Ok, I’m stymied. If anyone out there has a picture or could post a few pictures, i’d be forever grateful. I have an older AVL PDL. It has the cloth storage take up system with the weight on the outside of the loom, on the track.

This is slightly different than my A-Series and i'm going gray over not being able to figure it out!

My problem is that I can see how the cord routes, but the minute I start winding the weight from the bottom, the bottom rod that the aprons goes under to the front of the loom POPS off! Also, in my A-Series, I had a pin that would go through the back drum holding it in place. On this loom there’s a pawl and rachet system.

If you have this older loom, would you be so kind as to take and post a picture of the outside pulley system and at the back of the loom so I can see how you’re stabilizing the tension and holding it on the cloth take up beam?

I hate being mechanically challenged!

Thank you!!

 

Comments

kerstinfroberg

My loom has that system.

The lower front roller (right side), seen from the back:

It has a secured pin (I'm sure there is an English word for this type pin, but my dictionary doesn't give it) on each side, which prevents the roller from "popping".

The cloth beam is just a metal tube (that can be taken out), which sits on the ratchet-and-pawl "hub", with a pin securing it from spinning free:

What I do when starting a new warp:

1. the weight should be secured at the top

2. route the apron (cloth beam pin out, to let out the apron)

3. when the apron is long enough, put the cloth beam pin back (to prevent the apron coming off)

4. tie on to the apron rod (by whatever method; the warp should be connected to the apron ready to take tension. If not, the apron will roll onto the cloth beam very fast, as the weight crashes to the ground)

4. let the weight "drop". Mine drops about 3-4 inches. When the  warp is forwarded, the weight drops further, until you decide to wind it up again with the handle.

At one point the spring had been somehow unwound (still inside the drum), and I could only weave a short distance until the weight had reached the bottom. To tighten the spring, I let the weight go to the bottom (still with a warp on, to maintain tension) and wound the cord manually onto the back drum. I did this several times. Since then the systen again works as it should, even if I can't remember how far I can weave until I have to wind the weight up.

Hope this helps!

Bonnie Inouye (not verified)

The pin that secures the black cloth storage roller is called a cotter pin. I had to replace one after moving my loom and they had an appropriate size at the hardware store.

Thanks for the description of winding the spring by moving the cord with a warp on the loom. I have successfully rewound and replaced the spring by taking that drum off the loom, but it needed two people to get it back in place with the metal spring in the right place and wound. Your method sounds a lot easier.

Bonnie

Mary Rios Lulich (not verified)

Kerstin and Bonnie,

Thank you. Those cotter pins and bolts are what i'm missing! I will puruse my extra stuff and hope they are around somewhere. Trip to the hardware may be in order tho! With that beam in place, i think it will work as intended. Something so silly! Thanks very much for taking time out of your day to help me.

Mary

kerstinfroberg

Thanks, Bonnie! There are so many special words that are hopeless to find in dictionaries... my looms have a lot more "thingies" in English than they have in Swedish. (Oddly enough, my first spinning language is English - thus, my spinning wheels have a lot more "thingies" in Swe than in Eng :-)

ConstanceC

Hello everyone!  This discussion as been most helpful already. I do not recall having cotter pins on the lower cloth roller, but there are definitely holes for them so I will be making a trip to the hardware store shortly.

I purchased my 48" PDL in 1993. We recently moved and rebuilt this loom for the 4th time.  Besides the roller popping as in the original post here, when I raise the weight with the handle back up to the top, the cord does not retract onto the cloth storage drum.  I have removed this drum several times to double check that the hook on the spring is attached to the small steel pin that sticks out of the loom frame. I have also replaced the bearing from AVL.

I appreciate any suggestions as I am unable to advance my warp, thus making weaving impossible.

Thanks for your time everyone!

Constance

Bonnie Inouye (not verified)

Constance, is the problem with the cloth storage system not working, or are you actually unable to advance the warp for some reason? It should be easy to advance the warp unless something is physically holding it in place.  The spring inside the drum for the cloth storage system is tricky, especially after moving the loom. But it should not hamper advancing the warp.

Bonnie

ConstanceC

Hi Bonnie,

Thanks for replying. I have things working fairly well now except that when I use the handle to raise the weight, the cord does not retract back onto the cloth storage drum. AVL says this is a simple mechanism and it should work. End of story. I have taken the drum off countless times to check the spring and make sure it catches on both metal pins, the one inside the drum and the one on the outside of the loom. Do you by any chance know what direction your metal spring curls? Mine goes counter-clockwise. Could this be the problem do you think?  Constancd

ConstanceC

Hi Bonnie,

I think it is the spring. I just looked at the drawing in the manual and I think my spring is in backwards.....

Thanks a bunch! It is amazing how helpful it is to talk with other AVL owners.  Have a good evening!

Constance

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