Is there a rough rule of thumb for the number of beaming sticks to use when beaming the warp?  e.g.circumference of the beam divide by 4 or 6 or 8 or more!!

Comments

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 17:03

kerstinfroberg

I was taught to put the sticks as near as possible to each other for the first round, then wind about 3 turns, then sticks at "every other place" (thus half the number of the first round) - 3 turns - stick round - 3 turns...

Don't have enough sticks? Use something other (stiff paper or something else you have to hand) for every second round of sticks.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 20:29

sally orgren

Great question! I think Kerstin's method would work well for most floor looms and is easy to remember.

On some older looms, the warp beam holds a lot, one complete crank equals nearly one yard. On more modern looms, the beams can be pretty puny. Table looms even more so! So beam circumference and clearance might need to be taken into consideration if adding lots of sticks that might increase the girth of the warp beam quickly.

My method is to pack the first complete round, with special care to cover the apron rod, lashing cord, warp knots, etc. to make a smooth base surface for the rest of the warp. The circumference of the warp beam on my floor loom is 9.5" and I may use 8-9 sticks for the first pass. (IMHO, you can NEVER have enough thin, smooth, packing sticks!)

After that, stiff paper or cardboard tubes (as found inside wrapping paper, slit along one side to slide over the warp) help tremendously. I don't use sticks quite as frequently as Kerstin's formula suggests, but I do feel the warp to make sure it is rock hard — I beam under great tension. (No mushy warps for me! ;-). I use the sticks to keep the selvedges from gradually spreading out toward the edges of the loom as the paper builds up.

On the table loom, I just don't have the space for so many sticks, as the circumference is only 4" (on a Voyager) and the clearance between warp beam and the back beam is less than 3" for build up. I typically beam a 3-5 yard sample warp, so I need to be judicious about using sticks in this particular application. I pack the base, then once someplace just before the middle of the warp and again in the last third, if I have room. Slit paper towel tubes work pretty well for thin but strong packing material on a table loom if you are not going the full width.

I also pack the cloth beam in front. Is that crazy? I discovered that when the knots go over the front beam of the loom and touch the cloth beam (especially on a table loom), it sometimes makes the fell line undulate for a few inches. By packing at the front when this happens, I make a smooth base as the cloth takes up, and feel I get more usable yardage out of my sample warps this way. Does anyone else do this?

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 21:00

normcgill (not verified)

I have slats from an old aluminium venetian blind which has been cut to the exact length of my beam. These slats have the same curve as the beam and have smooth edges. I place them closely for the first turn and space them evenly about every second round, not on top of each other. On the cloth beam they touch for the first round and then I dont use anymore unless there is some uneven-ness in the weave. These are light,even and thin. A bit noisy when they drop as the weaving is advanced! I can put up with that!

Norma

Sat, 01/07/2012 - 12:01

Mike (not verified)

Thanks to all of you. Some good guidance there. Mike