I recently received a beautiful cranbrook countermarch loom, and I believe I will have to warp it back to front because there's not enough room in the back to warp it the other way.  I'll be weavign long warps for rugs.  Does anybody know of a reference source on how to warp these looms back to front?  Would so appreciate any feedback!  Thanks!  best, kristin

 

Comments

Wed, 10/14/2015 - 23:22

theresasc

the same way I do my Kessenich looms.  The major difference is that I have to weigh the warp chains at the front of the loom.  I take off the knee beam, breast beam, and the entire beater assembly.  I use shorter lease stocks than the 63" long ones that came with loom because when I get to threading I can hang them off the cross piece piece behind the heddles and have the cross hanging closer to the heddles for threading.  I use the raddle that was designed for & came with the loom.  Take your time, slowly do each step, and the warp will go on fine.  I do find that fussing with the weight bottles at the front a bit of a hassle while winding on, but after that it is just back-to front as with my jack looms.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 05:27

Sara von Tresckow

Any book that shows how to warp a classic countermarche loom (one assumes that they are to be warped back to front) will show you the process. On your loom specifically, you will need to determine the best place for raddle, lease sticks, etc. Start with one or two short warps for practice. Once you've done the warping, you'll learn how nice this method is.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 13:38

Joanne Hall

Hi Sara,

I know that you have an older Cranbrook loom.  Is it countermarch?  When you take the locking pins out, do the shafts drop?  how much?

Joanne

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 14:24

kerstinfroberg

OK, so I have only seen a Cranbrook in photos, but it certainly looks scandi-ish.

Given that my personal experience comes from "real" Scandi looms - what do you mean by "because there's not enough room in the back to warp it the other way". Where is that "room" needed?

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 15:13

Sara von Tresckow

Schacht supposedly has included room in the back of the loom to allow front to back warping - something definitely not needed on the Cranbrook. When you warp with a raddle and lease sticks and hang the lease sticks directly behind the shafts and remove the breast beam, threading is quite easy - the breast beam is heavy, but easily removed.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 16:49

kerstinfroberg

oops, seems I mis-read the OP.

I thought the problem was for how to do b-t-f when there was little room... and I couldn't understand why there was need for room at the back.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 17:36

jander14indoor (not verified)

My Cranbrook is a little older than yours, from the Bexel & Sons era, around 1975, but other than the space added between the harnesses and the back  beam on more recent versions, there is little difference in how the looms work or are dressed.

As already mentioned, its easy if heavy to remove the breast, knee and cloth beams for back to front warping.  Doable, but less easy to remove the back beam (you have to remove the bolts completely) and warp beam.

I made my own raddle and screw it to the back uprights just level with the back beam.  With a power drill seconds to add or remove.

To hold the lease sticks steady I just nylon parachute cord  between the back and middle  uprights, thread through the holes on the lease sticks and tie it with some tension.  Holds the sticks steady for warping or threading, allows me to move it front/back, up or down as needed by just slipping the cords up or down or the lease sticks front to back.

I made my own trapeze that I just clamp to the front legs.  Two 8 ft 2X4s with a hole in one end and a 3/4 inch black iron pipe (covered by a plastic sleeve to prevent shredding threads) and 4 clamps.  Allows me to wind on 7-8 ft before readjusting the weights.

For everything but tieing up the treadles to the shafts, any back to front guide works.  I happened to use Deb Chandler's Learning to Weave because of the various starting books I looked at I found the pictures and text clear.  Otherwise no special endorsement.

For the tie up, grab as many of these that you need to make it clear.  Only one costs  money.

http://glimakrausa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/intro-cm.pdf

http://weavolution.com/sites/default/files/Tying%20up%20the%20Countermarch%20loom%20from%20the%20back.pdf

JoAnne Hall's Tying up the Countermarch Loom (not spamming, I found it worth the $20 or so I spent on it).

I think this is Sara's article but my office computer watch dog won't let me look at this: www.weaverschool.com/docs/Countermarch.pdf

And here's a blog site of someone who warps these things front to back.  Sacrilege...  http://rebeccamezoff.blogspot.com/2013/04/warping-countermarch-loom.html  The picture of the blogger inside the loom seems to have more space than I find in my Cranbrook.  I can sit there, but I'm MUCH more crammed.  Of course I may have a few pounds on the person in the photo...

 

A comment on the Scandinavian look, not too surprising as it was orginally designed by a Swedish immigrant for Swedish immigrant weavers at the Cranbrook Community's Saarinen weaving studio (now part of Cranbrook Schools) here in Michigan.  See: http://schachtspindle.com/pdfs/cranbrook-legacy.pdf

Jeff Anderson

Livonia, MI

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 19:26

alfred

as with others who responded here, I warp it back-to-front. After the first two warps I put on it, it was easy to do. And it was well worth the learning curve, since the Cranbrook is an excellent loom. Have fun!
Thu, 10/15/2015 - 19:27

Joanne Hall

Hi Jeff,

I have a question for you about your older loom and the balance of the shafts.  When you have your warp tensioned and the treadles tied up, do the shafts drop when you pull the locking pins out?  How far do they drop?

Joanne

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 20:34

Akashdeep

HI Joanne, I haven't gotten that far yet.  I'll let you know when I do!  Thanks, Kristin

 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 02:54

Sara von Tresckow

Jeff,

That article is not mine - from the title, I suspect it is an older piece from Madelyn van der Hoogt that is not really current. She has some rather extreme suggestions to supposedly get a "massive" shed that are not really needed for good weaving. It has been around for many years and perhaps the link is now inoperable.

My only warping info is contained on the CD we ship with the Oxaback looms specifically based on those models.

Joanne's materials, Laila Lundell's "Big Book of Weaving", and many other books contain good information on warping. 

Sat, 10/17/2015 - 03:14

jander14indoor (not verified)

Sara, sorry for misattribution.  I couldn't check it at the office at the time and for some reason my memory linked it to you.   Apologies.

Jeff Anderson

Livonia, MI