#oxaback loom

[ghostweaver]

Back on a countermarsh loom! I'm so excited to see how these towels turn out! It's been a hot minute since I've used a floor loom, let alone one this big. It takes up a whole room! So much bigger than the inkle loom I've been using for the past year.

I'm so happy with how the hem-stitching came out (though I'm a bit nervous because the threads snapped right after I tied the final knot, so fingers crossed 🤞) and I can't wait to see how the rest develops!

[bewove]

The sample warp on the AVL was quite pleasing, the supplementary warp was working well, that is until the cloth advance bolt broke.  After that the tension got wonky and the outcome was a few half decent towels.

At this point in time I have a linen warp ready to tie onto the sample supplementary warp.  This will be done using 2 sets of lease sticks.  One for the existing  remnant of the sample warp and the other set for the newly beamed linen warp.  I will post photos.  On the Oxaback the remnants of a Swedish twine warp for a last rag rug.  My daughter and boyfriend seemed to quite like the custom rug I made for them.

I rearranged what was Mike’s office.  He prefers to work in the bonus room with a big screen tv.  This room is generally used as a study/spare bedroom.  Now that my oldest lives a million miles away, this room gets no use.  I decided to spruce it up a little.  I had found some really cool prints in Paris from the 1940’s in red, black, taupe and grey.  The sofa is covered in an old quilt, with French script printed of course!  I love star lights, Ikea has great paper stars.

As of now I have an AVL 48 inch computer-dobby, a 54 inch Oxaback which has a draw loom attachment and most recently a very old Cranbrook loom.  The Cranbrook is one of the originals of the Cranbrook school of Design.  It is made of elmwood.  The owner (an incredible weaver who is retiring) re-fit it with a new castle, new lamms and new shafts.  It is approximately 46 inch weave width and has a downward slope from the back beam to the cloth beam and makes wonderful rugs!  It breaks down quickly when needed but is very sturdy!  I plan to use this specifically for rugs, wool, rep-weave and rag.

I am quite lucky in that I have two passions, running/Personal Training and weaving and teaching.  My new job at the local gym is going well, the trainers there are incredible, talented and fun to work with!  A good team environment!

Will post progress soon!

Getting it Going The sample warp on the AVL was quite pleasing, the supplementary warp was working well, that is until the cloth advance bolt broke.  

[bewove]

This was available on Craigslist, looks like 2 looms, most parts included but needed work.

I knew the main piece was a Newcomb Studio loom.  The other is a home-built and quite old counterbalance loom.  I needed another loom like a hole in the head, but not one to shy from a challenge, I sunk the $250 into it.  After cleaning, repairing some damaged wood caused by rusty bolts, the Studio Loom is up and almost running.  I decided it was a cheap investment that would allow me to weave the runners I wanted without tying up the large Oxaback draw loom.

One side piece needed to be replaced, the dowels in the sectional beam need replacing, which can be done in the future.

  All in all it probably cost $280, I replaced the metal rods and tie ups with texsolv and had old texsolv heddles.  These looms are sturdy and I plan to put a long warp for runners on it.

Here is a photo of the second loom.  I will need to replace heddles, a warp beam handle and the top counterbalance mount and pulleys.  I like that this loom knocks down easily and will post pictures when restored.

  Sticks and Stones….Another Rescue This was available on Craigslist, looks like 2 looms, most parts included but needed work. I knew the main piece was a Newcomb Studio loom.  

[bewove]

Oxaback Drawloom Cont.

The main construction of the drawloom attachment is complete.  The drawcords are placed with the large loop on the front support bar and the remaining length travels over to the back of the loom above the pattern shafts.  As there are hundreds of drawcords, they are placed by color in groups of 10.  This makes it easy to identify specific lifts of the pattern leash from the graph design. Here is…

[bewove]

The single unit attachment finally arrived last week.  I placed the order at the end of last year/beginning of this year.  It was made for the Oxaback loom and was shipped from Sweden.

Below is the packaging with the exception of a USPS large flat rate box full of hardware.

The device itself is quite simple, everything attached easily and only required drilling a few holes into the main loom.

Below is the back beam extension.  The single unit device requires less space than the harness version.  I particularly like the height adjustment for the warp beam.

This is one of a pair of the side support pieces, it supports the pattern draw shafts, the back reed and the top support beam.

Below shows how this is installed.

Below are the shaft support hangers.

Below is the support for the extra weighted cords.  In this photo I have the part installed upside down, the metal rod should sit a little higher so the cords do no abrade with the countermarch cords.

The front assembly in place.

The rear of the loom awaiting the pattern heddles to be transferred onto the four pattern shafts.

Oxaback Drawloom Attachment The single unit attachment finally arrived last week.  I placed the order at the end of last year/beginning of this year.  

[bewove]

Moving Along

Below is the Oxaback countermarch being prepared for draw loom weaving. In preparation for the arrival of the new single draw attachment, I have been setting up the Oxaback.  With the vertical countermarch, weights are used in replacement of the elastics as used with the horizontal countermarch. This required the addition of some eye hooks as the texsolv exits from both sides of the couper,…