[Jacob-list] Vacuum Packed Wool

[Pavel]

Phebe wanted to send 25 pounds of wool off to the mill for processing.
That much wool takes up a lot of volume, three large plastic bags full.
It looked like we'd have to pack it into several boxes, which would
multiply the shipping costs. 

Figuring that most of the volume was air, not wool, we tried to compact
it by sucking the air out of the bags. We hooked up the vacuum cleaner,
put the hose into the top part of the bag, held the bag tight around it
and pulled the air out, shrinking the plastic bags to about a third of
their original volume. They all fit into one reasonably sized box. 

I'm sure that we're not the first people to think of this, but I thought
I'd share it with my fiber lists. Action photographs of the whole
process are posted to our website.

We're worried about this foot-and-mouth disease spreading. We're within
an hour or so drive of three major international airports; I hope
they're fumigating the passengers from Europe. When I went to New
Zealand about ten years ago, they fumigated the cabin before they let us
get off. 

Paul Intihar
Rainbow Farm
Joppa, Maryland
Website: http://members.home/net/rbfarm/