Well........I discovered another crack near where the original crack was discovered on the upper part of my Varpa beater bar. I really think that I should replace it. I know no woodworker with the skill needed to make a new one. I don't want one identical because I believe that the area wasn't designed thick enough where the crack happened, and that's probably why the crack happened. Should maybe I get a whole new overhung beater assembly from Toika or Glimakra?
As I read your post, I was thinking it might be a good idea to get in touch with Joanne Hall at Glimakra and see if she can help you with a replacement from a Glimakra loom.
Hope that works out for you. It sounds like a replacemtn is due.
Good luck,
Claudia
Yes, I will do that. Thanks
I think it's best, the bar in question has had a good run for the money just the same. Replacement of such things is neccessary at times. ;)
The Halls are a great resource and very good to deal with. They can tell you definitely whether a Glimakra beater would work. The uprights on the Glimakra beaters are more set in, I think - so the normal 100 cm. beater may not fit your beater cradles.
I do not think you can say the piece is too thin. If it were a matter of bad design, there would be plenty of other varpa owners complaining about exactly the same problem. I doubt very much that the damage happened from normal use. My guess is that it was either stored and/or shipped incorrectly, or that a previous owner tried to weight the bar for heavy rug weaving and damaged it.
And it still may not affect weaving. I'm with Kerstin on this -- don't assume there's a problem until you've done some weaving. The only way to tell what you love or loath about the loom is to beam, do the tie-up and weave - preferably at full capacity (shafts and treadles).
Barring that, you can always sell it to me. Seriously, I regret not buying your loom when I had the chance -- beater bar and all.
MaryMartha, you had a chance to buy MY loom or one LIKE my loom?
The cracks (I've counted 3 now in the same area) are from the stress of beating. Maybe a former owner did add weight to the beater which made more stress on the area than it was designed for. I didn't think of that. I have seen some photos of some other brands of CM loom's beater bars, and some are thicker than mine in the area where mine cracked.
MM, I appreciate your offer for my loom, but you see, she and I have developed this "relationship"............;)
THANKS for everyone's input. I'm going to find out if I can get another one, but I think that for now, my hubby is going to try to patch mine together and reinforce it so at least I can weave. I don't know if it will hold when I'm doing rag rugs, but that is in the future. For a while I just want to make lighter things to get familiar with the loom.
Candace
My old workhorse (unknown age, probably >100) has a much thinner betaer top than has my Glimåkra (not to mention the AVL, but that also has bolts)...
Candace, I corresponded with a woman in Oregon last Fall who was selling a Varpa Karelia of the same dimensions. At the time, I wasn't in a position to buy. I assumed it was the same loom. Interesting to think there might be two. The only other one I've heard of was in Japan.
Happy weaving!
Hey MaryMartha,
I purchased mine from a lovely lady that lived on the Central Oregon coast in early Dec. of last year. She was injured in a car wreck in the mid 80's and had kept the loom for all these years hoping someday that she would recover enough to weave again, but never did. She was moving to Calif. and didn't want to move it again knowing that she couldn't use it. I promised her that I would take good care of it. Maybe it was the same one?
Take Care!
As someone who nearly bought a Karelia 30+ years ago - they were quite a popular model in Europe as they have a shorter footprint than most countermarche looms, yet have full sized timbers. I went with a Lillqvist Lilba - similar construction and for sweat equity helping a friend start a shop got a nice discount.
Seems the Finlandia was more popular here, but the Karelia is anything but a rare loom type.
You're right, Sara, I have seen many photos of Varpa looms on the internet and all have been Finlandias with the exception of one Karelia. I think that most of the photos were from the US. Maybe the Karelias are rare in the US?
(Scratch the pic question, I just saw them in the group post)
Was a picture of these cracks posted? I find in my Toika & Varpa's there would sometimes be a hairline crack or two in the wood but it was never an issue. That crack would be hard to fill. I like Sally's idea of using a dowel to "brace" from the inside. The wood on these looms is pretty strong, I would keep working with it but just occassionally monitor any changes. Have you considered switching to underslung? (I use both styles).
Dawn
