New Strings Attached!

Spring is a traditional time for cleaning and spiffing up one's home and perhaps if you are ambitious, one's studio. I sell many apron re-string kits and I will admit it....I have never put one on my looms. So when asked for advice or help, I usually stammer, guess or refer folks to Eddie.

This week I asked Eddie if I could come over and take some photos of how he puts the string aprons on new looms. So here you go weavers, a step by step tutorial of replacing those worn out or frayed apron strings.

Here is a scanned copy of the instructions that come with the re-string kit. 

First you will need to make a template. This should be a board as wide as your loom that has a series of tacks at 2" intervals.


Here's a photo of the one from the shop that Edie uses. You will place this template on the top of the loom castle. Secure it with clamps or tie it down.

On a plain beam draw a pencil line that is straight from left to right. You might find a line that was drawn at the factory. This is the line that the tacks will be place on. For a sectional beam turn the beam so that the sections to be tacked are nearly vertical. Clamp the beam so that it cannot turn.

This is the beam on Eddie's work bench. Yours will just stay on the loom. And the template will be attached to the castle.

Here's the whole set up in the shop. To set the tacks into the beam you will need a hammer and some muscle, or an electric staple gun with 3/8" staples.

Beginning at the gear (brake) end, tack down the end on the pencil line. Tie a knot to secure the tack and the string.

Then loop up to the template and go around the first nail. 

Then back down to the beam, and tack down the string.

Secure it with a knot around the tack. Pull the string down to create a secure join at the tack.

Repeat this up and down motion with the apron string. Staple and knot at the beam. This is not a difficult job. But it does require some set up to achieve satisfactory results. Just like weaving!!

Once you have gone from one edge of the beam the the other. You will secure the end on the beam with a double knot.  The looped ends that are on the template will now be placed on the apron rod in a larks head slip knot. 

I hope this helps those of you who are tackling this job, or those who are contemplating doing it.

So have fun! Happy Weaving!

Sarah

Happy Birthday Blog!!

There are many reasons to celebrate this week! First of all we celebrate the one year birthday of the "Macomber Looms and Me" blog.   

Happy Birthday!! Thanks to everyone for your kind words of support. I celebrate with you the power of community and the sharing of ideas/information to help us all be better weavers and better human beings!

And another celebration is due...I cut off the "Tree of Life" commission from my loom. The cutting off of any weaving is always a bit nerve wracking, nervous tension as well as anticipation and excitement. There is still a fair amount of embroidery and finishing to do, but here it is in the raw.




And finally here is a photo of a part some folks ask me about ~ the warp separator for double weaving. This part keeps your two warps from riding over each other and causing problems as you advance one warp and not the other.

Happy Weaving....and another reason to celebrate...it is officially spring!

Happy Spring!!
 Sarah

New tricks for an old-ish weaver!

OK...I'll admit it, well ...no, not my age...but the fact that I have been weaving for over 40 years...can this be true??  And for over 30 of those years I have woven on Macomber Looms. Well, this week I learned a new trick for my loom! (By the way my loom is 35 years old!)

Fellow weaver Morgan Clifford sent these pics to me. I will give her credit for this wonderful technique of safely viewing your work in progress. As you can see in the photos, simply unhitch the front breast beam by lifting the side arms up. Then release the dog/ratchet system, and unroll your work for a preview. Let the weight of the breast beam roll the work out with even tension.

When you are done admiring your beautiful work, use the cloth advance handle to crank up the work. Let the weight of the breast beam create the tension you need to rewind the work in progress to a healthy tension.

Such a brilliant and beautiful idea! Thanks Morgan! Thanks Christy (the weaver in the photos) for sharing your beautiful rug in-process!

Happy weaving from Maine where the crocuses are getting plump and ready to pop open!
Sarah

Mystery part number one

My weaver friend Al out in Seattle sent me a photo of this part.

And here it is on my loom. This part is the cloth beam advance handle. When not in use it hangs freely from the cloth beam , between the ratchet and the right hand support for the cloth beam. When you want to advance the cloth beam, you push it into the ratchet and lift up, engaging the teeth of the ratchet with the handle.

 

Hope this solves the mystery Al!

CP brakes and a TLC gallery

Oh you wonderful weavers! Thank you for all the great images of your looms that have been lovingly restored. I will post a few here for viewing pleasure and perhaps a bit of inspiration for those of us who are contemplating a TLC effort!

Plus here is an extra bonus, a photo of the CP sectional friction brake system, as requested by a fellow weaver. Enjoy!! And happy weaving! 

A CP in California that has been restored.

Gertie, the lovingly restored vintage 1950s loom in upstate NY.

I will post more images soon. I also have a few images of adaptations that weavers have made to their looms. So stay tuned. Meanwhile...happy weaving!

Sarah

Sit up Straight!

Mother was right. Good posture is important, especially when you are using your body in a repetitive motion such as weaving. I know from personal experience how extremely important ergonomics and good body mechanics are.

In 1990, after weaving for 20 years, I ruptured a disc in my lower back. The physicians agreed it was from the repetitive motion of weaving, the lifting of heavy harnesses and twisting associated with throwing the shuttle. So my advice comes from experience.

Here is an article that I wrote for Handwoven Magazine, March April 1993. You can read what I learned and how I made the necessary changes, so that now, 20 years later I am weaving with no pain, no problems and a healthy back. Click on the article and you can read it!

I made two significant changes in my studio after the back injury. I switched to an air dobby, so with the 56" loom I no longer use my legs and lower back to power up the harnesses. You can read more about this system in a March 2009 blog posting.

The other adaptation I made was to have a woodworker friend build me a 60" wide bench with a sliding seat. This bench is magnificent, the seat glides across the width of my loom allowing me to catch and throw shuttles without the twisting ordinarily found in this motion. This was a custom built bench, but with a bit of research, I bet you can find a happy woodworker to make you one!

I also find that a daily practice of some kind of stretching is crucial to maintaining good body health. (I practice yoga.) I LOVE to weave, so I am faithful to the changes I have made. These changes make the difference to me between weaving with a healthy back and not weaving at all. What do you do??

PS~~~ We have had a streak of bad weather here. Lost power for 3 days. The shop is still closed as of today (Mar 1st). So for those of you waiting for quote, info or a response from me...hang in there!

CP brakes, something old with the new, and a pronounciation lesson

Thanks to everyone for their questions, curiosity and support for my efforts with all things Macomber.

First off, today I want to explain how to pronounce the name of our looms...it is MAY-cum-ber.  Rhymes with cucumber. I don't mind how anyone pronounces it, but since someone asked me yesterday, I thought I'd share this tidbit with you.

Now for the technical news. A weaver has asked for an image of the back warp brake system for the CP. Here is the way a ratchet brake system is set up, with the release on the castle.

The brake release on the castle.

As you can see the spring is attached to the upright with one screw. The "dog" is attached with one screw also. The dog is the metal part that sits down in the clogs of the ratchet. The spring holds the dog down and engaged with the ratchet to create the brake system.

The chain goes from the dog to the wire brake release on the castle.When you pull the wire forward you pull the chain which pulls up the dog and releases the brake.


And lastly, I have a weaver in NY who has one of the oldest looms that I am selling parts for. I believe that it is a 1950s vintage. It is weaving beautifully thanks to tender loving care by this weaver. Here's a quote for her latest email:
"We took out all the side wires and straightened and cleaned them. When reinstalling the wires, we discovered that there ARE jack bumpers, though perhaps also of 1950s vintage and in need of replacement. Interestingly, they were installed on the vertical side of the wood jack stop block, not on the surface under the jacks — no wonder the jacks were not level! For now we installed them in the right place, and voila, even as can be!

Also redid all the chains so every hook faces the same direction and all the chains are equally long with no twists. It looks so neat!!  And the harnesses line up just like little soldiers. There is a verrrry slight tilt to the back, as you said there would be, but only noticeable with a level, not with the eye.

Speaking of eyes, the heddle eyes are now about 1.5" below the front and back beams. We had to go back and add one link to each chain to accomplish that, but I thought it was well worth the extra time.  All the lamms are in their correct slots now; and I snugged up superhooks, too."

And just to illustrate that you can blend the old with the new, here is an image of the lamms on this older loom, with the new super tie-up hooks. This is what I recommend to all weavers who have the old style lamms and hooks, swtich to the newer super hooks and use them this way. You will be happier. And speaking of which, isn't that what we all long for...to be happier and to be weaving with a well functioning loom!


Happy weaving to all ~ Sarah