Hi, all.  I've got a 48" Macomber that I'm restoring.  I have a question for you:  Where does the crank on the cloth beam go?  Does it just dangle off the end of the beam, outside and to the right of the bracket that supports the ratchet mechanism, or does it fit on the left _between_ the bracket and the ratchet gear?  Here's where it is right now:

Macomber cloth beam crank

I also have the problem that when I crank the cloth beam, the left end of it "walks" up the support bracket and pops out. Is there supposed to be something on the end of the beam to prevent that? The previous owner made some modifications to the cloth beam to add an apron to it, and I'm not sure whether they removed something from the end of the beam that was supposed to be there.

Here's what it looks like:

Macomber cloth beam left end

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Keith

 

Comments

Wed, 01/14/2015 - 01:18

Michael White

The handle go between the gear and the metal casting as shown. You may have to add a 5/8 inch fender washer to both sides to center the gear under the paw. Remove the left side and pull out the shaft and put on the handle then put the shaft back into the hole. Cleaning up the rust will make it operate better. There is nothing that holds the lest side in placed but its own weight just like you have it. When you have it under tension it will stay in place.

 

Michael

 

Thu, 01/15/2015 - 21:49

Don G

Hi Keith, I am also restoring a 1948 48 inch 10 shaft Macomber loom. It was in pretty good shape, just needed cleaning and sanding of rust. I also put on new heddels and replaced missing chains. The biggest problem I had and still can't fix is the shed is uneven. I haven't found anybody that can tell me why or if this is normal. It weaves fine but from everything I've read about the loom it is suppost to have an even shed. Let me know how your restoration is going. Don
Fri, 01/16/2015 - 22:41

mneligh

3 major causes of uneven sheds on Macombers are

  1. uneven length chains
  2.  different sized hooks (for tie-up)
  3. jacks are out of order

If you raise all shafts at once, the shafts should form a slope,  which is what produces the even shed beyond the reed.  

Good luck.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 23:01

mrdubyah (not verified)

This is hard to explain, but the axles for the jack mechanism in the base of the castle are driven through holes in the front and rear wood panels.  Occasionally (especially in transport) an axle may slide forward or backward enough to slip out of the front or rear hole.  The unsupported end will then rise or fall and produce an uneven shed.  Check the axles in the base of the castle and make sure they are all securely set in the holes on the front and rear panels. 

Sat, 01/17/2015 - 02:48

Don G

Thanks for the sugestions but I have looked at all those things. When I push the tredels down the shafts come up even. This leaves shaft ten the same height as one. As I see it shaft ten should be higher then one in order to get an even shed. Don
Sat, 01/17/2015 - 14:17

Michael White

On the big Macombers when at rest the heddle frames sit on a slop. When they are all raised they should be even. Why the differance? The slop is to overcome the angle of the threadles. The question is what are you yarp threads doing when you raise the frames? If you are not getting a clean shed, most of the checks given above are good you also need to check the following: are all you heddle bar hooks closed, You may need to clean out the groove in the threadles, are any of the hooks bended (a bend hook well jam in the groove), are all of the chain hooks closed on both the jacks and frames, Look at where the jacks move, are the outside ones rubbing on the wood, Start here and see if any of these fix your problem. One last thing clean and lub the grooves on the side where the lamms move,

Michael

Sat, 01/17/2015 - 19:05

Don G

Thanks Michael, I've checked all of that. I took all the tredels off the loom cleaned the groves and planned the bottoms to correct the warped ones. I checked to see if all the tredel tie-up bars were the same lenght. I cleaned and lubed all of the groves. I also lubed all moving parts. Nothing is rubbing. You say the shafts should be even when rasied and Mneligh says they should be on a slope. I tend to think they need to be on a slope because if you take straight line from the hedel eye on 10 and on 1 number to the front beam 10 will be a lot lowwer then 1, or am I not understanding something. I am going to be putting a large warp on the loom and I could send a picture of my uneven warp. How do you send pictures? Don
Sun, 01/18/2015 - 15:23

mneligh

Michael and I may be saying the same thing.  The shaft closest to the weaver should have the wire from the lamm to the jack at the end farthest from the pivot point and closest to the castle frame.  On my 20 shaft loom, the shaft farthest from the weaver has the wire attachment only an inch or so from the pivot point.  However, when all shafts are raised, the top of the jacks are not level but do form a straight line.

I hope this clarifies things.

Sun, 01/18/2015 - 18:48

Don G

Thanks for the clarification. On my 10 shaft loom when all the shafts are rasied the jacks tops are level. The heddels frames are level. So if I understand what your loom does mine doesn't. I'll try to send pictures when I figure out how to send them. Don
Mon, 01/19/2015 - 21:12

Don G

Hi Keith, I'm sorry about taking over your post. How is the restoration going? What kind of condition was the loom in? How were the reeds and heddels? I had to replace the heddels as the ones that were on it were corroded. I sanded and painted the reeds and bought 2 new ones. I've woven several project on it so far and it is a very sturdy loom. I just finished a rag rug and now warping a 10/2 cotton 36epi table runner. Don
Fri, 01/30/2015 - 21:00

nkeithf (not verified)

Don, not a problem at all.  The restoration hasn't really progressed. I got a big box from Macomber with parts I was missing or that needed to be replaced...things like the beater pads and the pads under the jack levers, aprons for cloth and warp beam, missing foot rest bar and brackets, anti-backlash mechanism, crank, and then I decided to replace the chains and s-hooks and add to the wire heddles.  All things considered, though, it's not in terrible shape. Someone had started sanding it, and there's some water spotting on it here and there, so the biggest thing holding me up is needing to launch into finishing out the sanding they started and then putting a finish on it.  Sanding and polyurethaning are among my least favorite activities on earth.  Meanwhile, I have a Harrisville Designs 4H/4T that I was busy converting to a 4H/6T and replacing the ratchet brake with a friction brake, so that distracted me.  It doesn't take much to distract me!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 21:00

nkeithf (not verified)

Don, not a problem at all.  The restoration hasn't really progressed. I got a big box from Macomber with parts I was missing or that needed to be replaced...things like the beater pads and the pads under the jack levers, aprons for cloth and warp beam, missing foot rest bar and brackets, anti-backlash mechanism, crank, and then I decided to replace the chains and s-hooks and add to the wire heddles.  All things considered, though, it's not in terrible shape. Someone had started sanding it, and there's some water spotting on it here and there, so the biggest thing holding me up is needing to launch into finishing out the sanding they started and then putting a finish on it.  Sanding and polyurethaning are among my least favorite activities on earth.  Meanwhile, I have a Harrisville Designs 4H/4T that I was busy converting to a 4H/6T and replacing the ratchet brake with a friction brake, so that distracted me.  It doesn't take much to distract me!

Sat, 01/31/2015 - 03:37

Don G

Keith with all the parts and finishing needed on your loom it makes my 1948 loom seem like I bought a new loom. Are you using oil or water base finish? I find that water base is easier to work with and less oder. I finished the table runner and it came out realy nice. This is the thinnest yarn I've worked with so far and had fears of a tangled mess but everything went like clockwork. I followed a pattern out of Handwoven Mag. It used 8 shafts 10 tredels 36 epi and 52 steps in each repeat. I've given up in getting an even shed. Someday I'll figure it out but I want to weave and not play with the adjustments with the loom. I just finished warping a four color waffle weave bath towel in 5/2 cotton. I want to weave a wool rug someday but the yarn is way too costly. Don