Hi,
I recently purchased a warping mill, and had been using a warping board up until then.  On the warping board I feel as though I got to grips with maintaining a good tension as I wound, however on the mill I find it a completely new experience, and a rather large warp I just wound has been twisted and troublesome.  I think its my tension as I wound.  Does anyone have tips for maintaining even yet light tension as you wind on a warping mill?  I find that theres an extra variant with the mill (the spinning) that you don't have with the board.  Do some people prefer boards? Any thoughts would be appreciated~

Thanks,

Chris

Comments

Fri, 02/20/2015 - 23:20

mrdubyah (not verified)

Personally, I'll take the mill any day, especially for long warps.  It's easier on the shoulders and I can sit if I want to.  To get even tension, try putting on a guide string.  Tie the guide on at the top, wind to the bottom with as many turns as needed for your warp length, and tie off at the bottom.  Then wind your warp, placing the first wrap against the guide string and each successive wrap against the previous.  Leave a tiny gap every 10 or 20 wraps to make counting easy.  Look up "warping mill" on Youtube to see examples.  Happy winding!               DRW 

Fri, 02/20/2015 - 23:34

ShawnC

I just purchased a warping mill (Toika 3m) and love it! Was able to wind longer and use the extra cross to save time. Took me a little to get used to how fast it is, but am so happy I made the investment. Missus T reminded me not to use too steep of a curve as the warp length will vary. Excited to wind the next fine warp!

Sat, 02/21/2015 - 04:24

barleycorn

I find that having my cones on the floor on cone holders and two eyelets to thread the end thru, one about a height of 15" and another at about 30" or so off the floor makes it easier to get a good tension. I also warp with at least 2 threads at a time which helps the tension also. I have tried to warp with a horizontal spool holder (the kind used for sectional warping) but the tension was very uneven since you have to pull the spool for the thread to unwind. 

Sat, 02/21/2015 - 03:57

sandra.eberhar…

I do not apply any tension with my fingers.  I rely on the the yarn feed of the cone holder to do that.  That gives me very even light tension, which is what my very large reel needs.  I don't leave a gap to help me count, but I tie bundles into a counting thread to mark raddle groups.

Sat, 02/21/2015 - 07:55

Isarwinkler

I always used cones with a warpingboard for getting an even tension. Spools are a bit tricky: beeing full, there is a loose tension; getting empty, the tension gets higher.

My last decision was my best. I only do sectional warping since two years. The last warp for blankets was 88 sections, each 30m long.

Give it a try!

Gernot

Sat, 02/21/2015 - 11:02

ReedGuy

I use a guide string also, and I mark every 50 passes with a count string. The count string is just laid in the warp. I just flip one end up or down every 50, I don't fiddle with it. I do it up top, and I start winding from the top turn peg. I use mostly spools on a small spool rack because my suppliers are mostly spool users. I use 2-4 ends (spools) at a time. I don't have tension issues and my ends are quite even actually. I just wind with enough tautness that the yarn does not slip, not a death grip. I just wound a 4 yard cottolin warp. Choke ties are a key to transferring your warp. You want them good and tight, not loose so that  the yarn is slipping every which way. I have just begun trying the Swedish method of warping with a reed (as a spreader). With 4 yards I don't have to do any bending, I have a removeable lower turn peg. My practice of winding allows me to use one hand and I don't twist at the turn pegs. When I go from the top turn peg my palm is up, going from under the peg. When I'm returning from the lower peg my palm is now down. Never twisting the warp. I always go over the top of each turn peg when I approach them. You don't want your warp twisted continually when winding, that would be a nightmare of knots or at least bunching up, which leads to knots.

Sun, 02/22/2015 - 16:52

Dena (not verified)

I love my toika mill.  Make sure that each thread is next to, not on top of the threads before it....so that each thread is actually touching the wood.  I build from the bottom up, but I have also seen it done where you build out from the middle so that on your down pass you are placing the thread at the bottom and on your up pass you are placing the thread on top of the group.

Mon, 02/23/2015 - 02:48

christophermichael

Thank you! I was laying my threads on top of eachother instead of next to! the videos have helped heaps~ cheers

Mon, 02/23/2015 - 02:51

christophermichael

Count strings would also be helpful! and ill wind smaller groups instead of half and half~ am also interested to learn that you can wind more than one thread at a time using a paddle (what a revelation!) ... if you do this do you still need to keep them in order at the cross?

Mon, 02/23/2015 - 02:52

christophermichael

Some amazing pointers! thanks everyone