Good day, all.  Question and advice:  I was offered to by a Macomber and would like to know if this is a good price?  What questions should I ask for and what should I be looking for?  How to clean it and with what, what parts should be replaced?  This is my first post so please excuse the format. TIA

 

24-inch weaving width, 8 harness, 10 treadle Loom. 

Comes with:

1) 10/dent reed 

2) 12/dent reed 

3)  Super Hooks to tie up shafts to treadles

4)  Repair heddles (to correct sleying errors)

5)  Supplemental sectional warp beam

6)  Upholstered bench

7)  Macomber info booklets 

The price for all is $475

Comments

Mon, 10/30/2017 - 03:19

sandra.eberhar…

That's an incredible deal!!! I paid $1000 for just the loom alone, no reeds or hooks and thought I got a pretty good deal. They are quite portable if not tied up. I was skeptical about how such a light weight loom would function, but I've made a lot of towels and yardage on it and it works quite well. These are still made, and at that price, you can get any parts that you need.
Mon, 10/30/2017 - 03:19

sandra.eberhar…

That's an incredible deal!!! I paid $1000 for just the loom alone, no reeds or hooks and thought I got a pretty good deal. They are quite portable if not tied up. I was skeptical about how such a light weight loom would function, but I've made a lot of towels and yardage on it and it works quite well. These are still made, and at that price, you can get any parts that you need.
Mon, 10/30/2017 - 23:04

ricatlga

There are Baby Mac's that are not quite as nice as others.  Look for solid wood construction versus composite board.  You need to look for wear on the grooves where the harnesses slide up and down.  There is not a large tolerance.  If it has not been cared for, you could run into issues with the harness wanting to jump out of the slot.  I found that using the super hooks helps minimize this issue.  That said, if you want if for portability (folding it up and moving), then you have to remove the super hooks which can be somewhat of a pain.  You can use texsolv cord, but make sure that they are aligned properly.  The main warp and cloth beam uses a ratchet and pawl. The cloth beam take-up lever is not heavy metal.  If you over-tighten you can break it (Cry) as I have. But you can get a replacement from Macomber. The only way to release tension on the cloth beam is lifting the pawl.  There is no handy release for that.   There should be two metal pins with finger rings that slide across the top of the loom.  Upper position is a stop so you don't lift the harness too high.  Used in the lower position you can hold the harnesses up to make sleying easier.  If they are missing you can make a replacement with coat hanger wire.

Tue, 10/31/2017 - 00:10

sandra.eberhar…

I have heard others comment about solid wood vs plywood; mine is made mostly out of marine-grade birch plywood, which is less likely to warp and stronger than solid wood of the same dimension and weight. Judicial use of high-grade plywood makes a stronger, lighter structure possible, which is why it is used to make boats (like the WWII PT Boats). Sorry to be nit-picky here, but plywood comes in many grades and types, suitable for different uses. Composite board is a term usually used to describe board made by gluing chips together; chipboard or particle board. The ratchet and pawl on my warp beam has a chain that leads to a pin on the castle so that it can be released without getting up from the bench.
Wed, 11/01/2017 - 21:19

ricatlga

My only experience is that I saw an older Baby Mac at a workshop which used plywood and it was in particularly rough shape. Of course that may have been from improper storage. I was speaking of the ratchet and pawl on the "cloth beam", not the warp beam. As you stated the warp beam has a handy chain and pin attachment on the castle. I just like to release cloth beam tension before releasing the warp beam to minimize any bounce back. (Hmmm, am I keeping too much tension there?). Macomber does sell a rope tensioning device for the warp beam of the Baby Mac. I put one on mine and like it. They also have a tool tray that sits on the castle.
Thu, 11/02/2017 - 01:03

sandra.eberhar…

I agree that the ratchet and pawl on the cloth beam is flimsy. I don't use it; I release the cloth beam (like you, to prevent the warp beam from over-rotating), release the warp beam, and use my hand to turn the cloth beam to wind on. I have considered replacing the flimsy steel with Leclerc hardware, but hand turning seems to work.