I am reviving a TOTT 25" floor loom and have some questions.

1.  How long are the tie up chains?  My loom came with none.

2.  What size socket wrench fits the smaller bolts?  I've got a 7/16 wrench that works for the larger ones.

3.  Has anyone replaced the original inserted eye heddles with either wire or texsolve?

4.  Has anyone found a replacement crank handle that fits the 1/2" machine bolt?  

Thanks

Comments

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 20:59

sally orgren

I might need other's help answering them all...

1) Tie up chains are variable in length. Shorter ones can be used toward the back, longer ones in front (I have 12 shafts, so my treadles are fairly long). I have supplemented the originals because I needed more than came with the loom. See photo. Black rubber-coated chain is new, purchased from Home Depot or Lowes. Buy one to sample, to make sure it fits through the hole in the lamm, before you get a ton of them.

I included the metal rod, in case you do not have that piece.

I have also pondered changing these chains to Texsolv for quieter operation, but not sure if they would last as long as the chains, and the chains may provide the needed shaft weight for this jack loom.

3) I considered replacing the heddles with Texsolv, but again, the weight of the metal heddles may be required for the optimum performance of this jack loom. In my experience, contemporary open-eye heddles are not of the same quality as the originals. (I have 1,200, several hundred are not original).

I understand the inventor, Art, went to Leclerc for many of the metal parts, so you might want to shop around their site and see if anything looks like it would work.

Also, Daryl Lancaster's website has a scan of the original documentation that came with these looms. She owns several, so she would be a great source to ask about Q's 2 & 4.

Good luck with your new-to-you loom. TOTT are well-built and have a devoted fan base. Because of that, they don't come up too often.

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 21:17

suem

Sally, thank you so much:)  I know the builder used a lot of Leclerc parts and I'll get the treadle hooks from them eventually:)

And I'll definitely look at Daryl's web site.  And I got the documentation and some other miscellaneous info from Janet Meany, and Claudia Segal also sent me some very useful information.

Right now, I've dusted it off and given it a coat of the Watco Danish oil.  All it needs is tie-up chains.  The treadle bar was pretty oxidized where it had been expose to air, but some Naval Jelly and silicone spray fixed that up:) 

The original inserted eye heddles are pretty black, but not pitted.  Vinegar didn't help, or did Naval Jelly.  Or just replace them.

The loom came with three ss reeds (12, 15 and 20) and but I've got other 24" reeds as well as a couple of 70 cm reeds for my Louet Magic:)

Looking forward to getting a warp on this baby:)

sue

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 21:26

sally orgren

My nieghbor has the same width model as you, so model-specific questions, I can check with her.

New inserted eye heddles work fine. The shaft is just not as beefy, nor the eye as big as the originals.

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 22:45

sandra.eberhar…

I have a 25" TOTT.  I replaced the tie up chains with Texsolve, which works well, but the pegs are a little too small for the holes and need little wooden pegs to keep them from jumping out.  The heddles on mine were badly oxidized and rough, so I replaced them with new inserted eye, steel wooled and waxed the heddle bars.  I devoted a cheap rachet and socket for the warp beam crank.  Works like a charm.  I got it as a replacement for a Baby Wolf that I sold because it didn't fit me and had such a small shed. This TOTT is a much better loom with a better shed and is more adjustable for fit.  I really like haveing a small jack loom, but not a Baby Wolf.

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 23:34

suem

For now, I think I'll repurpose my Vavstuga bead tie up system to the TOTT, as the Glimakra is now a hybrid Toika.  The beads fit over the holes in the lamms just fine.

 

 

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 15:46

Alda Reynolds

As a "newbie" I just purchased a used loom which I discovered wasn't a Mountain Loom, but a "Tools of The Trade" table top loom.  It is 26" wide and I don't know the first thing about getting it set up.  Are there any "manuals" out there?  There is a 26" reed which looks as though it needs some rust removed.  Perhaps it would be better to replace it?  I understand it's been used as a teaching/exhibition loom.  It has a leather handle and other than the leather stamped "Tools,..." label there is no indication of the year it was made.  Any comments would be welcome, 

Alday

 

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 18:56

Claudia Segal (not verified)

I have a manual for the TOTT floor loom but there are no diagrams for the table loom.  Can you post some pics with your questions?  Most table looms operate fairly similarly to each other.

I owned the TOTT floor loom for a few years and a couple of others here also have TOTT floor looms.

Claudia 

Thu, 05/21/2015 - 01:24

Michael White

I just totaly restorred a TOTT loom. I replaced all of the chains with the same type of chain I purchased at Home Depot. ( Model # 64410 )I also replaced the chains from the lamms to the jacks. All the nuts and bolt heads were 7/16". I sell eye heddles so that is what I used. The olds ones I just tossed out. See the attached picture. I also have detail pictures (before and after on a 36/4 if you need them).

 

Michael  

Thu, 05/21/2015 - 13:16

sally orgren

I recently saw one, within the last two months. Trying to wrack my brain where. Perhaps it was at my guild RR in March.

If I can find out who has it, I will try and get photos for you. I rememeber it vividly, because I didn't know Art made TOTT table looms!

Michael, great photo! (We have all been there.)

Thu, 05/21/2015 - 13:38

suem

Here's a link to some pictures on this site:)

http://www.weavolution.com/forum/weaving/tools-trade-table-loom-29098

Fri, 03/10/2017 - 16:56

jaxie985

I'm setting up a 4-shaft 26" TOTT table loom I just purchased. It has a stand and 6 treadles, and some missing parts, such as the levers (which I don't need), chains, cords, etc. So far I've found replacements in the hardware store. The loom looks very much like the pictures in the link (in the previous post). I have a few questions. I put a few warp threads on to check where they ride as I adjust the cords and chains I'm adding. With the cords tied and the lamms adjusted, I assume the harnesses shouldn't be at rest at their bottom stop, but raised a bit so the whole cord system that holds them up is under tension. Is this right? It seems right when I set them about an inch above the bottom stop. Because when the harnesses are at that stop, the bottom rod is out of its groove so the harnesses can catch. If I raise them up so they're under tension, it seems it would be better. Second question, raising the lower position of the harnesses raises where the warp threads travel through the reed. I've read that the warp threads should be at the bottom of the reed, and this raises them an inch or so. Am I worrying about nothing? One of the people in this thread said that the heddle eyes could be near the middle of the reed and there will still be room for a good shed. 

I have a jack loom, a direct tie-up Norwood workshop loom a little smaller that the TOTT, and it has jacks pushing the harnesses up from the bottom. On that loom, the warp threads are at the lower edge of the reed, but I'm not familiar at all with the cord lift system, lamms and treadles.

 

Tue, 10/24/2017 - 11:23

djmerchant

I just bought a Tools of the Trade 56" #223, 8 harness loom . I dressed it and started weaving and harnesses #5 and #8 seem to get stuck. It almost seems like they are off kilter when they are being raised. It has chains that connect the treadles with the jacks and they are different lengths. My leclerc jack loom doesn't have chains and I have never had this problem before. Any thoughts would be appreciated. This is a beautiful loom and I am very excited to have an 8 harness. Thanks in advance for your help!

Tue, 10/24/2017 - 19:34

sally orgren

The shaft frames may have gotten warped over time if not stored properly. On my used TOTT loom, the previous owner marked the "front" of the shaft frames, so when I was moving heddles, I wouldn't accidently drop them back into the castle reversed. (Yeah. That means cutting off the warp and rethreading your loom to flip the two frames, if that is what is needed.)

Also, sometimes the metal rod on the shaft frames can jump out of their tracks and get caught in adjacent tracks in the inner castle wall. Make sure all the rods (top and bottom) are of the same length.

If the loom needs to be lubricated, perhaps someone else can suggest a good product.