Firstly, I want to thank you all for this group.  I can not believe that the person at the Macomber factory in York ME told me that they have been around for 80 years but said that there wasn't a manual for their looms.  I am even more surprised that I couldn't find anything on YouTube to help me.  I bought a used baby macomber add a harness with 4 shafts and I just purchased and installed 4 more.  I was sent a copy of what she had on two pages, no pictures (I don't usually read instructions, pictures are what I need).  I am not new to weaving, I have a Harrisville 4 shaft with rope tie ups from treddle to shaft and am new to the concept of stepping on one treadle to pull up more than one shaft, I am very excited about this.  I am trying to set my treadles up now and can not figure out an easy way to put those metal Pieces in the slots of the treddles and then up over the lambs without lying on the ground and struggling, trying to reach all up and around the lambs only to watch the metal pieces/rods fall out when I test them (pushing the treadles down with my hands).  Can anyone explain to me an easier way?  Also, I was given some rods with a big loop and the some that are only about 1/2" shorter, with only a wee small bend in them.  I have helped my friend set up her Tools of the Trade loom, it had chains to connect the treddles, and there were all different lengths, which makes sense to me.  Does the Macomber not need all different legnth rods?

Any help or advise will be greatly appreciated,I am dying to get weaving with this new/used loom of mine.

Desiree

Comments

Sun, 12/10/2017 - 05:45

sandra.eberhar…

I put a chair in front of my Baby Mac and tilt the loom forward until it's resting on the breast beam and the treadles are at a convenient height.  I use a pair of pliers to pull the hooks over the lamms (lambs are sheep).  The hooks on the Mac are all the same length, and it does well. I use the super hooks on mine, although it is an older loom designed for the original hooks.  I see a lot of people lamenting that there is no manual for their loom, but all looms do the same thing, and most looms that do not have very specific needs, like dobby looms, come only including assembly instructions.  I believe that the super hooks that I use are the ones that have the big hook,  and the regular ones have the small hook.  The super hook is hooked ove the top of the lamm, the regular goes through a hole in the lamm.  Put the hook on the lamm first and then slide it into the slot in the treadle.

Sun, 12/10/2017 - 12:58

Michael White

Macomber makes three difference size super hooks and two sizes of the older hooks. You can see a picture here https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/macomber-looms/3076846/1-25#18

I normally do not reply to questions on the baby mac because we do not own one but I have to disagree with the Big White Dog about how to put on the super kooks. I do not think you can get the hooks on the treadle if you put the hooks on the lamm first. The part that locks the hook in the treadle is turned in such a why that you can not get it in the groove.

Put the hook in the treadles groove and then over the lamm and using the treadle push down on the hook to "lock " it in place.

One thing about the baby mac; you can not fold it up with the hooks in place. For this reason a number of people have replaced the hooks with texsol cords. There are pros and cons about the use of the texsol cords. You will find discussen about then in other posting here and on Ravelry.

Sun, 12/10/2017 - 15:08

sandra.eberhar…

Michael may be right about the sequence,  I have not tied this loom up in a while.  I do know that while I tie my other looms up treadle by treadle, the Baby gets tied up lamm by lamm.

Mon, 12/11/2017 - 15:04

ricatlga

I do have a Baby Mac.  The previous owner used texsolv, but I had problems with the way the shafts were lifting so I went back to the super-hooks that came with it and got better results.  The only time I use pliers is to tighten the hook as they tend to get looser as you take them on and off.  Pulling down on the treadle does the trick to set them.
My preferred way is to tilt the loom backwards leaning the warp beam against a chair (wall, whatever).  I hook up one treadle at a time.  As Michael says you have to slip the bottom end of the super hook into the treadle slot first, turn 90 degrees and then slip the hook over the lamm.  I have 8 shafts and sometimes it is a bit of a challenge  (for me) to find the correct lamm of the back 4.  I always start at the left-most treadle (because I'm right-handed) and with the last shaft (ex. for a 1-3-5-7 tie-up I'll hook up 7 first).  The way I do it is to place one hand over the top of all the lamms and pull down so they are at an angle.  Then I can sort of drop them off one at a time (8,7,6,..) with my fingers until I'm at the right spot.  Perhaps not the most elegant way and perhaps not so easy if you don't have strong hands, but I can hook them up pretty quickly.

Sat, 01/20/2018 - 21:43

peggychurch (not verified)

I recently installed the super hooks on a couple of old Baby Macs.  Now I want to change the tie up, but find it impossible to get the top of the hooks off of the lamms.  Is there a trick for this move?

Sat, 01/20/2018 - 23:04

Gone

I don't have a BM, I have a full size 8S. But if you're talking about the hooks being tight and difficult to remove by hand, I've found it to be a big help because they won't slip off during weaving. I do, however, need to use a pair of lineman's pliers to put them on and take them off. The hook can be loosened a bit. I prefer mine tight.

Sat, 01/20/2018 - 23:10

sandra.eberhar…

Not with your fingers.  I use a pair of needle nose pliers, put the jaws sideways on the bottom of the hook (the part where it flares up) and twist it up.  By sideways, I mean that the pliers are 90' to the hook.  As Tomz said, you can use larger pliers and simply grasp and lift.  

Sun, 01/21/2018 - 00:42

Michael White

Pick up on the treadle and tap the bottom of the hooks with a small board

Sun, 01/21/2018 - 22:19

peggychurch (not verified)

Thanks everyone!  I brought a board, a hammer, and plyers to the museum today to the weaving class.  We had success with some fishing plyers to make the hooks less tight.

 

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 19:46

Bekahr

I have two Baby Macs - the 24" 8 harness was built new for me in 2016 (I think?) and the other one is an older 20" 6-harness Baby Mac (came with 4 harnesses, recently added the other two!) with the old style lamms.  I converted the 20" one over to the Super Hooks and haven't looked back.  Yes, they are tighter on the old lamms, but I put a board underneath the treadles and use my fingers to pull down and "whap" it on the board to release the top of the Super Hook.  *shrug*  It works for me!

On my 40" 1942 B5 Mac, a board isn't quite "tall" enough for me to do that with, so I put a small -ready for a laugh? - sledge hammer head underneath of each hook and use THAT the punch them up and off the top of the lamm! 

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 19:46

Bekahr

I have two Baby Macs - the 24" 8 harness was built new for me in 2016 (I think?) and the other one is an older 20" 6-harness Baby Mac (came with 4 harnesses, recently added the other two!) with the old style lamms.  I converted the 20" one over to the Super Hooks and haven't looked back.  Yes, they are tighter on the old lamms, but I put a board underneath the treadles and use my fingers to pull down and "whap" it on the board to release the top of the Super Hook.  *shrug*  It works for me!

On my 40" 1942 B5 Mac, a board isn't quite "tall" enough for me to do that with, so I put a small -ready for a laugh? - sledge hammer head underneath of each hook and use THAT the punch them up and off the top of the lamm! 

Thu, 04/12/2018 - 05:41

morgan clifford

If you are familiar with the Schacht Baby Wolf tie-up you'll know that they have designed a super convenient, easy to use system.  I've adapted their idea to my Baby Mac and love it. 

I took off the little screws that close the back ends of the treadles.  Using Texsolve ties ordered from Schacht for their Baby Wolf, but threaded with a washer onto each one to give them a little weight,  I attached all the potential ties needed to each lamm for my 8 harnesses/10 treadles. Then, I simply engage the required ties as needed by sliding the plastic button into the slot in the treadle. I put a tiny cotter pin through the back holes in the treadles but generally don't need to do this as the ties tend to move towards the front not the back when in use.

The ties weigh nothing and are all attached to the lamms all the time.  I simply cull out the ones I need and slip them into the slots in the treadles. 

If someone could tell me how to attach a photo I can explain my system better.

Thu, 04/12/2018 - 13:02

sandra.eberhar…

You may want to search weavo about problems people see when converting a Baby Mac to Texsolve.  The hooks are rigid and pull down on the shafts.  Texsolve can pull at an angle, and can damage the shaft.

Thu, 04/12/2018 - 16:43

morgan clifford

Here are 2 photos of my Baby Mac with the Schacht tie-up cords.  They work great for me.  This loom has had a lot of use.

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