Gelatine silver print entitled 'Card Fettlers, Brackendale Spinning Co, Thackley, Bradford' by Ian Beesley. Produced for the commission `Through the Mill:, The Story of Yorkshire Wool in Photographs'.1985-1987'.

Once the wool has been cleaned and scoured of dirt and grease, it can be disentangled and passed through a series of revolving cylinders called a carding machine. Originally this process was done by hand by means of two hand-sized boards fixed with fine metal pins, producing a short roll of wool known as a 'rolag' . The modern carding engine is one of the biggest in the industry and consists of a series of large cylinders and small rollers covered with tightly set wire teeth. Here two card fetter set to, clearing the cylinders, a dirty and dangerous process not being overtaken by automation.

[Table 49: Through the Mill - The Story of Yorkshire Wool in Photographs, by Ian Beesley and Introduction by Gary Firth]