I am working on an alpaca/silk shawl and every possible problem has plagued this project.  I have been weaving for 10 years and had countermarch looms for 4.  I added 4 shafts to my Julia for a grand total of 8s and did an Atwater-Bronson lace project which came out quite nicely.

Now, I am working on a finer version of this sample and I cannot get the loom to balance up with the current tie up.

Here is the tie-up:    The majority of my heddles on on shaft 1 because that is the nature of this structure.

I have put the locking pins in the top of the loom and adjusted everything 5 times to no avail.  When I sit down to weave the shuttle falls through the warp and it's just a huge mess.  I cannot get the good clean sheds I am used to getting on this loom.

Here are photos of what I am dealing with when I remove the locking pins.  I am open to any and all suggestions.  I am not a happy weaver right now and cannot go back to my rugs (my happy place) because my ribs are still healing from a fall on 10-15-2012.  Yup.

Claudia

The upper and lower lamms under the loom

the shafts which are in perfect alignment with the locking pins in.  This picture was taken with the locking pins out,

f

from above the loom looking at top jacks

Comments

Fri, 02/08/2013 - 22:00

Joanne Hall

Hi Claudia,

Describe the weaving problem.  You said that the shuttle falls through the warp.  Is the tension tight?  Does the shed look good?  Are the shafts at the correct height when you have the locking pins in?  If they are tied too high, the lower part of the shed would be looser.  Or, if the cords pulling the shaft down are not giving you a good shed, that might be a problem.  

It really does not matter how the loom looks when you are not weaving, so describe the shed problem when you throw the shuttle.

Joanne

Fri, 02/08/2013 - 22:06

Claudia Segal (not verified)

The lower threads are all loose.  I had to raise the shafts above the 37.5" so that the warp was going through the center of the reed.  That seems to have caused the lower threads to be loose when I open the shed.  

 

Fri, 02/08/2013 - 22:33

sequel (not verified)

Which shed is dropping shuttles?  I'm going to guess it's treadle six.  The threads on that one have the biggest gap between shafts 2&3 and 8.  The shuttle could drop thru there more easily.  Maybe.  Just guessin'.

Sat, 02/09/2013 - 00:33

Sara von Tresckow

Your shed floor is the most important aspect of geting your shuttle to behave. To achieve this, you need to have the least number of shafts rising - even if it means weaving on the wrong side of the fabric. Your sheds are all unbalanced - you do not say if the shafts with numbers are rising or sinking. If the numbers are rising, that is the correct approach.

I question why 2 and 8 appear in the pattern treadles - when I do patterns like this, there is often an odd number of shafts, and if 2 or 8 isn't carrying threads, shaft 8 need only be attached to one treadle connection to keep it from falling down. If those connections are not needed, remove all but what you need to keep the shaft moving. I do have issues when a CM loom has such a tieup - the treadles do not come back to "neutral" as well.

If your lower shed is loose, you need to shorten the cords leading to sinking connections and make sure that the sinking shafts sink evenly. That even shed floor is what replaces the shuttle race. The treadles are not pulling the shafts down as far as they need to go to make the shed tight.

Also, since the Julia is a very narrow loom, try using a damask shuttle or the longest that you have and do not throw - push it throuch carefully and, if necessary, reach into the shed to pull it out.

Sat, 02/09/2013 - 10:34

kerstinfroberg

You write that you had to raise the shafts to get the warp to the center of the reed. I haven't looked at the Julia from that asoect - but I have not seen any other Swedish loom where the reed/beater height can't be adjusted, usually by a pin at the top of the beater uprights.

This is a pic of an antique loom:

Sat, 02/09/2013 - 18:49

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Julia shafts have been returned to 37.5" from floor.  I adjusted the upper and lower lamms.  All is in alignment and I am now weaving without despair.  What a simple solution.  I would like to understand why this solution worked.  What is the magic in the 37.5" even though my warp is not in the center of the reed?

I push the bottom of the beater toward the shaft before tossing the shuttle and now is flies across the warp without falling through.

Onward to weaving the shawl!

Thanks to all for your help.  I am so happy you are here!

Claudia

Sat, 02/09/2013 - 21:56

ReedGuy

Claudia, does your beater adjust up and down? I hope the lower shed opening isn't rubbing on the beater race/frame. I suspect you had the shafts to high before. There should be a straight line from breast beam to back beam when at rest and the warp should be centred in the reed. I suspect some drafts don't give as good a shed as others just because of the complicated treadling and threading sequence. You may also find that heddles, if more abundant on one shaft than anothers can restrict shed unless some are separated/cut. Some threads may not be drawn straight through. I think one has to watch for this. You'll notice this when threading.

Sat, 02/09/2013 - 23:23

Sara von Tresckow

Claudia,

I missed something yesterday - your tieon stick is riding on the breast beam. As long as that stick has not "gone around the corner" the warp is not at the right level. To save on warp waste, you just need to weave very carefully and only then consider adjustments.