Hi Michael,
I am a new weaver and see from the macomber group that you are the GURU to all. I just bought a new to me 40” macomber 12 harness loom with a double back beam.
I am trying to put on a warp and seem to be making tons and tons of threading mistakes. I am threading f2b. Would you have any tips or tricks to help me? This warp is only 4 shafts for the ‘so simple towels’ from handwoven.
Thank you in advance
Lori

Lori,
Michael is going to post this to the group and hopefully some of the ftb weavers can help you out.
I have always warped back to front and find that soooo easy on the Macomber, because the front drops down very easily, and a short stool gets me at the perfect height to thread, sitting right in front of the heddles. I also don’t like having all that warp laying around before I can get it threaded. I beam it on and then only have a foot or so to deal with while I am threading. I am not trying to convert you, and I know each group has its advocates and thinks that is the only way, but sometimes it helps to try something out. If you are a new weaver, it may be that the loom you have would work better threading btf.
Some basic threading tips are all I can think of. It helps to count your pattern in units and pull over that many heddles. Then if you get to the end of the group and you are on the wrong heddle, you need to look for an error in that group, not the whole width.
Are you having problems keeping the pattern correct, or reaching the threads, or what?? Send me some more info and I will see what I can do.
Cheryl
PS. Michael wants to know if you are a member of a guild?. We can send you a list of Mass. guilds and you would have contacts and a support group to answer questions.

Comments

Sun, 08/26/2012 - 13:01

Dena (not verified)

Hi Lori-I am a Macomber junkie and I warp front to back and find the looms fabulous for that.  As Cheryl said, it would be helpful to have more information about what kind of errors you're making.  Are you just not getting the pattern right, are the threads crossing and if they're crossing, where are they crossing (in between the reed and the heddles or within the heddles themselves?).  The trick that seems to help my students the most is when you're threading, to look at the place where the heddles meet the bottom heddle bar when figuring out which heddle you're threading.  I would also suggest to leave those back eight shafts alone until you're really confident threading...stay with four shaft weaves for a while.  I leave the back shafts on the loom, but put a tie around them to make sure I don't accidentally thread them.  I also find it really useful to pull over my next four heddles and then load up the four threads into my fingers and then thread them.  It's a double check, quite a bit quicker and if you can get the hang of it, will reduce errors.  If this doesn't make sense, let me know.  I've got a write up on the technique that I can e-mail you.
Sun, 08/26/2012 - 13:06

Dena (not verified)

Is your loom taken apart (the braces for the back beam are lifted, brake disengaged if need be and back beam placed on the floor)?  And...I sit in a low kids chair, right up close to where the heddles are.
Sun, 08/26/2012 - 13:48

Michael White

I copied your postings over to the Macomber group on Ravelry

Michael

Sun, 08/26/2012 - 14:07

ReedGuy

Would lease sticks be of help on that loom? If you wind your warp in 4's you have sets of 4 ends going over then the next under, easier to keep straight.

Sun, 08/26/2012 - 15:17

Sara von Tresckow

If you need to sley more than a single thread in a reed dent, it already makes for more difficult threading.

Definitely the cross on lease sticks help keep one's place.

As with Michael, having those warp ends firmly anchored prior to threading, then doing the heddles, and then bundling for the reed means less chances of threading error.

Sun, 08/26/2012 - 21:08

ReedGuy

This is the procedure I use to, as well as grouping my threading by blocks. Tying bunches as you thread the heddles is especially helpful with real fine thread ends when sleying the reed. Probably 8, 12 or 16 ends because I warp in 4's.

Mon, 08/27/2012 - 17:51

Justalook

Thank you to all that offered such good advice. In putting on my current warp I broke it down into 1 unit and then sub-units of that. This warp is 490 threads so lots of room for mistakes. Note to self: DO NOT thread loom when over tired or stressed from work.