Several years ago I purchased a used Mighty Wolf and embarked on learning to weave on a floor loom. I was using Peggy Ostercamp's book for beginners and found the format very confusing. She is a member of our local guild so I felt kind of obligated to use her method. It was pretty much a disaster. I sold the loom at a bargain rate, gave away hundreds of dollars of books and publications, And retreated back to my trusted rigid heddle loom.
Recently I decided to revisit looms with shafts and explored the purchase of a table loom. I would have much more space to accommodate it. I ended up looking for used and found a Kessenich 20", 4 shaft on eBay. I began bidding and won the auction, paying too much. I had a conversation with the seller who represented it as excellent condition, the reed ready to use and lots of heddles. Well it does have lots of heddles. As for the rest, not so much.
The loom was filthy, and I actually had to wash it ( I dried it quickly and thoroughly.) I had to lightly sand it to get off the rest of the dirt and then finish it with two coats of beeswax. I'm having to replace the aprons and the cords that tie on the apron ties. The reed was hopelessly nasty and had to be replaced. And just now for some reason I just noticed that the the beater is warped and will likely need to be replaced.
I know it's buyer beware but I feel really disappointed. This was supposed to be a wonderful new toy.
First, I'm intimidated to give the seller a bad rating because we had such friendly phone calls prior to my receipt of the loom. He really deserves some type of comment, don't you think?
Second, do you think I will really have to replace the beater even if it's only slightly warped?
Thanks very much to all who generously share your time and experience. You guys are great.
Susanne