Hello,

I have a Ashford with 16 harnesses.  I have a 6 shaft pattern to weave.  Will it be too much to leave 10 of the harnesses unused, or is that an OK thing to do?

Thank you!

 

Comments

Fri, 02/10/2017 - 14:26

Queezle

Those extra shafts will just be sitting there, right?  if you are concerned, you could spread the six shaft threading easily to 12 shafts.  But if it was me, I'd just use the four.  I don't see how those unused shafts could hurt anything.

Fri, 02/10/2017 - 14:39

woolybat

Great!  I had a feeling it would be OK, but since I've never done it and am also fairly new to this loom, I wanted to get some advice before diving in...wouldn't want to go through all that warping work, just to have to start over!  Thanks for confirming my thoughts.

Fri, 02/10/2017 - 15:10

woolybat

Great!  I had a feeling it would be OK, but since I've never done it and am also fairly new to this loom, I wanted to get some advice before diving in...wouldn't want to go through all that warping work, just to have to start over!  Thanks for confirming my thoughts.

Fri, 02/10/2017 - 16:04

MaryMartha

I have never had problems using fewer shafts on my table looms with texsolv heddles.  Don't remove the unused shafts, just split the heddles to either side and let the warp ride in between.

But do you have enough heddles on the front six shafts for the project? Personally, I detest moving heddles from one shaft to another.  When I spread a threading to more shafts, it is usually to avoid having to move the heddles back and forth.

If you do decide to spread the threading in order to have enough heddles, then I recommend doing it in an orderly fashion, such as spreading to 12.  That way your lift plan will be the same - just doubled.

Tue, 02/14/2017 - 12:37

woolybat

Ahh, great point!  I have not yet had to move heddles from one shaft to another on this loom, but I can imagine it could be nightmarish!  I hadn't even thought about having enough heddles if I used less harnesses.  Thanks for the tip :) I'll definitely pay attention to that.  You may have just helped me avoid a lot of trouble!

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Ashford Table Looms