I have one more hanging beater bar question:  I have noticed a 3 in. crack in the top of the beater bar right beside the upright.  Is this a big problem?  Should I leave it, or should I repair it?  What would be the best way to repair it?

thanks again

Candace

Comments

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 03:49

MaryMartha

In terms of weaving, I don't see that the crack will make a difference. The top piece is there to add some weight, and also to hold the reed steady in the beater.  The crack is at the back.  I'm betting it won't affect the orientation of the reed, which is what matters.

On the other hand, the crack creates a point of stress which could get worse over time.  If it ever got bad enough that the corner of the top piece broke off, that might be more serious.

Oh the joys of a loom that hasn't been made in 20 years or so.

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 04:09

celtinbirks

MaryMartha,

Actually, the crack is in the FRONT.  I haven't turned the beater around yet as per your suggestion. 

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 04:12

SallyE (not verified)

If I were going to repair this, I'd do two things.   First, I'd gently pry the crack open a little - just enough to be able to use some thin, fine tool to get some wood glue in there.   I'd clamp it overnight to let it set.  Don't clamp too tight or it will just squeeze the glue out and it won't work.

Second, I'd get some oak dowel at Home depot, and a drill bit the same diameter.   I'd drill a hole (or a couple of holes) perpendicular to the crack, insert glue into the hole, and pound the dowel in.   Let this all dry and then cut the dowel off even with the surface and sand, finish, etc.  The dowel can go all the way through or not - depending on exactly where the crack is.   You might even be able to put the dowel in from the back but not extending through and that will sort of hide it.  But this should be done to maximize strength, not looks.

If it were mine, I'd fix it now before it gets worse.

 

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 04:52

celtinbirks

Thanks for the input, SallyE.  How large of a diameter dowel should I get?  The beater bar top where the crack is 3 in. high and 2 1/4 in. deep.

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 15:30

SallyE (not verified)

You can get anything betweek 1/4" and 1/2".   Also make sure to use actual wood glue, not just Elmers.

 

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 15:39

SallyE (not verified)

If you don't drill the hole all the way through, then it can be difficult to put the dowel in because there is an air bubble in the hole working against you.    So, you can either sand one side of the dowel a little or cut a little groove in the dowel (exacto knife), lengthwise.   That gives the air and the excess glue someplace to come out as the dowel goes in.

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 15:56

mrdubyah (not verified)

I think I would skip the dowel and use a high tensile strength bonding agent like gorilla glue.  Gorilla glue expands while drying so it will completely fill the crack.  Remember that gorilla glue holds only with the strength at which it is clamped so you'll have to clamp it very tightly if you want a good bond.  The glue will foam and expand out of the crack as it dries.  That will look a little weird during the drying process, but leave it alone until it is completely dry (overnight).  Then, after it dries, you can remove the excess with a sharp knife for a nice clean bond that will be stronger than the original wood.

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 17:31

ReedGuy

What kind of wood? Some cracks are from drying (surface checking) and some from the stress put on it. Often a surface check will travel a long way in a piece and just about split the wood in two over time. I can't see much from the photo besides the floor. Your too close to the subject, use macro.

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 23:00

celtinbirks

Hi

The crack is a stress crack and the wood is Finnish birch.  There is a better photo in the next post.

thanks

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 23:42

ReedGuy

It's going to be a challenge to get the glue in the crack. Often it just goes about 1/8" and just forms a thin skin that won't do much. If you had a needle nosed applicator than you could insert to inject the glue it would be more successful. Now that being said, I have lots of lumber and tools here so I would be inclined to make a new piece. But not everyone has the luxury or skills. Most glues will staight it's not intended for use where there is going to be a lot of load on the joint. It's true that the glue is stronger than the bond of wood cells, but the wood will/can tear above the glue surface just the same. The piece might just have been an inferior piece of wood or was damaged some way. Birch in itself is not inferior but the grain orientation, other growth factors and how it was dried may effect it's strength.

Yes I see your stress crack now in the photo. You might end up replacing it eventually. It looks significant.

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 23:15

celtinbirks

The loom was built in the 70's, and I believe that the area with the crack is a fairly high stress point only when beating hard things like rugs. If I try to use a needle nosed applicator to apply the glue, could it possibly hold up?  Would the above suggestion by SallyE with the peg make it any stronger?  I don't really have the tools to make a new piece and the loom company has been out of business for decades.  If my repair somehow doesn't hold, a piece from Toika or Glimakra might possibly fit, but it scares me to think about how much that would cost $$$$.  You want to make me a piece if the repair doesn't hold? ;)

thanks again

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 23:43

ReedGuy

All you can do is give it a try, won't be out much.

It gets pricey because there are several steps to make that, even if it looks simple. And requires different tools in the process. A piece of wood like that is $3.50 a board foot kilned and rough. Then anything done do it beyond that adds more value. It really isn't just a piece of wood once you are involved in machining it. ;)

Sun, 02/12/2012 - 20:20

MaryMartha

 Does the crack show from the bottom or side?  The Finnish birch is very dense -- similar to maple.  The top piece floats. It holds the reed and provides a handrest for pivoting the beater forward.  There would be some stress from beating, but I suspect it would be pretty minimal, and distributed across the 40+" length of the beater.  Unless you have your heart set on weaving heavy rugs full width...

Here are some pics of the bottom and side view from my (nearly identical) loom, which might give a better picture of the problem.  The back section of the cutout (at the top of the picture) is about 1.5 cm thick.

 

Sun, 02/12/2012 - 21:18

ReedGuy

Mary there will be stress at the joint in two ways. The impact of the beat as the bar will have a rolling force plus the swaying forces of the beater causing end twist. If I were to build that bar, I would have at least 1" of wood on either side of that slot. Depending of the species of birch, some splits easier than others.  And I can guarantee that to look at a piece of birch it could be any species because they can not be separated by visual inspection. They can be partially separated by weight and hopefully the same mositure using this method. A white birch is lighter than a yellow birch at 12 % MC. Dry hard maple is tough to split. And hard maple comes in two species: sugar and black. They are easily separated from red, silver, bigleaf and box elder. Black maple is mostly in the region around the shores of the eastern poartion of the Great Lakes. Of course it could be several miles from the shores but it has a very small range. The wood looks the same as sugar. Birch is often used because it's easier to machine and the denser birches are about the same weight as hard maple.

Mon, 02/13/2012 - 18:10

celtinbirks

There is no crack showing on the bottom, and it's hard to see if it is on the side.  The piece weighs about 7 pounds.   The area where it is cracked is only a fuzz over 1/2 in. deep.  It would have been a lot better it it was twice as thick.  It's interesting that the other side is so very thick.  Turning it around wouldn't be any better, though, because there is a groove close to the edge to hold the reed that would probably crack off soon if it was used backwards.  I sure would like to weave heavy rugs the full width of the loom.  I will try to repair it myself.  If it cracks again and becomes unusable, I'll just try to find someone to make me another one that is thicker in this area.  If I do have another one made, what type of wood should be used?  I paid about 1/2 the price for this than these looms usually sell for, so it would be worth the investment.

Thanks again!

Wed, 02/15/2012 - 12:32

ReedGuy

There is nothing wrong with using birch, but thicken it up. I would use hard maple if there was a choice. But you have to use what's available in your area. If you was to use maple, and with your loom being made of birch, the hard maple will look just fine and won't be noticed to the untrained eye. Make sure you use kilned or 3 years min air dried, straight grain and not near the pith of the log. You want to work with dry wood in the range of 8- 12 %. You can tell if your near pith by looking at the ends and there will be low angle rings. Flatter the rings, the better. Think arc of a circle, closer to the pith and the arc path is much shorter than going toward the outter edge of the log. Use "select" grade or better and this will eliminate guessing.

Wed, 02/15/2012 - 15:03

SallyE (not verified)

I really do think you could fix it if you just pegged it in a couple of places perpendicular to the crack. 

Wed, 02/15/2012 - 20:54

celtinbirks

thanks, friends for all your helpful suggestions!