Yet another rainy day here in Maine. I am certainly getting much done in my studio these days!! Freshly dyed warps here.
Here is a tip for sectional warpers from Kathy in VT:
"At a pet store, you can buy plastic tubing for use in aquariums. It's about a quarter of an inch in diameter, I'm guessing. It is just the right size to fit over the metal dividers on the sectional beam. Cut it into short lengths (4-5 inches). For each section that you are about to fill with yarn, attach one end of tube to the left metal divider, then bend it and attach the other end to the divider on the next (empty) section adjacent to the section you are filling. Do this for all the dividers on both the left and right sides. Each tube creates a barrier so that threads cannot overstep the divider and wind into the wrong section. Then remove the tubes and do this with the next section to be warped."
The photos here show the plastic tubing and how to set it up on the sectional beam posts.
Thanks Kathy!!
Anyone else want to send me a handy hint?? Please do so. Photos help to tell the st
ory.Happy weaving, Sarah
Great idea. You can buy the same tubing at most hardware stores where it is considerably cheaper. It comes on big rolls and you only need to buy the amount you need.
ReplyDeleteLynn
wish I had said that!!! I've been doing that for a while now and she's right! It's a great idea. I got some of the tubing that AVL uses to make the sleeves for the hooks on their dobby loom shafts and that works even better.
ReplyDeleteThanks weavers for sharing your ideas and tips...Keep them coming!! Sarah
ReplyDeleteMy first loom was an Oregon Loom which I built myself from a wonderful book by David Mathieson titled, needless to say, “Building the Oregon Loom”, printed in 1974. It was a 4 harness counterbalance loom which I used until about two years ago to weave overshot patterns. The instructions were excellent and the loom was pleasant to use. However, I have always wanted to try a loom with more harnesses. I would have liked to have made one, but never found any instructions.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, when taking a sewing class I ran across Louise who was looking for a home for her 10 harness 40" Macomber. I offered to buy it, but bless her heart, she insisted that it was a gift. All I had to do was disassemble it and take it home. I bought a second beam to expand its capabilities and then used it to weave a summer winter pattern from Handwoven. The loom is a joy to use, but it is obvious that there are a lot of features that I am unaware of. When I ordered the second beam from Macomber I received very little information with it on its use or instillation. Weaving classes aren’t loom specific and I have not seen any books on using the Macomber.
For example there is a wood dowel on a cord at the front of the loom which is suppose to help with the tie up, but I have not figured out how it is used and though I can install the stainless steel ties from the peddles to the lambs it is only with difficulty. You are also suppose to be able to drop the breast beam and remove the beater bar to more easily access the heddles during warping. I can do it by unscrewing the braces, but is there an easier way? There also seem to be several types of heddles, but I am unsure what each is used for. How to easily move the heddles from one harness to another would also be useful information. I am sure there are many other questions I need answers to that I don’t even know of yet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
HI David:
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you have found your way to Macomber Looms! Here are some answers to your questions:
~ The wooden peg is used to depress the lamm (the aluminium metal strip going across the bottom of the loom). When you depress the lamm you can connect the super hook with ease.
~ To transfer heddles from one harness to another, we use a heddle transfer rod (surprise!) This is very thin flexible strip of metal (stainless tell?) that slides under the heddles on the heddle bar. Macomber can supply this if you like. I have used string in the past to do the same job.
~ I am not sure why you have to unscrew something to drop the front beam. You can lift the black arm that connects at each side to the front cloth beam. This arm swings down and then you lower the breast beam. Then the front cloth beam lift out of its supporting arms.
I hope this helps!
Sarah
I realize that this post is a decade old by now, but for posterity in case anyone else has the same question: David likely has (had?) an earlier-style Macomber loom where the side arms don't have a notch in the bottom of the arm (so you can easily lift the arm up and it will swing down and away from the body of the loom). Instead, the early Macombers have an arm that has a 'track' cut from the center of it, with two notches at either end of the track. A screw is placed into this track and then secured into the body of the loom. Another screw is placed through a hole at the end of the arm and screwed into the front beam. Because this track does not have any way of allowing the arm to come away from the body of the loom, it essentially means that the front beam can only be placed in an open or folded position -- it can't be lowered. If you want to lower the front beam, you need to remove the screw that holds the arm to the front beam, or remove the screw that holds the arm to the body of the loom.
ReplyDelete