I am getting the rest of my accessories for my Baby Wolf.  I am wondering...should I get a sectional beam?  I bought the loom new 3 years ago, and don't plan on selling (well, not that I forsee right now).  Should I get a sectional beam?  What are the advantages?  Will I use it?  Prices just keep going up on stuff, so I figured if I will use it, I should get it.

Thanks,

Kat

Comments

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 03:24

Sara von Tresckow

In addition to a sectional beam, you'll need a tension box so that the yarn winda on evenly, you'll need to make sectional tie cords for each section and you'll either need the A\VL warping wheel for making your section or you need a spool rack with spools and room for each thread in that (usually) 2" section. 

If you work at 24 ends per inch, you'd need 48 spools and a spool rack large enough to hold them.

Sectional beaming is great on the rag rug looms where they have 24 pegs for 24 cones of Maysville that is then cranked ont eh beam. For floor looms with varying warp density if you choose to weave with fine yarns, plain beaming is just as effective - perhaps even more efficient.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 05:08

Joanne Hall

A large warping reel might be a better investment, as it can be used to warp any loom, not just this one.

Joanne

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 11:48

catfuzz

I do have a verticle warping mill. Hmmm, well, maybe I won't go with the sectional beam. I was just wanting to get any accessory that I may need before prices go up again (seems like they go up yearly).Thanks!!

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 11:51

catfuzz

Yes, I will probably only use 8/2 and finer...someday, I would like to use fine yarns, but am not there yet :). Really, I would like to do some studies of Crackle weave (bought all of the books on crackle out there)...so maybe I don't need a sectional beam after all. I have all of the reeds for my loom, and a couple of end feed shuttles, so I guess I am set. :) Thanks!!

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 15:09

mneligh

Although I'm a sectional warper almost exclusively on my Macomber, I bought but did not attach the sectional beam to my Baby Wolf.  As described by Sara above, the conventional way to use a sectional beam is with the spool rack and tension box.  There's nothing better on really long warps.  For that you need a sectional beam of a known, fixed diameter like a yard or 3/4 yard, so that you just count the number of turns of the beam and you know how much warp you've put on each section.

For short warps I wind 2" sections of chained warp and crank them on individually, still using the tension box.  When I got the BW, I realized my Macomber tension box would not work, and I found no links to where I could by a BW tension box, and especially the rail that goes along the back of the loom on which the tension box slides.

After examining the BW, I realized from the removable top of the back beam that it was intended to be threaded front-to-back, whereas the Macomber B4 gets you close to the heddles by dropping the front beam and beater.  If you beam front-to-back, presumbly through the reed, you would have to resley the reed if you beam in 2" sections.  Or is there some other way to do it?

Finally, there is the sectional beam itself.  I could not find where it says the circumference of the sectional beam is exactly x, whatever x might be, and a precise x is required for sectional warping.  The sectional kit that came with my loom consists of 4 strips of pegs that are applied to the conventional beam.

The clincher was that according to Schacht, the loom cannot be fully folded with the sectional beam in place.  Since my BW is my travel loom not my big job loom, I put the sectional beam kit on the shelf and am contemplating it.  The #1 requirement for this loom is that it fit in the back of my Subaru.

I would love to hear of solutions to these problems because I would rather warp sectionally.  They would need to answer the question of how to get near the heddles in front, though.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 15:12

tien (not verified)

Just wanted to chime in - I have a sectional beam and an AVL warping wheel and love it. With the warping wheel, you can wind from just one cone (though I usually use four, since I weave with fine threads), and you don't need a spool rack or bobbins. It puts warps on perfectly. I'd especially recommend it for fine threads as there is less stress on the threads when beaming - it doesn't have to pass through a raddle or the reed.

That said, the warping wheel is quite expensive (somewhere in the $700-800 range for a new one) so unless you are planning on putting on very long warps (a sectional beam means no warping sticks/paper/etc., so you can fit longer warps onto your beam) or very fine ones, you'll probably do fine with a plain beam.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 17:17

mneligh

Can you send a photo of the warping wheel?

As I mentioned, using a warping board or reel, you can beam each section of warp individually through a tension box.  At a fine sett though, rethreading the tensioner for each can be time consuming.  I've been contemplating making a warping valet and using the conventional beam because of this, since I have a total of about 2 1/2 feet of space behind the loom when it is pushed all the way forward. 

Would the AVL warping wheel work in that kind of space?

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 21:09

Badfaerie (not verified)

I'll just chime in here. I have a 36" HD and I warp sectionally all the time. I don't think I'll own another loom without a sectional warp beam.

Yes, it takes a spool rack, spools, a tension box and a yardage counter. Or you could just wind small warps on a warping board, but my beam has 1" sections so that's not practical.

One of my favorite favs of favortiness about sectional warping is that you only ever deal with one bout of warp at a time. If I have to stop in the middle of threading the loom, I only have to finish a bout and I can walk away with all warp threads secure and under control. If the kitten decides to sneak attack, I have only one section at risk.

It helps my aspergers/adhd/oh hey shiny... self too. I count out the heddles for that bout, then thread them and if I don't come out even I know I have a mistake somewhere, before I have all 600 threaded and have a fatal flaw in the middle.

So, if you are comfortable with non-sectional warping, you probably can skip the beam. It's different, not ness a better or worse way of doing it.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 21:53

tien (not verified)

No - you'll need at least four feet behind the loom to use the Warping Wheel, unfortunately. It is a wonderful tool if you have the space!

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 23:07

debmcclintock

Going back to the basic question of a 2nd warp beam. I confess I use mine almost exclusively for prepping the next warp. On my smal AVL wdl it is very easy to swap out the beams. Yes, I know that is not the ptrimary purpose of a 2nd warp beam but iw works for me! I find it very useful in this prep function.
Fri, 12/07/2012 - 00:51

mneligh

We've digressed -- the original question was not with regard to sectional beams in general -- I adore them -- but sectional beams for a Baby Wolf.  There are a nuber of issues to consider about the Baby Wolf sectional beam that do not apply to sectional beams in general. 

Fri, 12/07/2012 - 00:59

tien (not verified)

To answer some of the questions you asked earlier:

- If I recall correctly, many Baby Wolf owners jack up the shafts to thread when threading B to F. It's been years since I threaded a Baby Wolf (I sold mine about four or five years ago), but that's what I remember doing. You can also fold the loom part way to reduce the distance you have to reach. I think I did that too.

- If you have the sectional beam already, why do you need specs on the circumference of the beam? Can't you just measure around it with a measuring tape? (I'm talking about the ones used in sewing, not the metal kind.)

Fri, 12/07/2012 - 01:12

mneligh

 That warping  reel is fantastic!  Can it be adjusted to fill a sectional beam on the lower position of the loom?  Can it be used sidewise -- I don't have much clearance behind my big loom?

It wouldn't solve the issue of the BW not folding conpletely with the section beam in place, unfortunately.  For me, that means I couldn't use it on the BW, but on the big Macomber . . .

Fri, 12/07/2012 - 02:38

gailc

The warping reel is adjustable in height, and it is not necessary to have it at the same height as your lower beam. Unfortunately, you cant use it sideways. I have the sectional beam kit for my BW, but like you, I hesitate to put it on because the loom will not fold completely with it on. I wish I could figure out how to make it easily removable. Without the sectional beam, the BW will fold to 18 inches depth and the brackets on the stroller can be engaged. With the sectional beam, the loom will only fold to 21 inches depth. I know I can still secure it with the side knobs, but I would want to use the stroller brackets as well. The people at Schacht told me that the stroller wheels will still roll, but I cant attach the brackets. I am going to ask my handyman friend if he can fashion a bracket extension and then I might reconsider the sectional beam.
Fri, 12/07/2012 - 03:25

catfuzz

Yes, the thread has drifted from the original question....but I did have my answer.  I do not think I am going to purchase the sectional beam.  Down the road, in a couple years, I would like to get a countermach loom (sooner if the price is right).  At that time, I will pursue the sectional beam.

Thank you all for your input, it is invaluable to me!! :)

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 14:48

moxie3601 (not verified)

As a newbie, I bought a baby wolf with a sectional beam. I work in a small space and have to fold the loom every couple of weeks. I found the sectional beam to be a huge pain, literally, when it came time to fold the loom. I would get bruises on my thighs from wooden sectional dowels trying to wrestle the thing closed, in part because it won't fold completely with that beam. Then the beam dowels would catch the slack warp when I opened it up again. I finally decided that I would be very unlikely to beam sectionally in my space, so I took the sectional beam leaves off and sold them along with the tension box I got with the loom. I have never looked back. Should the day come when I want to beam sectionally, I will probably get a larger loom like a Norwood with a sectional beam and set it up in a larger space. In my opinion, a sectional beam really defeats the "portability" (such as it is) of the baby wolf.