I have an Oxaback Lilla and a Glimakra Standard, which I have been able to successfully warp. My process has been pretty straight forward:
1) Beam on warp
2) Hang shafts from countermarche jacks
3) Thread, sley, tie-on and tension warp
4) Connect upper lamms to shafts, and lower lamms to jacks if not already connected
5) Put locking pin in place, and tie up treadles
6) Remove locking pin, test tie-up.
7) Insert locking pin and make any necessary changes.
That's been my routine, which has worked prett well. There's always some fiddling with the tie-up to get a good shed, but I just assumed that was part of the process. Anyhow, I was having some difficulty getting clean sheds with a new tie-up (8 shafts, 10 treadles), and was re-reading Joanne Hall's book on the subject, when I noticed something that I obviously missed during my original pass through it. She says to start with the shafts on shaft holders, AND to put the shafts back on shaft holders during any tie-up activities. That floored me. I have only used the shaft holders to get the shafts out of the way while beaming on, if I haven't bothered to remnove them completely.
I have great respect for Joanne's knowledge, so assume there is a good reason to put the shaft holders on for those times that I use the locking pin ... but for the life of me, I can't figure out why. The shafts are attached to the jacks, which are held in place by the locking pin, so what does the shaft holder do, other than spread them apart, front to back? And if that is the reason for using them, what advantage does that offer? I would be grateful for any insights on this.
Many thanks,
Lissa