At the end of the day, when all I want to do is to sit down, listen to an audiobook, and weave a bit, loom wrestling is a bit of a put off. But sometimes it must be done. In the case of getting my table loom dressed to start weaving my rag rug, the problem was the extra heddles.
Using the full width of a reed meant the extra heddles were in the way. The warp needs to travel straight back from front to back beams. The extra heddles become an obstacle that push the warp to the side and mess up the tension. The solution is to remove them from the heddle bars.
I find removing heddles super easy on my Glimakra, but the table loom is another matter. Each shaft consists of an upper and lower heddle bar, held in place by a screw.
 |
| Top heddle bar |
 |
| Bottom heddle bar |
Okay, so just remove the screws, remove the heddles, and replace the screws. Piece of cake, right? Except that the screws were pretty much frozen in place. Thankfully, not rusted, but considering the loom is circa 1960s, it's not inconceivable that they are stuck.
I tried oiling them, but that didn't work. So I oiled again and left to sit overnight. Still stuck.
It finally occurred to me to try loosening the screw from the back. I grasped the metal tab with pliers and wiggled it one way and the other until the screw loosened. Then I could unscrew it with a screwdriver. Once the extra heddles were removed, I had to put the heddle shafts back together again. This would have been easier if I had three hands, but eventually I got it.
So, after a bit of loom wrestling, I finally got it warped. And the warp is tensioned and hemstitched.
I'm finally ready to weave.
Loom Wrestling © August 2024
by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal
Related posts:
Bathroom Rag Rug: Planning
8 comments:
This tip may be a little late. When I move heddles around, I use zip ties through the top and bottom of the heddles. I slide the zip tie in place before removing the heddles from the heddle bars. That way they stay in order and are all facing the same way for when I am ready to return them to the loom.
I thought about tying the groups together when I removed them, but by that time I was frustrated and just wanted it done, lol. Zip ties would be a good idea. I'll have to get some.
That is a great idea. I was going to suggest new screws.
TB, it's odd that they have no nut, but are so short that they barely fit through the two layers of steel. But they work!
Ah, the battle of heddles! I ran out of tie down heddles on Shaft 2 the other day. Contemplated introducing Shaft 10 to the mix as I was only using 9 of the 16 shafts, and manipulating draft files would have been a no brainer, but wondered if it might cause tension difference later, so moved 50 from 16 to 2. No screws involved, would have been dead easy, except, like you, lacking the third hand, I could hold only the top loops of texsolv in order, so. I ended up having to install them one by one by one. At least I know they are not... crossed, is that the word??? Cheers to our successes without that crucial third hand.
Oh, no, my overly long "missing a third hand in the battle with the heddles" comment got eaten up?? Well, then a simple congrats on safe removal of extras should do. Congrats! Well done.
Meg, not eaten up. Just time delayed. :)
Good question about the tension. Any little thing can make a difference, can't it? I'm wishing I had some of those heddles that can be inserted in between as needed, or easily removed as needed. But, we just have to work with what we've got!
Amen to that!
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