Hello everyone.  I just joined the group, but I don't have a Macomber loom yet.  I'm looking at buying a B5, 8 harness for $450.  I have an HD 4 harness,  but frankly, it's not my favorite.  The shafts shift alot and and mess with the shed.  I've done a bit of research on the Macomber looms and it seems like they're workhorses.  My questions are: do you think I could make rag rugs on the Mac? Is $450 a good price? (I'd have to drive clear across my state to get it!)  It looks like it has 2 back wind up beams (pretty new to weaving terms, as I'm sure you can tell!)  - what would I use 2 beams for?  Ok, I think that's it for now.  I'm so grateful to have a place to ask questions and not feel silly.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Comments

Tue, 04/05/2011 - 02:29

neweaver (not verified)

Reenie, this sounds like the loom that is posted in Wa.  I just purchased a B4 48", drove 3.5 hours and paid $900 with 8 harnesses, bench, 7 reeds, spool rack and sectionjal beam and after warping it for the first time and weaving for 5 minutes felt like I got my moneys worth, I love this loom.  I had a Leclerc and theres no comparison.  I also have a Glimakra standard that I enjoy weaving on just as much as the Mac.  If the loom you mentioned is the one in Wa, I was really tempted but am looking for 24".  Hope this helps.

Cindy

Tue, 04/05/2011 - 03:01

andsewon (not verified)

Yes, you can weave rugs on the big Macombers. (I don't know about the little portable Baby Macs) Two back beams allow you to use two different types of warp yarns that may need different tensioning. For example, one warp yarn is a novelty yarn with some "stretch" to it and the other is a plain cotton. If you wind these two types on the same beam, it will be nearly impossible to get good, even tension on your warp. Let us know how it turns out! connie
Tue, 04/05/2011 - 13:11

neweaver (not verified)

As I understand it the B5 are not baby Macs but the smaller of the floor looms the B5 36" weighs 200 pounds so it should be stable enough to weave rugs on.

Tue, 04/05/2011 - 19:18

Reenie (not verified)

Thanks for the lesson!  :)  I didn't "get" it about the two back beams.  Now I understand, and it sounds like a real advantage to have two back beams....I just can't decide....

 

Tue, 04/05/2011 - 19:35

andsewon (not verified)

Here's a link to the price sheet. Maybe that will help you decide..... vbg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zF80bd8NRiw/SkzqwU513yI/AAAAAAAAAT4/DrYKIhEsZzc/s1600-h/pricelist.2.jpg
Mon, 06/13/2011 - 00:46

Michael White

To add to what Connie said about the two beams. Macomber beams can be a plain beam, and/or a sectional beam. Your loom would have two plain beams, two sectional beams or one of each. Yes you can use two beam a one time or you could used either one of the beams. I am not going into sectional beaming or a supplemental warp. That is a good price for a B5 and yes you can use it to make fine silk rugs to heavy rug rugs. When you get it home and went to refinish it you will find a lot of information here on the Macomber group site.

Enjoy your loom.

Michael

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 23:42

Jeannie (not verified)

I bought a 40-inch 10h/16t Macomber in December and love the thing more than I can say.  I was fortunate enough to get both a great price on a lot of equipment (retiring weaver moving into assisted living) and only had to drive across town.  Having woven on it for several months now, I'd drive a lot further for one.

Sun, 06/12/2011 - 22:36

mneligh

The warp before my current one on my Macomber was for a rag rug, or what started as a rag rug.  Maybe it would have stayed a rag rug without 2 beams, but rag rugs are boring to weave, so I used a second warp to create woven strips that interwove through the rag rug making it weave upon weave upon weave.  The non-rag weft was 3/2 cotton.  It ended up being .5 inches thick, and very fun and kind of mindblowing.  I gave it to the friend that gave me the rags when she saw my loom.  The bottom line is that they can do regular rag rugs and a whole lot more, and two back beams give you the ability to do some amazing things that may or may not be variations on the rag rug theme.  By all means get it, although there's a really nice 16h 64" Mac on eBay that looks tempting too.  No matter what combination you get, I'm pretty sure all Macs allow you to feed the warps off both beams at different rates, which makes 3-d weaving possible.

Since I recently got a lot more treadle hooks from Macomber, I know they're still around.  You can probably get a second beam from them if you don't get a loom with two already on it.