Ahrens Looms

A Fairy Tale Explains a Simple Tension System: In Other Words, a Brake!

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There is a website for Ahrens Looms. https://ahrenslooms.com/

We made it years ago to help explain how these simple looms work. Ahrens stands for Jim Ahrens, the “A” part of AVL. The brake or tension system as he called it is simple and I’ve seen it used all over the world. When I couldn’t explain how it worked, he told me the fairy tale he made up. That did the trick! This system is on many AVL looms as well as the ones Jim personally made.

A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time long, long ago before there were ratchets for looms, ways to tension the warp were very primitive. One day a weaver found a new way to put tension on the warp beam. He put a sturdy stick, like a peg, vertically in his warp
beam, hooked a rope on it, wound it around and around the beam, and hung a big rock on it. With the weight off the floor, he had full warp tension, and he was very pleased with himself.

Fig 176A_149 A


As he wove along and advanced the warp, the rope wound up on the beam and the rock rose higher and higher off
the ground. Pretty soon he had to stop because the rock was up on the warp beam, and he had to unwind the rope
to let it down. Then he wove along until the rock got too high, stopped to unwind some rope and let it down again. This worked fine and he was very, very pleased with himself.
One time when he was unwinding the rope, he pulled out the peg and the rope slipped off the stick into his hand. He was surprised when he held the end of the rope, that he didn’t have to pull hard on it at all to keep the rope from slipping around the beam. In fact, he could hold the loop in the end of the rope with one finger, and the rope around the beam
didn’t slip. The big rock still hung in place putting full tension on the warp!
He had been winding the rope say, 1/2 dozen times around the beam, so he decided to see if he could wind fewer times.
He found with only 3 turns on the beam there was still not much weight needed on the end of the rope. So he hung asmall rock on the end of the rope and began weaving.

Fig 176B_149 B


As he wove along, the big rock rose and the little rock fell until it hit the floor. Then the most amazing surprise came. When the warp threads were lifted to open the shed, the beam rolled forward slightly, raising the big rock and lowering the small rock to the floor. The little rock touching the floor took the tension off that end of the rope for an instant. As soon as it did, the rope slipped a bit on the beam. As soon as the beam slipped, the big rock put tension back on the rope pulling the small rock up off the floor again. The slippage let the warp move forward a few thousandths of an inch—just enough to compensate for the take-up of the warp for the weft! The big rock was off the floor, obviously, while the small rock dangled just above the floor, where it bounced and dangled on and off the floor as he wove along. Now he didn’t have to get up and unwind the rope to let the big rock down! He could weave along continuously, and the big rock would hold the full warp tension. The little rock would let the warp beam slip a bit with each weft and also would let it slip when he advanced the warp. The two rocks remained in these positions all during his weaving. This pleased him very, very, very much. When the shed closed, our weaver realized that the beam rolled backwards to its starting place. The tension on the warp threads never changed even when the warp threads were lifted to open the sheds, because the weight (the big rock) was always the same. This was perfect for fine silk warp threads that couldn’t stand the stress of stretching with the old locked beam systems. He was enormously pleased with himself! Rocks (with one rock ten times heavier than the other) and the weaver’s invention are still used today!

When Jim Ahrens Began Using the Weight-Counter Weight System


He tried the two weights and noticed the two weights jerked when the rope slipped. Then he got the idea to use a small spring in place of the counterweight The spring let the rope slip slowly so there was no jerk or sudden change, just smooth weaving.

Fig 176C_149 C

He came up with the idea on his own, but never claims to have invented it; her said, “I always found someone else had done the things I worked out on my own.” When he needed to make smaller looms, there wasn’t enough room for the big weight so he substituted a heavy spring for the weight “It was no big advance, there was no place for the weight.” he said. It works the same way as the weight and small spring.

Fig 176D_149 D

The heavy spring puts the tension on the warp; the small spring is the counterweight. When the shed opens, the warp beam rolls forward a bit loosening the tension on the other end of the rope at the small spring. The rope slips a little. The heavy spring takes over again, putting the rope back under tension. when the shed closes the warp beam rolls back to its starting point. The slippage is a few thousandths of an inch and the warp stays under constant tension.

As you crank the warp forward you exert more force on the warp than the force of the heavy spring causing the cord to slip. this allows the beam to turn and the warp to unwind.

Jim preferred using the combination of a heavy weight and the small spring because he can beat harder than with just the two springs. But the double springs are a good enough substitute if you don’t beat too hard.

The Mysterious Brake System in AVL Looms – Explaned in a Fairy Tale

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A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time long, long ago before there were ratchets for looms, ways to tension the warp were very primitive. One day a weaver found a new way to put tension on the warp beam. He put a sturdy stick, like a peg, vertically in his warp
beam, hooked a rope on it, wound it around and around the beam, and hung a big rock on it. With the weight off the floor, he had full warp tension, and he was very pleased with himself.

Fig 176A_149 A


As he wove along and advanced the warp, the rope wound up on the beam and the rock rose higher and higher off
the ground. Pretty soon he had to stop because the rock was up on the warp beam, and he had to unwind the rope
to let it down. Then he wove along until the rock got too high, stopped to unwind some rope and let it down again. This worked fine and he was very, very pleased with himself.
One time when he was unwinding the rope, he pulled out the peg and the rope slipped off the stick into his hand. He was surprised when he held the end of the rope, that he didn’t have to pull hard on it at all to keep the rope from slipping around the beam. In fact, he could hold the loop in the end of the rope with one finger, and the rope around the beam
didn’t slip. The big rock still hung in place putting full tension on the warp!
He had been winding the rope say, 1/2 dozen times around the beam, so he decided to see if he could wind fewer times.
He found with only 3 turns on the beam there was still not much weight needed on the end of the rope. So he hung asmall rock on the end of the rope and began weaving.

Fig 176B_149 B


As he wove along, the big rock rose and the little rock fell until it hit the floor. Then the most amazing surprise came. When the warp threads were lifted to open the shed, the beam rolled forward slightly, raising the big rock and lowering the small rock to the floor. The little rock touching the floor took the tension off that end of the rope for an instant. As soon as it did, the rope slipped a bit on the beam. As soon as the beam slipped, the big rock put tension back on the rope pulling the small rock up off the floor again. The slippage let the warp move forward a few thousandths of an inch—just enough to compensate for the take-up of the warp for the weft! The big rock was off the floor, obviously, while the small rock dangled just above the floor, where it bounced and dangled on and off the floor as he wove along. Now he didn’t have to get up and unwind the rope to let the big rock down! He could weave along continuously, and the big rock would hold the full warp tension. The little rock would let the warp beam slip a bit with each weft and also would let it slip when he advanced the warp. The two rocks remained in these positions all during his weaving. This pleased him very, very, very much. When the shed closed, our weaver realized that the beam rolled backwards to its starting place. The tension on the warp threads never changed even when the warp threads were lifted to open the sheds, because the weight (the big rock) was always the same. This was perfect for fine silk warp threads that couldn’t stand the stress of stretching with the old locked beam systems. He was enormously pleased with himself! Rocks (with one rock ten times heavier than the other) and the weaver’s invention are still used today!

When Jim Ahrens Began Using the Weight-Counter Weight System


He tried the two weights and noticed the two weights jerked when the rope slipped. Then he got the idea to use a small spring in place of the counterweight The spring let the rope slip slowly so there was no jerk or sudden change, just smooth weaving.

Fig 176C_149 C

He came up with the idea on his own, but never claims to have invented it; her said, “I always found someone else had done the things I worked out on my own.” When he needed to make smaller looms, there wasn’t enough room for the big weight so he substituted a heavy spring for the weight “It was no big advance, there was no place for the weight.” he said. It works the same way as the weight and small spring.

Fig 176D_149 D

The heavy spring puts the tension on the warp; the small spring is the counterweight. When the shed opens, the warp beam rolls forward a bit loosening the tension on the other end of the rope at the small spring. The rope slips a little. The heavy spring takes over again, putting the rope back under tension. when the shed closes the warp beam rolls back to its starting point. The slippage is a few thousandths of an inch and the warp stays under constant tension.

As you crank the warp forward you exert more force on the warp than the force of the heavy spring causing the cord to slip. this allows the beam to turn and the warp to unwind.

Jim preferred using the combination of a heavy weight and the small spring because he can beat harder than with just the two springs. But the double springs are a good enough substitute if you don’t beat too hard.

A Very Special Ahrens Loom Available: Eight Different Projects on One Loom

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Introduction. As you may know, Jim Ahrens, the loom builder and the “A” part of AVL Looms was my mentor and what I learned from him is the bones of my books and teaching.

This  4-shaft Ahrens jack loom would be especially suited for a school, teacher, or someone who likes to have several warps going at once. Jim Ahrens made looms where you could take out a project and hang it on the wall and put in another project –all on the same loom. Each project would have its own warp on the warp beam, be threaded in the heddles, and  sleyed in the reed. When you want to weave that project, you put it into the loom’s frame, tie on the warp to the front apron and start weaving.

–This loom came from Santa Rosa JC when they auctioned off the equipment in the craft department.

–It’s located in Mariposa, California near Yosemite and easily accessible.

–It is 38”wide with a weaving width of 31 inches

–It comes with 7 extra loom parts. (reeds not supplied)

–The loom itself is set up to weave two shaft horse blankets. These shafts have heddles. It is a complete 4-shaft loom with one reed. The shafts not shown are in with the other loom parts.

–There are only  a few heddles on the warp in the loom. A jig for tying more heddles is included.

–A side view photo shows the treadles, loom frame and built-in bench.

–Another side view shows the shafts location and the warp beam.

–Price is $200.

–Contact: Chris at 1-209-756-4391 or email 1weavingplace@gmail.com Tell why you would like to be the new owner of this loom.

 Here is a side view showing the frame of the loom and the built-in bench. The 4 treadles for a direct tie up are very desirable. It makes it easy to walk the treadles. This direct tie up is one I have recommended many times in my posts and teaching. You can treadle all the 14 possible combinations with 4 shafts.

This side view shows the frame of the loom, the cloth and warp beams and the location of the shafts.

This is a photo of some of the extra loom parts.

Unique Ahrens Loom Available

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This unique Ahrens Loom is for sale to the right person. It has 12 shafts, 14 treadles, and the weaving width is 36”. The warp and cloth wind directly on the front and back beams as in many looms that Jim Ahrens built. That is so that the front of the loom can be dropped to make the loom narrower for storing and going through doors.

The side tie-up (also signature Jim) means you don’t have to crawl under the loom to tie up the treadles. 

Here is the back. It’s available at Pacific Textile Arts in Fort Bragg, California. The asking price is $200 to the right person, and is negotiable. They are sure it was one of the looms Jim and his wife wove linens on for Gumps. It’s historic and needs a good home.

Contact: outreach@pacifictextilearts.org

Note from Peggy:

I’m pretty sure it’s made of Birdseye maple as most of Jim’s looms are. If not, then just lovely maple. Jim Ahrens is the A part of AVL. He consulted on the original AVL looms to make them engineered to weave as efficiently as the looms in England just before the Industrial Revolution. They are truly production looms.

Ahrenslooms.com: A Treasure Trove of Information

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Here are a few photos about another loom built by Jim Ahrens: his 40-shaft dobby loom which he built during the second world war in the 40’s. These are just to whet your appetite for the information you’ll find on ahrenslooms.com. My apprentice, Vera Totos and I made the site because it was important to show how Jim’s looms worked.

This is part of a chain I used to weave the music notes for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star several years ago. Over time some pegs have been removed.

Here is the backside of the dobby chain and some of the dobby mechanism. You can see it took a lot of bars for the first phrase of the tune.

Part of the mechanism has a cord with a knot for each of the 40 shafts. When a peg hits the mechanism it pushes the corresponding cord so it can’t go throought the hole, thus moving that shaft.

Here is a photo near the beginning of our restoration of the loom. Lots and lots of cords and knots!!

Getting the 40-Shaft Dobby Working

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Getting the 40-shaft mechanical dobby going. Jim Ahrens built this loom in the 40’s. Beside the dobby shafts are 4 more made for a ground weave. You can see a small practice warp ready to see that the dobby mechanism works after replacing all the cords. A big project.

Here are the dobby bars I pegged for a design some years ago next to the mechanism. There is a single wide treadle to activate the dobby which is what makes the sheds. Next week we should see if all the adjustments and knots work like they should.

Here is a close up of the bars and pegs. Each bar represents one shed or row of weaving. The pegs tell the dooby which shafts to lift and lower to make the sheds.

The big pedal operates the dobby. The 4 regular pedals are meant to operate a ground weave which we aren’t using for our trial. Each press of the big pedal changes the shed (dobby bar with pegs).

For the trial only 4 shafts will be used.

Here are the completed 4 shafts with their individual weights at the bottom of each shaft. The cords for the remainder of the shafts are bunched up out of the way.

My New Baby is a Cutie!

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Now my studio really looks like a weaving studio. My newest loom is in the center. All my looms except this new sweetie were built by Jim Ahrens. Now the new one was made by AVL looms—the “A” stands for Ahrens, so all the engineering is related. The ‘V’ stands for Jon Violette, who began the company with Jim and the ‘L’ stands for looms.
Are you wondering what the other looms are that circle the new one in the center? Starting with the loom on the left and going around clockwise: 10-shaft, side tie-up, 4-shaft loom, 40-shaft dobby built by Jim Ahrens in the 1940’s, and my love, the 4-shaft loom made of bird’s eye maple wood which I have used exclusively for years and years. Going to 12 is a giant and exciting step for me!

Here she is—a real sweetie. I’ve been trying to reduce and give away things but this loom from Jan Langdon I fell in love with years ago. When she decided to down size, she said I was the only person who had longed for it. It is a 12-shaft dobby about 36” wide. Note that in the photo, my 10-shaft loom with a side tie-up is back behind the new loom. Small in a way but the dobby will increase my capacity for new structures greatly.  I’ve been wanting to weave a structure for years and finally decided to do it until I realized I would run out of treadles. The dobby solves that problem. Two treadles work the mechanism to raise the shafts. Notice it is on wheels—that has been very handy already. I just need a pillow on my bench.

Here’s the back of the loom. The dobby mechanism is on the left side in the photo.

This is the dobby mechanism. Each bar represents one shed or row of weaving.

A close-up shows the pegs in the bars. A special tool makes it easy to ‘peg’ each shed. The holes without pegs are the shafts that will go up. Since there are 12 shafts, there are 12 holes in each bar. When the right treadle is pressed, the mechanism raises the shafts for one bar—one shed. When the left treadle is pressed, the shed closes and the mechanism readies itself for the next shed. When all the holes are filled nothing will go up. It’s a way to mark the end of a repeat.

Here is the first thing I’ve woven! I wanted to shade the 12-shaft satin weave to go from only the warp showing graded to only the weft showing. The white warps are shiny spun silk (2 different yarns) and the weft is handspun silk from Bhutan that is not shiny.Then I dyed the piece lightly in black walnut dye. I was hoping the shades of the color would contrast more, to go in shades from light to dark–but that is what I’ll work on next. I thought the two yarns—one shiny and one mat would contrast more when in the dye. Lately I’ve been weaving cloth for the dye pot—really fun to weave and get my creative juices flowing.

Hurry! Two Ahrens Looms Available

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Hi all,

A woman in Berkeley is selling two unique looms.

Loom #1 is a 20-shaft mechanical dobby loom, 40″ weaving width – the
first dobby loom Jim Ahrens ever made. (Jim Ahrens was the “A” in
“AVL” – an amazing loom builder/engineer.)

Loom #2 is a 90%-complete dobby drawloom, 30″ wide with 20 shafts,
also designed and made by Jim Ahrens. The loom is complete except for
the beater, a warp beam, and a few other pieces. It comes with
detailed plans, so a decent woodworker should have no trouble putting
together the other pieces.

The owner needs to clear out both looms by April 16 – so she says,
“Just make me an offer! Any offer!” After that the looms will be cut
up for the wood (her husband is a woodworker), which seems a real pity
considering their unique nature and history.

Contact the seller directly at 1gingerdragon@gmail.com

Please pass on to anyone you know who might be interested.

Thanks!

Peggy

New Features Added to the Ahrens Looms Website

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Ahrens Menus
The Ahrens Looms website gets more exciting for me everyday.

We have the full support of Bob Kruger of AVL and Weavolution is announcing it in their newsletter.  We’ve added more features that would be expected on websites. There is a Forum section with several topics and the latest added is the FAQ page. Here is a sample of how a FAQ (frequently asked question) works. When you click on the question the answer pops up below. Try it!

Why are there only 4 treadles?

Because that’s all you need for 4 shafts. With those 4 treadles and your two feet you can treadle all of the possible combinations of shafts. There are 14 combinations possible.You never need to tie up any combinations and that way you can easily change tie-ups anytime you want. If you use Jim’s unique tie-ups for the 4 treadles, it’s easy to walk your feet for all the weaves you have available.
Direct tieup

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Just Published!! My new website about Ahrens Looms!

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Ahrens Plaque


My good friend Vera Totos and I have been working for months on creating a new website about Ahrens looms. Jim Ahrens built looms for efficient weaving, using his own engineering and centuries old European techniques. This site explains their use and operation. Check it out and let me know what you think using the “Contact” page or as a “comment” at the bottom of each page.
http://ahrenslooms.com/