I’m using a trapeze for the second or third time. It will be in the new version of Weaving for Beginners. I felt just like a beginner. So don’t follow here for details; they will be in the book and probably I’ll put them in another post when the book comes out in a month or so. But if you don’t have the book already, the Fourth Edition will have some other good things in it.
The trapeze is set up in the FRONT of the loom with weights hung on the warp for even tension.
Here is the warp beam with a very good warp being wound on. Tight and even.
I kept the sticks in the group cross for the raddle and worked the sticks up for a bit then cranked the warp beam. With this squirrelly warp I needed to work the sticks along as I went bit by bit.
This warp is wilder than any linen thread I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness for my raddle with only 6 dents per inch. There were only 3 ends in each space, and they needed untangling constantly! But they were straight after going through the raddle along with the tension on the warp.
Some wondered if my raddle was a reed. Here is a regular looking raddle with ½” spaces which is familiar to back-to-front warpers.
Here is my raddle. It comes with a wooden cap, but I used rubber bands this time. I got mine from a reed making company.
Could you tie your lease sticks in series to each other and then to the front beam so that the travel of the warp to the heddles works them for you?
I’m not understanding this. Can you try to explain it further? Is this an idea or something that works? I find it interesting, I think!
Peggy
Hi Peggy,
I have found that keeping the choke ties in as long as possible reduces the stroking and drama of beaming. At Praxis Fiber Workshop in Cleveland, We put on warps every 2 weeks 30 and 45 epi – 1320 threads.
We get 12 yards beamed in under 2 hours. No lease sticks needed and I love that the trapeze can go from the TC2 to a floor loom.
This is the kind of warp, coarse and irregular, where I would expect the beamed, tensioned threads to dig down into underlying layers. This would make the weaving tension wonky. Have you considered and have an answer for that?
Peggy, thank you so much for this post and for all the information you provide on the Ahrens Home Loom website! I am the new owner of Jannie’s beautiful Ahrens Home Loom (owned by Ena Marston before her) and she referred me to your website as I get to know my new weaving companion. L
Hi Peggy,
These questions are tangential to the subject, but…
1) What kind of loom are you using?
2) Where did you get the 6 dpi raddle?
I like the simplicity of your trapeze. I have one that the generous husband of a friend made for me following the specs in Katie Reader Meek’s book. Mine requires clamping to the loom in four places–but Katie also recommends using pretty heavy weights, so bracing against the loom and securing with bungee cords might not be sufficient.
My loom was made by Jim Ahrens, the “A” in AVL looms. I got the raddle from a reed company that went out of business: Gowdey Reed Co. Industry uses them so they are not unique. I haven’t checked the internet for another company. When you find one, please let us know. It shouldn’t be impossible.
Peggy
Good information here! Thank you!
I just ordered a new reed from Palmetto Reeds (in South Carolina), recommended on the Gowdey Reed Co. website. They were very helpful, and reasonably priced as well.
Thanks for letting me know–I’ll see if it can get into the new reprint we are working on–out in the new year or so.
Peggy