hello, I have an old loom for restoration which was rescued from France.

I have to restore the wood first but in the meantime, trying to work out what type of loom it is.... it has 4 shafts, 4 jacks in a castle, a bottom pivot beater and only 4 lamms.

Do presume this is a counterbalance loom, or is it Countermarch but missing the second set of lamms?

or some kind of hybrid?

any advice would be very welcome.

 

Comments

Wed, 08/12/2020 - 17:58

MakingDo

hello, I have an loom for restoration which was rescued from France a few years ago.  I have to restore the wood first but in the meantime, I am trying to work out what type of loom it is.... it has 4 shafts, 4 jacks in a castle, a bottom pivot beater and only 4 lamms.  Do presume this is a counterbalance loom, or is it Countermarch but missing the second set of lamms? or some kind of hybrid? - if the latter, can you help me to work out the best way to set it up (ie, what loom type should i follow?  I am a novice weaver, but i enjoy a challenge!  any advice would be very welcome.

 

Wed, 08/12/2020 - 19:35

Laminaria

Hi, your loom sounds like a countermarch if it has jack's, and probably a Four shaft. 

I am also renovating one which has eight shafts and  jacks and ten treadles. All my Lamma are on the same level. Perhaps you aren't missing a set. 

Good luck with your restoration. 

Wed, 08/12/2020 - 20:08

MakingDo

Ah thank you, that sounds promising! I am thinking I may have to construct some more lamms... I thought I needed two lamms per shaft.

Thu, 08/13/2020 - 00:10

sandra.eberhar…

It sounds more like a jack loom.  If all the other parts are there, it is unlikely that you are missing lamms.  It sounds like you have a jack loom that uses overhead jacks.  Jack looms with levers or jacks under the shafts are more common in the US, but overhead jack looms are made by Leclerc and Harrisville. Counterbalance looms that use horses are also common.  The way to tell whether you have a counterbalance loom using horses is that each horse will be attached to two shafts.  When one goes down, the other up (hence the counterbalance).  If each stick is attached to only one shaft, it is a jack.  Typically, a horse is about 4" long, a jack is much longer.  A jack will have one end attached to a lamm, and one end attached to a shaft.  A countermache loom will have attachment points at the top and bottom of the shafts.  If there are only attachment points on the tops of the shafts, and jacks, it is a jack loom.

Thu, 08/13/2020 - 08:45

MakingDo

Thank you so much for your help and clarity ... I'll take a closer look at the loom and see what I can work out. Best regards

Thu, 08/13/2020 - 08:45

MakingDo

Thank you so much for your help and clarity ... I'll take a closer look at the loom and see what I can work out. Best regards

Sun, 08/16/2020 - 15:12

Laminaria

Yes, as bigwhitesofadog suggests, it could be a jack loom.

It can be very difficult to figure out with old looms. I bought a secondhand countermarch 'four poster built in 1940's -50's by the English loom builder George Maxwell. Some might think it is a jack loom as it only has one pivot point for the lamms, which is very unusual (as the countermarches for each shaft are usually on their own pivot). 

I hope you manage to figure it out before too long. Good luck.

Sun, 08/16/2020 - 21:39

sandra.eberhar…

Having one pivot point is not that uncommon; the key is that you have attachments points at the top AND bottom of the shafts, and twice as many lamms as shafts.  On CM looms, the shafts are pulled up and down.  On jack looms, they are pulled up (there are jack looms that the shafts go down instead of up; thses are uncommon.)

Thu, 08/20/2020 - 06:19

MakingDo

I am still not totally convinced that a second set of lamms may not have been on the loom at some point - I have found a couple of screw holes which are similar to those connecting the existing set. When the previous owner acquired the loom it was also missing several frame pieces and pedals which she had made ... So I can't assume that other bits are also missing. It's quite a challenge not having an end picture.

Sun, 10/04/2020 - 21:50

[email protected]

I have a vintage Dutch loom that has six shafts and 6 lams and one pivot point it has a decending shed so it is a jack loom?

Thu, 08/20/2020 - 12:18

sandra.eberhar…

Do the shafts have attachment points (screw eyes or something simislar) at the top and bottom?  That's a key feature.  You seem to want it to be CM.  Does it actually have the space to accomadate the movement of two sets of lamms without them hitting each other?

Group Audience
Loom repair, maintenance, renovation