A 30 year old Tools of the Trade table loom with floor stand was donated to a group I work with.  It was completely disassembled, but the original instructions were included.  We have been slowly putting it back together, sort of like a jigsaw puzzle.  When we follow the original instructions for tying cords to shafts and then running the cords down to lams in floor stand, the loom does not work smoothly.  Does anyone have experience with this loom and how to put it back in working order?

Comments

Fri, 04/25/2014 - 12:57

sequel (not verified)

If you can post pics, we may be better able to make suggestions. 

Fri, 04/25/2014 - 19:40

sally orgren

I just saw one listed within the last day or so. Perhaps you can figure it out from the posted photos? I am a TOTT owner, but did not know Art made table top models with floor stands.
Sat, 04/26/2014 - 22:39

sally orgren

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Weaving-Loom-Tools-Of-The-Trade-Table-top-Loom-/331182183082

Look fast — I believe the sale is over in about a day. (On Sunday, April 27th). According to the site, 11 people are watching this item.

Also, if the treadles look like they were an add-on, it might be a good idea to return the loom to a top-lever function first if you can, to make sure it works.

Keep in mind, sometimes early looms were made that didn't work as well as later versions of the same model. (The rarity of this type of model makes me wonder if this particular idea didn't pan out for some reason?)

I hope you can figure it out. Posting photos of your loom would help. TOTT are well-regarded and well-made looms in general. 

Mon, 04/28/2014 - 03:14

danteen (not verified)

This sounds like a loom that I recently purchased to "rescue".  It has the leather label and still has the levers in front to use as a table loom, though I ignored them and tied it to the treadles.  It took me a while to figure it all out.  But I've got it working and can explain what you need to do.

  I can send you pics, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow for daylight to take some pictures.

Teena Tuenge

 

Mon, 04/28/2014 - 15:19

Yellowcottage

Teena,

This sounds exactly like the one we are working on.  Let's stay in touch.  I won't be able to take any pix until Wed. but will send you some.

Mon, 04/28/2014 - 15:20

Yellowcottage

Thanks for the suggestion.  I'll post pix later this week and hope someone can help us with the puzzle.

Tue, 04/29/2014 - 22:44

danteen (not verified)

Here areTOTT shaft cordsTOTT table to floor loomCords through lammsTreadle tie-ups some photos of the loom.   For the views of the  black cords connecting the shafts to the lams I drew arrows to show the path.  You can't see the side of the loom from that angle.  They go through the holes in the lams to some eye bolts.  The important thing about tying those cords is to get the length so that the bottom of the shafts are about equal with the bottom of the castle sides where they ride up and down.  The heddle eyes should be somewhere in the center (top to bottom) of the reed.

I used some braided nylon cord  at first, but then I realized that I needed to be able to adjust them, but did not want to use expensive texsolve for that whole distance, so added the texsolve just at the end that connects to the eye bolts. Maybe for the last 15 inches or so. I used arrow pegs to adjust the whole length of the cord in the eyebolt.  I used 4 more arrow pegs to adjust the slant of the lams.  The idea is that you want the shafts to move up and down so that the heddle eyes do not go below the bottom of the reed nor rise above the top of it for your maximum shed.

I bought some treadle hooks for a Leclerc loom to fasten chain from the bottom of the shafts to the treadles.   This adds some weight and helps the shafts return better.  You could use texsolve here but the chain works fine, helps the shaft return and is cheaper and  is about as adjustable.

Hope this helps.  I may have put the photos in a strange place.  Sorry. P.M. me if you want me to email you directly.

Teena Tuenge

 

Wed, 04/30/2014 - 12:17

Yellowcottage

Teena,

Many thanks.  I will be working on the loom today and these suggestions are exactly what I need.  I'll get back to you with more questions as we go along.  The loom is for beginning weavers in my rigid heddle class and they're looking forward to getting started.  For them, I want the loom to feel smooth.

Chris

Wed, 04/30/2014 - 12:57

sally orgren

It's great to know I can refer folks here for more information. I didn't realize Art made this size of loom, and now I have learned about three of them in the past week!

P.S. The winning bid on the Ebay TOTT loom was $242.50. Someone got a great deal!

Fri, 05/02/2014 - 12:05

Yellowcottage

We're still working through the challenges of this loom, but now it's al together and shafts are tied to lamms on base.  Thanks for the helpful photos.  I have attached some to show our progress.  Now we are having a lot of trouble getting the shafts to slide smoothly up and down.  Do you recommend any extra treatment (furniture wax?) in the channels in the castle that hold the ends of the shafts?  Any other ideas to make the movement smoother?

Chriscords from shafts to top of castle