Hi every one, I have built a couple of counterbalance looms in the past but now im taking on a countermarch loom. My question is there any reason why a countermarch loom would not work if all the lamms were in one single row and not stacked above each other? From what i understand about a countermarch ssystem is that each treadle needs two lams each...I'm only building a 4 shaft countermarch

 

Comments

Sat, 04/01/2023 - 17:02

sandra.eberhar…

I have seen CM looms with both sets of lamms at the same heigth, coming from opposite sides of the loom.  For a CM loom, it doesn't matter how many shafts you have, each shaft must have two lamms.  A treadle may be tied to any number of lams. Lower lams pull the shaft up, upper  ones pull it down.  Having them separated makes tyiing up easier.   Glimakra's website has  good information about different looms.

Sun, 04/02/2023 - 11:53

Gavin

Thank you! I wasn't thinking of having them mounted on either side of the loom at the same height, my mind was stuck on them being on one side and at one height....sure would give me more room for the lamms to swing without hitting pedals or shafts!..I could envision it getting crowded in there! Then my mind got to playing around with a parallel countermarch system and it looked like a 4 shaft loom would need 24 pullies ( 6 for each shaft). I have a wood lathe and could turn them down but i found a website called " woodpeckers" , whom I'm in no way affiliated with who sells various wooden toy car/ train wheels made from birch, for less than a buck a piece for 2-1/2 inch diameter...all I would have to do is cut the v- groove in them...easy peasy.

As a side note i was mulling over the loom build posted online by Arizona state university, looks like a French student had posted a pdf of a loom build...it was kinda like I wanted, with the overhead beater and flying shuttle... however it was an interesting setup, something i had never seen before; it had shaft pullies up top but the cords coming down through the middle of the warp like a traditional countermarch, straight to lamms but created the shed like a jack loom. But i digress.

So I'm wondering now, if a parallel countermarch system with pullies would or would not be a better option than with lamms?

Sat, 05/20/2023 - 17:28

Suzi

I see no reason why they cannot be on the same level. I have an old Varpapuu cm loom that has a choice of 3 levels for putting the lamms on. I like experimenting to see the differences some changes make. I just finished a rag rug project with the lamms at the same height and there was no difference. Allways need 2 lamms for every shaft. There is a weaver/loom builder in Germany that puts the lamms at the same height. His name is Andreas Moller & his web site is weberei-hamburg.com/ . He has many videos and his website is in both German and English. (I have no affiliation.) I am leaving the lamms at the same level.

Another point on the old Varpapuu loom is I have a choice of 3 heights for the treadles too.

Tue, 04/11/2023 - 22:36

sandra.eberhar…

I have a loom set up with a parallel CM, it has worked very well, can be a pain to adjust.  PM me at [email protected] if you want pics.  Plastic sheaves will give much less friction than wooden ones, and can be found fairly cheapt on boatbuilding sites.

Sun, 08/27/2023 - 14:58

Gwennie

Gavin, I just got back to checking up on this process and wondered how did it work out?  I have been weaving on a 10 shaft countermarch for several months now (moving up from an 8 shaft jack) and it has been a deep, deep, learning curve.  I know there are other ways to configure the lamms that you will see on other brands than my Glimakra.  I have often looked at mine, while sitting under them trying to tie up properly, and thought "There must be a better way!"  How did yours end up?