Just doesn't seem to operate smoothly. Shafts getting hung up on other shafts. One side going up higher than other. Any tips on how to make this operate better?

Comments

Mon, 01/20/2014 - 02:57

SallyE (not verified)

Please let us know some details of your loom.   How many shafts and how many treddles do you have?  Are the chords jumping out of the pulleys at all?

I worked on a Harrisville once, and found it useful to make shaft hangers for it so I could get the chords hung and the shafts balanced properly.   It was pretty much impossible until I made those hangers.

 

Mon, 01/20/2014 - 03:08

mleshleman (not verified)

It is a 40" - 8 shaft, 10 treadle. And yes, the cables jump off the pulley wheels. It's almost as though the shafts aren't heavy enough to pull the cables over the pulleys snugly. I have tried several things and always ended up back at the original because my "fixes" didn't seem to do much. My next try was going to be weights for the shafts. What are shaft hangers? I stopped at Harrisville last year hoping to talk to someone about this. No one had time. I was asked to wait for someone and was waiting in the store for 1 1/2 hours. No one came and it was even difficult to get information from their gals in the retail store about products. Was disappointed. Thank you for your help. Will be interested in your ideas.
Mon, 01/20/2014 - 05:18

SallyE (not verified)

If your shafts aren't staying level, I suspect that the chords aren't the same length on each side.  To level the shafts use shaft hangers to hold the shafts up while you adjust the chords.   Basically, they are two pieces of wood that pass under the top shaft bars (one at the far right, and one at the far left).   They are held up by a chord that hangs from the castle.   You have to keep the shaft hangers themselves level, and to do that you need 4 chords, one for each end of each hanger.  Once the shafts are hung, you can adjust the chords tension on the chords without the shafts falling and getting out of level.  

As for the chords jumping the pulleys, that will happen unless there is constant tension keeping the chords in the pulley channel.  There are several ways to fix this, so I'll tell you the easiest one and you can try it.   If it doesn't work, we can talk about other methods.

Anyway, one thing you can do is to get some metal rod (1/8" is fine) and drill some holes into the castle that the rod will run through.   The rod needs to lay perpendicular to the row of pulleys, but barely touch them.  The idea is to trap the chords in the pulley channel so that they can't come out.   You might need two rods per stack of pulleys, and you will have to use some judgement as to where to put them.  Here is a picture:

You can use this same idea for any of the sets of pulleys. 

Optionally, you can use the rods to hold a piece of plastic tubing.  If you do that, you can let the pulleys touch the tubing and it won't cause too much friction.  BTW, depending on how long the rods you need are, cheap knitting needles will work.

Let me know if this helps!

 

Mon, 01/20/2014 - 13:49

sequel (not verified)

Chances are your warp is too tight.  This will lift the shafts and they will either pop the cables off the hooks or cause the cables to go slack and allow them to leap off the pulleys.  Also make sure the cables are not twisted or wrapped around one another.  If your problems come after advancing the warp, then take a minute to shove the shafts back into position if they have ridden the warp forwards.

Mon, 01/20/2014 - 14:24

sally orgren

and if so, are there metal heddles on this loom?

(Did I ask this before?)

Mon, 01/20/2014 - 14:55

mleshleman (not verified)

:)  Yes, this is a jack loom and there are metal heddles (which I dislike.).  There are adjustment chains on the side for the cables.  It doesn't matter to my loom where you put those, the shafts are always not lifting properly and "inch" forward toward the beater bar.   The warp gets hung up on neighboring shafts and breakage occurs.  (which is what I am going through right now - have a mess to clean up and am very frustrated.)  The cables that are on the loom are HD cables but they are stiff and not "hugging" the pulleys at all.  I think I said earlier that it is almost like needing weight to the shafts in order to get some smoother operation.  I am cleaning up this mess this morning!  Hopefully to save the warp (8 yds) that I had on for towels.  (Warp broke at shafts in the middle of the width!) :(

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for all the comments and suggestions thus far.

Mon, 01/20/2014 - 15:16

SallyE (not verified)

How sticky is your warp, and how many ends per inch do you have?   I'm wondering, if it's very sticky or a very dense warp, the shafts that lift maybe pulling the other shafts up with them, and that would cause what you are describinh.  In that case weights will help.

Having worked on a Harrisville loom, I'm not a real fan of this mechanism.  Just working on it was difficult because nothing would stay where it was supposed to. . . . .

Tue, 01/21/2014 - 14:06

sequel (not verified)

Yes, Harrisville looms have the problem of the shafts advancing with the warp.  I would check to see if your shafts are hung at the correct height  (check with Harrisville).  Again, if the heddles are riding on a too tight warp you will be breaking warps due to strain and abrasion. 

 

You said you didn't like steel heddles.  Are you sure your warps are threaded straight through the heddles, not twisted through from the wrong direction?  Are all of your heddles aligned correctly?  Upside down or backwards heddles are often found on used looms and are a cause of snapped warps.  If you are left handed and are trying to thread from the right you may have a lot of twisted threads.

 

Tue, 01/21/2014 - 14:12

mleshleman (not verified)

Hi sequel:

I managed to save my warp and establish a cross in the back.  Now I am in the midst of removing my shafts and making sure all of the metal heddles are installed correctly and in the correct direction.  I'm also looking for any damaged heddles.  Once I inspect each shaft, I will re-hang them.  I have once again shot a message to Harrisville for advice/tips; but have not heard back from them.  Probably won't hear from them as in the past.  I believe that if I check everything that I can and make sure that the heddles are aligned correctly.  I won't have any trouble with re-threading the loom and getting some work done.  Thank you for your comments.

 

Tue, 01/21/2014 - 20:13

sequel (not verified)

Harrisville is in the middle of a major snowstorm right now!  We have an 8 shaft 36" Harrisville where I teach on Thursdays, so I will measure the height of the shafts for you then.

Wed, 01/22/2014 - 00:03

sandra.eberhar…

If I recall correctly, Harrisville shafts float.  In both my current TOTT jack loom and in an earlier Schacht, the shafts are held in channels in the castle, which keeps them from banging into each other, and controls them.  A much better idea, I think.  The Schacht had rubber bands that could be attached to the bottom of shafts that were lifting at the wrong time.  I'm sure you have already looked at this, but is the warp going over the back beam?  Another way to keep cords on pulleys is to put large washers between the pulleys.  I have used fender washers, and have made my own big washers out of laminate samples.  For this to work, the washers must not leave any space between the pulleys.

Wed, 01/22/2014 - 00:32

mleshleman (not verified)

Hi, Yes the HArrisville shafts float but I wish they were in channels. I was talking about the set up with my husband today and adding washers in between the pulleys is first on our fix it to do list, so funny you should mention that. Glad you could validate that as one of the things I should try. My warp does go over the back beam. I think that's alright. Thanks for weighing in. M
Thu, 01/23/2014 - 17:25

sequel (not verified)

The top of the shafts should be 8 1/2  inches down from the top of the castle - the castle, not the tool tray!

Thu, 01/23/2014 - 17:31

SallyE (not verified)

If you are thinking about making channels for your shafts, you might want to look at what I did with my Macomber.  I was having trouble with the shafts hanging up on each other.

http://weavolution.com/group/diy-looms-tools/macomber-shaft-spacer-28208

 

 

Fri, 01/24/2014 - 02:53

mleshleman (not verified)

:)  Thank you.