Hi!

I own two Macomber looms (one 48" B4D and one 20" CP) They were both used when I bought them and the heddles are in a bit of a sad state... I am planning to buy new heddles but I really don't want flat steel heddles again. I am considering Texsolv heddles but I have absolutely no experience with them. I read another post about Texsolv and it said it's not a good idea to use Texsolv heddles on a rising shaft loom due to weighting down issues. Anyone have any experience with switching to Texsolv ON a Macomber??

Comments

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 13:20

sequel (not verified)

There is a group here on Weavo for Macomber looms.  And there is Sarah Haskel's blog on Macomber looms.  She also publishes a "manual" for these wonderful looms.  Michael on the Macomber looms group sells inserted eye heddles for the Macomber looms.  You're right, most jack looms do better with metal heddles.

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 14:00

SallyE (not verified)

You pretty much can't buy flat steel heddles any more unless you find them used.   I don't like them either, and have removed all of them from my Macomber, replacing them with inserted eye metal heddles.  You will like those much better.

 

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 14:50

mrdubyah (not verified)

I have two Macs and wouldn't recommend texsolv heddles.  They're nice and quiet, but the mechanism is designed for the weight of the metal heddles.  I use inserted eye heddles that I buy from Gowdey Reed at http://www.gowdeyreed.com/handloom_heddles.html.  They work great and don't wear out the warp the way flat metal heddles do. 

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 16:38

dtjacobson

Switching to TexSolv is not a good idea for a couple reasons:

1) The common sizes of TexSolv are not the right size for Macomber shafts.

2) They don't have the weight needed to help the shafts go back into "rest" position smoothly, and you will end up having to weight your shafts (which is a PITA).

When I had to get additional heddles for my Mac, I went with inserted eye heddles from Georgia Yarn Co. (http://www.handweaver.us/insertion_eye_heddles.htm) I'm very happy with them.

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 17:36

smedway

I'd give it a try with a few of them, especially if you are going to weave really lightweight fabrics. I'd probably just do a small section of them, like 4 inches worth to see if it made much difference. In my experience (which is not over long BTW) those metal frames are heavy and come down unless blocked. If you are doing heavy fabrics I'd skip it... although inserted eye heddles are really good too. much lighter than steel and a larger aperture for threading.

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 22:23

sally orgren

Unfortunately, trying just a few inches can cause other problems with inbalance on that shaft. My recommendation would be to stick with some form of metal, and the open eye heddles really DO make a world of difference in threading (vs flat steel or Texsolv.) 

Metal heddles "fleck" to the side quicker when threading. If the size of Texsolv is too tight, this can really slow down the process as they don't glide as easily on the heddle bar. And the eye of the texsolv (or any string heddle for that matter) can take just a smidge longer to thread than the open eye.

Tue, 04/22/2014 - 23:26

sandra.eberhar…

I have heard very good results from people who have put Texsolve on Baby Wolves, although Schacht does not recommend it.  I agree that the shafts themselves are probably heavy enough to bring them down, but I also agree that you may have trouble finding the right size.  I prefer Texsolve for very crowded warps, or fragile warps.  But I like the way inserted eye heddles slide across the heddle bars.  You have to have very smooth, waxed heddle bars for Texsolve to slide.  I have seen a Leclerc jack loom with hand tied string heddles that apparently worked well.  The owner was ill and could not lift the shafts any more.