Hello,  I'm a new weaver looking to buy my first floor loom.  Saw a Macomber B4D on ebay for sale.  Can you give your opinion on this loom?  It's 60 inches wide and a 4 harness, 10 treadles.

It's pretty old but looks in nice shape.  Sue

 

Comments

Mon, 07/29/2013 - 21:46

SallyE (not verified)

I'm not sure how we can help you without knowing more.  If you post a link to the loom, we can look at it and see what it has vs. the price and perhaps give an opinion.

 

Mon, 07/29/2013 - 23:10

Dena (not verified)

The Macomber B models are fabulous looms.  I am convinced that if my first loom hadn't been one, I wouldn't be a professional weaver today.  They hold up really well and usually, you can fix what is broken.  That being said, 60" is a really large loom to start out with.  Are you wanting to primarily weave large projects?  My rule of thumb is that if you can only have one loom, it's best to get one that works really well for what you want to do 80% of the time.  Weaving scarves on a loom that wide is going to be more work than is worth it.

Can you foward the link and we'll look at it?

Mon, 07/29/2013 - 23:13

sequel (not verified)

How strong are your legs?  Lifting those big wide shafts could get old in a hurry if all you're weaving is scarves and towels.  And if you decide to add more shafts later, they will cost more than for a narrower loom.  Is this the one you're talking about?

Mon, 07/29/2013 - 23:42

mneligh

I could be wrong, but a B4D is I think the number for the loom with the 48" weaving width, 60" exterior width.  Is it really a B4D?

It is hard for me to imagine anyone tiring using 4 shafts on that loom. Because of the back-hinged treadles I find that number easier to treadle than my 8 shaft Baby Wolf.  It's only when I do insane things like tie 18-19 shafts to the outermost treadles and try to throw the full width that I find it difficult.  A thinking person would have woven in reverse -- made the 1 or 2 shafts rise, and kept the 18 or 19 down.  Doh!

In any case, it's a truly great loom.  After 35 years using one, i've decided I need a bigger loom in addition, but it has taken that long to need it.  My Mac B4 will always be my number one loom.

 

Sat, 08/03/2013 - 16:14

Michael White

Is a 48 inch loom. I am going to post a sizing chart here.

DEpending the the price any Macomber will make a great loom. When I say price some sellers really "love" their loom and price it that way.

 

Michael

Sun, 08/04/2013 - 15:08

dtjacobson

The seller appears to have pulled the original listing and relisted the loom for $1250. IMO, that is too much to spend on what is essentially a 4-shaft jack loom with only 1 back beam & very few extras (such as a bench). I'm also a little suspicious--the seller lists it as a B4-D, but the measurements are for a B4-E, which has a 56" weaving width.

By way of comparison, I paid $2000 for for a B4-E 16-shaft Mac with 2 warp beams about 9 weeks ago.