This is the basic loom model information which is collected for the larger database. These entries form the underlying choices on the Home>>My Profile>>Add My Loom section for people's personal looms. They show the generic models rather than each possible configuration of a model (4S, 8S, 12S; 4 treadles, 6 treadles, 14 treadles) a manufacturer might make available. After someone adds a loom here, a moderator looks at the entry and compares it to the existing database for duplication, and to other known information for accuracy and completeness. When it has been fully evaluated, the moderator adds any new information to the underlying database.
The information collected here is:
Loom Model
Manufacturer
Loom Type [choose from pull down menu with following choices: 2 Bar Non-Tapestry, Backstrap, Draw, Frame (includes Weavettes and Tri-Looms, Inkle, Rigid Heddle, Table (levers or treadle), Tapestry, Treadles - Modern, Treadles - Primitive, Other]
Shedding Motion [choose from pull down menu with following choices: counterbalance, countermarch, dobby, jack, pull-up, sinking shed, other]
Loom Mechanism [choose from pull down menu with following choices: computer, hand-picked, heddle bar (inkle looms), heddle rod/stick (tapestry and 2 bar looms, levers, punch cards, treadles, other]
URL to Manufacturer's site [for this loom in particular?]
Description
Upload Photo
What changes would be helpful in setting up the master list? What is missing, incorrect, or confusing? I will put my suggestions in a separate post.
Laurie Autio
Hi Laurie,
I find this setup pretty easy to understand.
Thoughts and questions.
I would add some way for a user to search by number of shafts; "I want to buy an 8 shaft loom. Who makes them and who has one here that I can check out?"
How will we know if the shedding motion information is accurate? Do we take it from the manufacturer? I ask because I had to really look at my AVL to see how it worked instead of following my first instinct of "it's a rising shed, it must be a jack like my Artisat.
"URL to manufacturer's site [for this loom in particular?] This will have to depend on the specific loom since so many looms are no longer made. My AVL Modular is mentioned in describing their Home Loom but is nowhere else on their site.
What is the difference between treadle - modern and treadle - primitive? Do they function differently? My ignorance here.
Carie
I can't answer all your questions Carie, but here are some:
I agree about searching for looms by number of shafts. If I decide I want a 16 shaft table loom, I want to find all manufacturers who have that. I think the only way to make that work would be to include a field for max # shafts for a particular loom model.
The loom moderators need to check each loom entry to make sure it's accurate before it's added to the loom database. The question is, how much should be forced on the user in their My Looms entry? Should the moderators have the right to edit the information for their personal loom? That's something that has been discussed while loom moderation was getting set up. I think we need to make sure (as much as we can) that My Loom information is correct also to avoid confusing others.
Since manufacturers change their web site design, the only way we could include a url to that specific model would be to have the manufacturer be responsible for keeping it up-to-date. I seriously doubt we could rely on them to remember to do that, since it's so easy to forget. I think we have to rely on the manufacturer to make it easy to find a specific loom once the user is directed to their web site.
Hi Tina,
Adding my voice to the chorus in favor of searchability by number of shafts.
Your point about links to manufacturer sites is well taken – a link to the page for a specific model is subject to change and we might well find ourselves doing link housekeeping if we wanted our database to stay current. Much better to link to the manufacturer's homepage and let people navigate to the loom they want from there. That would work for the great majority of looms in the database.
However, it occurs to me that there are loom models still in use and still circulating amongst weavers, but no longer manufactured. It makes sense to me to have these looms in the database, because looms can last pretty near forever, so there will always be weavers wanting to know about them. For these looms perhaps we should include a link to another source of info, if one exists, instead of – or in addition to – the URL of the manufacturer. Does that sound good to everyone?
As for the My Loom information question, I wonder. It seems to me that one's personal loom entries (the ones on your profile) needn't be as rigorously correct as the main loom database. The profile is the place for people to write chatty entries and list the quirks or modifications of their personal loom, or make multiple entries if, for example, they have three Baby Wolfs (Wolves? *g*) and wish to list each one. If those personal looms are created using the Search feature on the form, then their loom will have a link to the main database, meaning that any viewer can click through to the main database entry for that loom model (archetype) and be assured of info as full and complete as we can make it. Does that make sense to you?
