I have a union 36 that I have been using since I got it with 30 year old warp.  Having practiced and ready now to try my hand with some different warp, I un warped the loom.  There are about five broken dowels on the sectional beam.  One has been replaced with a nail, the others simply have remnants of various lengths.  Needless to say, this was causing some problems with tension and is one of the reasons I decided to go ahead and change out now.  I will also be changing to eyelet heddles as long as I'm in repair mode, since many of the heddles are bent and some are rusted.  I will also be replacing the chain that hangs the shafts, as one was replaced at some point and they are not quite exactly the same, and the frames will not hang straight, no matter what.  As you can see in the picture all of the dowels have the front face chipped or worn off where they strike the brake.  Oh, also the last few inches of one of the beam sections has a crack in it, that doesn't go all the way through.  It appers to have been there a long time.   I don't know if this could be a problem or not.

Suggestions are welcomed for the best way to fix this, and any other suggestions while I have it down for servicing.

 

union 36 sectional beam cracked beam

 

Comments

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 06:09

Cat Brysch

I would finish the break (if I couldn't pull them out with pliers) or use a small saw and bring down to level, then clean out the hole with a drill one size smaller than the dowel size...then replace with new dowels. On my old Structo Artcraft floor loom, so many were missing or damaged that I did this with all of them ...even stained them, so they would match.

Wed, 03/28/2012 - 22:56

heyjewel

I had broken dowels too.  I am lucky to have a brother who made new ones using oak dowels.  He removed the section of the beam that had broken dowels and took it with him to repair.  So I did not watch and see how he removed the old and put in the new.

Wed, 03/28/2012 - 22:56

heyjewel

Changing to the big eyed heddles was the smartest improvement I made to my Union.  I only wish I had done it in the beginning.  Adding a counter was the next best addition.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 12:42

cindybeck@mind…

do u know anyone that does wood working? They will be able to fix the issues with the beam. U did say there was a issue with the tension. I know when I got mine who ever put the warp on the beam did it in the wrong direction. The break kep jumping off and the warp got all tangled. This caused the warp in areas to be loose. This also caused a few of the pegs to loosen and chip. One broke off. So please be sure u have warped the beam right. Here are some sites I found with info on the loom just in case u need it. smithdebnamlaw.com/pdf/union_custom_loom.pdf and www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/other/orc_loom.pdf hope this helps.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 12:42

cindybeck@mind…

do u know anyone that does wood working? They will be able to fix the issues with the beam. U did say there was a issue with the tension. I know when I got mine who ever put the warp on the beam did it in the wrong direction. The break kep jumping off and the warp got all tangled. This caused the warp in areas to be loose. This also caused a few of the pegs to loosen and chip. One broke off. So please be sure u have warped the beam right. Here are some sites I found with info on the loom just in case u need it. smithdebnamlaw.com/pdf/union_custom_loom.pdf and www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/other/orc_loom.pdf hope this helps.

Sat, 04/07/2012 - 04:18

jenjscott

I got it all put back together, I am afraid I still may have some issues with tension, but I already have that scoped out and am working on my first rug.  I replaced the broken sectional dividers, lengthened the chains to the shafts so the ends would run straight from beam to beam in neutral position.  added to the chains from the treadles to the shafts and set them straight, they were pulling sideways on the shafts every time I changed sheds.  Made sure I wound the warp in the right direction.  Now I will see how it goes.

Jen

Sat, 04/07/2012 - 05:49

laurafry

Sounds like you've done a good job of trouble shooting.  Hope the next bit goes smoothly!  :)

cheers,

Laura

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