I am a new weaver, my aunts just gave me a 4 harness counterbalance Leesburg rug loom at Thanksgiving. After getting it home, I had a little trouble figuring out why my harnesses didn't hang straight. I changed a lot of things, one of them being the treadle tie ups, trying to figure it out. It turned out it the heddles were just threaded wrong, and after I fixed that, the harnesses were straight. My problem is, I know in order to weave more than tabby, I am going to have to tackle those rods that tie the treadles to the lamms again. They were really hard to work with, and I am thinking of changing them to the texsolv cord. First, I need to know if that is even possible, and second, since it is foremost a rug loom, do I need to use the heavy texsolve cord for treadle tie ups, or will the regular cord do? I'd like to ask for the cord for my birthday next week, if someone has an opinion. I know this is probably a ridiculous question, but I just don't have anyone to ask.

Comments

Tue, 02/07/2012 - 05:42

Cat Brysch

if you are determined to use that....be sure it's the heavy weight! Or, might you consider using chain? I forget the set-up for the tie-ups....are there screw eyes at the bottom of the lamms and top of the treadles to connect them?  You might also consider using moderately heavy cord or light-weight rope. There are many possibilities....it would be most helpful if you would let us know what hardware is used to connect the lamms to the treadles....

Tue, 02/07/2012 - 15:41

mamagarrett (not verified)

The hardware is a small steel rod, with a little nut at the top of the lamm and another under the treadle.  There are two for each treadle. At this point, the little nuts are hard to unscrew. I have to hold the bottom with one hand, using a little piece of baking silicone to keep a secure grip, and then use a rachet wrench to get the nut off the top. Then you have to lift the treadle up and slide the steel rod out at an angle, shimmy it in where you want it, and then reverse the ratchet and silicone bit. All of this while laying on the floor, because there is no way to sit up and reach all the pieces.  The siren call of the texsolv, once I learned about it and figured out what it did, has been very loud. However, I will resist if it is not a good idea.

I hit the parts I was unscrewing with a bit of WD-40, trying to loosen ithem up some, but they are still very difficult to undo.

Tue, 02/07/2012 - 17:11

Cat Brysch

I need a photo here or maybe two...is that possible? I had a Leesburg years ago, but it didn't have this tie-up. This does sound like torture! I know we could come up with a better way to use what's there, but with some other form of tie-up method or material.

Tue, 02/07/2012 - 18:17

mamagarrett (not verified)

Okay, I hope these help.  Please ignore the mess under there, haven't run the vacuum today!

This is the top of the lamms.

And the underneath side of the treadle. There is a groove cut all the way through the middle of each treadle, it seems, and then this metal bar on the underneath side is what keeps the tie up bars in place.

 

 

Tue, 02/07/2012 - 20:28

WeaverDave (not verified)

but not impossible.  The problem would be to anchor the texsolve cords through the slots in the bottom pedals.  The nuts on the ends of the rods do that for you now.  So when you press a pedal, the slot catches the nut and pulls the lamb down.

You could just use a texsolve peg to hold the cord in place on the bottom side of the metal plate.  That would allow the slot to pull the cord down. The cord would just bend down instead of sliding through the holes like the metal rods when pulled by other pedals.  You would probably want to use the thicker size loop cord.

You could test this with some clothes line.  Tie a big knot in the end, loop it through the metal plate and slot, and then tie it up through where the metal rod goes through the lamb.  You will need another knot to hold it in place on the lamb.  Then try the pedal and watch what happens. 

You may just want to have the rods and nuts fixed by a local machine shop.  (Or good friend with machine tools.)  You may only need to have the nuts unstuck and the threads cleaned up with a die.  The other option would be to get replacement rods and nuts.  I wouldn't want to put too much silicone spray on them in case they would slip off.

 

Tue, 02/07/2012 - 20:45

mamagarrett (not verified)

what kind of tie up did your Leesburg have?

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 05:46

Cat Brysch

WeaverDave...I think his solution is right on the mark and is very much like what I would have fashioned. My old Leesburg did not have slots in the treadles at all and had cords with a tie-up very much like you could do with the texsolv. But I would just consider using some cord....something non-slippery, like a strong cotton cord or small-ish rope....the rope could be knotted at the ends with tight-fitting washers are the "locks". The current system you have certainly looks nice and neat, but I can see how you would have to lay down under there to perform the task...yuck. Now, if you plan to make one tie-up change a year, I'd say it's worth using the system as is, but if you plan to change tie-ups often, I'd make some changes! Another thing to consider is that, with WeaverDave's idea, you would be able to preserve the loom's original tie-up system for resale purposes (save all parts and take care of them). Please let us know if you try the cord for a test and how it goes, okay? 

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 05:48

mamagarrett (not verified)

Yeah, I will definitely keep the rods in case I ever sale the loom ( but I don't plan to, I love it!) but I think I am going to try the cord. If it doesn't work, I can put the rods back on.
Wed, 02/08/2012 - 16:19

Cat Brysch

I am now finding myself under my old Structo Artcraft floor loom and I was thinking of YOU! It never occurred to me that I could tell you about my tie-up for my old Structo.  I use jack chain.  The end of the chain on the treadle is permanently attached, and the other end is adjustable. I still agree with WeaverDave about trying the cord first...it's cheap and fast and will tell you what you need to know. I know you are going to find cord that fits into the current holes where the rods fit now....if cord works for you, be sure to adjust the lengths of the tie-ups to your preference then measure that lengthfrom the top of the treadle to the bottom of the lamm (to have that information to use with whatever you chose). Another thought... some weavers like their treadles to reach all the way to the floor when the treadle is completely pushed down for weaving. Others have found that the best shed can be acheived when the treadle is parallel to the floor...more experimenting is needed to see what gives you the best shed.  Please let us know how you are doing. I can tell you more about the jack chain later, if you wish and can send photos to show how I make them adjustable and removeable....I even have an idea about how to connect them to your current treadle arrangement with the slot and the metal plate under the treadle...but for now....go for and experiment!

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 16:27

mamagarrett (not verified)

I will certainly let you know how this evolves. I keep looking at the chain that attaches the lamms to the harnesses and thinking that they could have used something like that to attach the treadles.  I guess I will just have to experiment.  The treadle business doesn't stop me from loving this loom, though.  I've always wanted to learn to weave, I remember playing under a loom as my aunts and grandma wove on one when I was little, but I never thought I would own one.  So pleased with this one! I'm having so much fun!

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 22:19

ReedGuy

The nuts on your threaded rods are lock nuts. They usually have teflon inside to resist turning from vibration and such. It beats using two nuts tightened against one another. Now that would be frustrating on all those rods. ;)

If I had a choice between keeping dry and warm working on a loom and being out in the rain cutting brush with a brush saw I think I'd be weaving to. That's for another thread. ;)

Sat, 08/01/2015 - 16:14

unclemiltie123

Have you ever seen ball chain used as treadle tie up? I saw on YouTube a women showing how to set up here floor look. When she got to the tie up, hers had ball chain. I never saw what name her look was, but it was a jack look. Who builds a jack look with ball chain for the tie up?

Sun, 09/27/2015 - 13:28

James Carroll

This is a little off topic. Please forgive me. I could not discover how to create a new topic. Advice on how to do this would be appreciated. I am new to weaving and to this forum.

I have just finished building my first floor  loom. It is a 4 shaft counter balance loom with 6 treadles. It is working well on my first project, a plain weave scarf with multi-colour yarn (just to test it out).

My treadles are tied up 1,3   1,2   2,3  3,4   1,4  2,4.   I found a project draft that I would like to try next but while the same combinations of shafts are used they are tied up in a different order.

Question. Is it better to change the tie up or change the pedal sequence in the draft?

Sun, 09/27/2015 - 15:13

kerstinfroberg

Either works. Myself, I prefer to tie up for the easiest treadling ("easy" as in how I prefer to treadle - some like to use both feet, some don't and so on).

(Also, changing the tieup for each warp will make you better/faster at tieing up and adjusting the sheds... which will help every time the existing tieup will not do)

Tue, 03/28/2017 - 17:04

Rockoteer

The Harrisville looms use ball chain.  You can order the complete ball chain tie ups on their Web Site.