I weave at school and have woven on several brands of jack looms. I am on a new jack loom now, finally trusting myself to weave with some beautiful silk noil. Eight shaft Schacht loom, inserted-eye wire heddles, threaded in Bateman Boulevard. Warp is 30 inches wide, 24 epi. When I treadle, the top warp threads are lovely and straight, with no drooping, a lovely shed. The bottom threads, tabby and pattern both, form a loose fluffy layer just about the height of the tip of every shuttle we have in class. I have woven, untangled and re-woven every row of the eight picks I have woven so far. Aaaugh!
I have cranked up the tension, but still do not see a difference in the lower warp threads. Sizing had no effect either.
The shafts rest on a level wood bar, and have wood bars between them. They do not touch each other. The tops of the shafts at rest are level.
The raised shafts 1 and 2 do not rise as high as shafts 3 and 4; shafts 5, 6, 7 and 8 rise higher still. But the rising shafts only affect the top of the shed, which is perfect.
It does not look like the beater can be raised any higher. The bolts that appear to control beater height are already set for the highest setting. We would not want to abrade that precious silk in any event.
Any ideas for how to flatten out the bottom threads? Thanks in advance for your help!
Karen