I have an opportunity to buy a 60' 16 harness avl loom. It does not come with the compu-dobby system. I am getting a good deal on the loom, and I know I can buy the system through the company for about $3300.00. Is that something I can buy used? Does anyone else have one of these looms? If so, how do you like it? Thanks for your input!

 

Comments

Tue, 06/24/2014 - 03:36

Bonnie Inouye (not verified)

I think you are asking about a mechanical dobby loom. A 16-shaft AVL without the compu-dobby (computer assist) would be a mechanical dobby loom. I bought one in 1987, 16 shafts and 60" wide with a fly shuttle. I  used the bars and pegs for 3 years while saving money for the compu-dobby. Bars and pegs can be used sort of like treadles because you can reverse the direction of the chain. You do not have to peg the whole sequence. The mechanical dobby system is quite easy to understand and can provide a good, direct introduction to using 16 shafts.

THere is an AVL group here. You can read about some problems and questions people have posted about AVL looms.

There are many good attributes to AVL looms. They are particularly nice for production weaving. I now own and use 3 AVL looms.

Bonnie Inouye   www.bonnieinouye.com

 

Tue, 06/24/2014 - 13:17

pattym

Thanks Bonnie, Do you think that $1500 is a good price for the 60' 16 harness without the compu-dobby? It is in otherwise excellant condition.

Tue, 06/24/2014 - 14:50

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

I think that is a good price for such a large and versitile loom. I got my 60" with the Compudobby 1 and I still have parts for the mechanical dobby. Someday the Compudobby will die and I will have to see how really wonderful it is for a 16 shaft loom. It isn't all that convenient to use. The computer, I use my Netbook, has to be connected. It certainly isn't perfect. You can do longer sequences with the Compudobby because the mechanical dobby does not work great when the chain gets too long. There are things you can do to help it however. The 60" came wth hundreds of bars. My 40" FDL is not computerized and I do all the weaving I want to on it. I think for the 60" a flyshuttle would be more important if you plan to weave full width.
Tue, 06/24/2014 - 22:43

Bonnie Inouye (not verified)

Yes, that's a very good price. Mine cost over $5,000 without the compu-dobby. I do have a single box flyshuttle with mine, which is great because I am around 60" tall. I much prefer the single box to the double box version.

I have written about using bars and pegs. There are ways to weave long, even non-repeating sequences with 16 bars or 32 bars. There are problems when the chain approaches 100 bars. It's OK with 80. When I use 16 or 32 bars for a longer design, I have to keep track of what I am doing but that's fine with me- less boring!

Bonnie Inouye

Fri, 06/27/2014 - 13:51

pattym

Thank you. I am so excited about my new loom. I am sure I will be asking more questions!