Well, after a somewhat long journey, I'm finally getting my new to me (I bought it two years ago, but its been stored until now) older Bexel-Cranbrook loom set up in my newly remodeled family room. I have a couple of questions that aren't clear in the original manual or what's posted on the Schacht site.
The Breast and Back beam on this model are heavy steel poles held to the loom with half inch bolts. Should they be fastened tight so they don't turn, or are they meant to turn with the cloth?
From the original sales material I got with the loom, it looks like it's supposed to have six treadles, but I only seem to have gotten four. The top jack frame, heddle shafts, lamms & treadles were all connected by the chains as when taken off the loom and tied up for four treadles. I don't seem to have any extra pieces, and all treadles create sheds properly. If it helps, i's a model J-45, maybe they came with less treadles? No problem in the long run as I'm a woodworker and plan to eventually expand to 8 shafts/10 treadles, but just curious.
Tieup, this older loom has all chains for the tie up. They seem to be in good condition and quiet so no reason to change now. But when I add shafts, would it make more sense to stay with the chain (it's a standard type available in hardware stores) or move to Texsolve? The chain has the same adjustability by picking which link to use as Texsolve, but is a little heavier. I'm slightly worried about texsolve because the chain from the upper lamm tieups to the treadle actually goes THROUGH the lower lamm. The chain will hold up to any wear, but would Texsolve?
Hmm, that's it for now, thanks in advance for any advice.
Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI