Sheep and Woodworking Question

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Well by now we all know that I have some sheep, and in the coming months will have lambs which will eventually end up going to the freezer. Obviously sheep have some unique qualities, one of which is wool, while the other is sheepskin. While I did not get this breed of sheep (Montadale)for their wool qualities, they do actually have high quality fleeces. For starters they are an all-white sheep, with a wonderful crimp and low lanolin (grease) count.

Now I have been doing a lot of carpentry work to build such things as feed racks and chutes for these sheep, but was wondering if maybe they could give something back to my woodworking hobby? Surely there must be a way I can integrate either wool or lambskin into a woodworking project. All I can think of is maybe gluing down an unwashed section of lambskin inside one of my hand plane cases so that I can occasionally run it across the sole for slipperiness. That's the only thought I have, does anyone else have any ideas on some possible uses of wool or sheepskin?

The commercial value is kind of low so I'll have plenty of it. (for $5 bucks a sheep too mind you) Here is a picture of what the wool looks like, but the guy doesn't look like he wants to really give it up does he? :)

Milo_close_up-small-466x331.jpg
 
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I know it's not much on the woodworking side, but how about a staining pad. They work great and cost $6 for the cheapos at HD and $13 at the paint store. They do have wood handles and base that the wool attaches to.
 
We used to keep a ewe or two to raise lambs from and tie out in the yard for lawnmowers. The main reason for them, we used to have an Ag Safety Days at our farm using the FFA members and their knowledge of equipment and animals and all three elementaries in the county would attend in two days :eek:! At one time we had over 400 little kids on our farm at one time. Anyway, if you host such an event or take your friendliest ewe to the petting zoo/ag days event, little kids will take a handful of wool and it is amazing how fast it goes!! Great advertisement for your business.
 
Travis,
a few ideas:
1 - You could use the skin for the seat of a chair - the wool as padding.
2 - Make yourself a wool lined sheep skin union suit (complete with trap door) to keep yourself warm in your wood shop through the winter.
3 - custom sheep skin snowmobile seat cover - not sure how that relates to woodworking, but i'll bet you could justify it one way or another.
paulh
 
Make yourself a wool lined sheep skin union suit (complete with trap door) to keep yourself warm in your wood shop through the winter.

Sounds warm, but might be a concern if you are allergic to wool.:rofl:

(Insert sheep factoid here...people that are allergic to wool have issues with cheap, low micron wool that typically comes from imported wool. High quality domestic wool has thicker microns and seldom causes allergic reactions. Incidentally no sheep were harmed in the making of this post)
 
Travis,
a few ideas:
1 - You could use the skin for the seat of a chair - the wool as padding.
2 - Make yourself a wool lined sheep skin union suit (complete with trap door) to keep yourself warm in your wood shop through the winter.
3 - custom sheep skin snowmobile seat cover - not sure how that relates to woodworking, but i'll bet you could justify it one way or another.
paulh

Paul, I don't believe he means to kill and skin them. He just wants to shear the wool off and find a profitable use for it.
 
Paul, I don't believe he means to kill and skin them. He just wants to shear the wool off and find a profitable use for it.

Actually I meant both Frank. Wool comes off once a year, and is worth maybe 80 cents a pound of so, or about 9 bucks per sheep. Not a lot of profit in that, but the sheep skins...well they are a one time kind of product, but worth a bit more. The slaughterhouses charge a mere 5 bucks for sheep skins so its worth keeping, but what to do with it?

I did like the stain applicator idea. You would get your nap length by having the sheep shown x amount of weeks before slaughter date. About 6 weeks for 3/4 of an inch. I thought about a tool box with sheep skin lined drawers but that might be a little over the top...and take up too much interior drawer space.
 
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