table byusing a 35 X 4 X 1/4 piece of , Skirting , and picking can be performed on the Table to a freshlysheared Alpaca Fleece . Second cuts, dirt, sand, pea gravel, etc. fall throughthe wire mesh openings and leave the Fleece in a cleaner self supporting plastic bag stands work great for holding bags forshorting various qualities of Alpaca finished Skirting , the Fleece can be slid onto the hardboard andthen transferred to a box, rolled up for show or placed in a bag for pro-cessing.