Types of Looms
| Counterbalance | Table looms |
| Jack | Drawlooms |
| Countermarch | |
Counterbalance Looms
Photo of a counterbalance loom Click here.
The counterbalance loom type is found in nearly every country and is the traditional type of loom used around the world and throughout history. Pulleys, horses or roller dowels are used to hang shafts so that when at rest, the warp threads are neither pulled up nor down. When a shed is made, one or more shafts go up and the others go down. All of the shafts are responding to the weaver's foot, giving smooth, quick and quiet treadling. This gives the weaver control over the weaving and helps to develop a rhythm while weaving.
Since counterbalance looms have castles, there is usually a heavier, hanging beater attached to the castle. This gives better control of the beat and a better view of the weaving as you beat.
Counterbalance looms commonly have from 2 to 10 shafts, but most weavers tie up only 4. If you want 3, 5 or more shafts, you need to tie them up differently. This is done after the warp is tensioned, and you will need to use more pulleys or horses.
The counterbalance shed
Counterbalance looms allow one to open a small shed by using a light touch on the treadle, or a large shed by putting more pressure on the treadle. The pressure on treadles regulates the size of the shed. Small sheds give much nicer selvages and can help to prevent draw-in at the selvages. A counterbalance loom can do this because the warp comes straight from the back to the front of the loom. You can weave on a tighter tension and the tension on the warp threads is the same on the top and bottom of the shed at all times. This gives a better quality woven product. This is one of the reasons that rug looms are counterbalance.
An important advantage of the counterbalance loom is that all of the shafts are moved by each treadle. There are no shafts left to keep their place only by their weight, as with a jack loom. So, these shafts do not need to be heavy.
A large clear shed can be made even on closely sett or sticky warps. The wefts can also be beaten in more securely because the warp travels straight from the breast beam to the back beam.
Counterbalance looms are very quiet. The quill moving in the shuttle often makes more noise than the loom.
Weaving Unbalanced sheds
On a counterbalanced loom that is more than three feet deep, unbalanced sheds will weave very well. On a shallow counterbalance loom, moving one shaft opposite three shafts will cause the one shaft to have a tighter tension on it's threads. If you change the height of the shafts, the tension will even out. All counterbalance looms have a way to adjust the height of the shafts. If the loom is a deeper loom there is no problem with the shed.
Jack Looms
This type of loom is popular mainly in the US where it was created in the early part of the 20th century for handloom weaving. It is the type of loom used for table looms and small folding looms. Jack looms are chosen because they are portable, are small, less expensive or are readily available. Four shaft jack looms are easy for beginners to use unless they have problems getting a good shed.
How the jack loom works
The jack loom shafts work independently, moved by jacks which are often placed below the shafts. Placing jacks below the shafts eliminates the need for the castle frame above the loom and is the reason so many small looms are jack type.
Jack looms work by placing the shafts below the usual path of threads which normally go straight from the breast beam to the back beam. This lower position of the shafts on a jack loom is maintained by having the shafts heavy enough for their weight to resist the tension on the warp threads. Weaving with a slightly looser tension is needed to keep the shafts down, especially on a wide warp.
Characteristics of the jack system
Jack looms will give you a good shed when weaving light weight fabric, especially when a warp is less than the full weaving width of the loom. But when weaving with more shafts, more warp threads or wider warps, the shed is sometimes too small. Adding weight to the shafts on a jack loom so that a shed can be made. The reliance on heavier shafts gives some other disadvantages, primarily that of making the treadling difficult.
If weight is not added to the shafts, the tension on the warp threads can be loosened to make the treadling easier. When the tension on the warp is looser, you can experience skipped threads. You may also experience sheds that do not separate properly. Some sheds cannot be easily cleared on a jack loom and pushing harder on the treadles will not help. This can make the weaving progress very slowly. For these warps, you need to tighten the tension, use smaller shuttles and use more effort in the treadling.
Looser warp tension can give you poor selvages and the inability to weave a tight weave. Rugs cannot be easily woven on a jack loom unless the shafts are very heavy to keep the tension tighter. The lower position of the shafts make it difficult to weave a tight weave. Setts are often more open on jack looms in order to weave a balanced weave, as it is difficult to achieve the number of wefts per inch needed when you use a normal sett. Using a temple will help with these situations.
Noise
Although looms with hanging shafts are more quiet, most jack looms are not made this way. The noise that results from the falling of the shafts is very annoying. Most jack looms have metal heddles to add weight to the shafts and when the shafts fall to the jacks there is a disconcerting metallic rattle.
Jack loom sheds
A characteristic common to jack looms is the unequal tension on the top and bottom of the shed. When a shed is made the upper threads become tighter than the threads remaining on the bottom of the shed, especially on shallow looms. This makes weaving more difficult as every other thread is slightly loose. This looser tension on the bottom of the shed requires a shuttle race.
Jack looms need shuttle races
A shuttle race is attached to the beater on a jack loom to support the shuttle as it passes on the warp threads on the bottom of a shed. This is necessary only because the tension on the warp is looser. The shuttle race is not found on other types of looms as it can interfere with weaving rhythm. It can get in the way of the hand when throwing or catching the shuttle. You can avoid using a shuttle race if you weight your shafts to make them heavier, thereby tightening the warp tension, but this makes the treadling more difficult.
Jack loom warp threads
When warp threads are held down by heavy shafts, there is extra wear on the threads, causing them to weaken. The reason for this is that the jack loom shafts are holding the threads down at maximum tension, even when the loom is at rest. The warp threads are holding the total weight of the shafts. When a shaft is raised, the warp loosens until it arrives to its highest position. This causes a snapping effect which can weaken threads. The looser tension of a jack loom can also cause more draw-in at the selvages. Using a temple and advancing the warp frequently is an aid in overcoming this problem.
The reed in the beater on a jack loom causes friction on the warp due to the raised position of the reed. The beater is raised to give an even bottom shed and make the threads sit on the shuttle race. Instead of having the warp threads in the center of the reed where they can move freely, they rest on the bottom of the reed. With each beat, the reed rubs on the warp threads.
Shafts do not always fall properly
When making a shed, the shafts that were previously raised must fall. Jack loom shafts fall more rapidly if they are heavy. The treadling does not pull the shafts down, so lighter weight shafts will often be slow to fall. When the shafts do not fall properly, their threads are sitting too high in the shed. Sometimes it takes an extra step on the treadle to make the falling shafts fall completely down.
Weaving Unbalanced sheds
Unbalanced sheds are a challenge to most types of looms. An unbalanced shed is when one is weaving 3 shafts against 1 or weaving with an unequal number of threads on each shaft. On a jack loom you may need to add extra weight to the shafts.
Recommendations
When using a jack loom I would recommend avoiding weaving full width when you are also weaving warp faced weaves, close setts, fuzzy or sticky warps or unbalanced weaves on more than four shafts. With these weaves, it may be difficult to open the sheds, especially on a wide warp.
Treadle springs can be added to help clear difficult sheds.
Visit Jack looms for more suggestions to attain better sheds
Countermarch Looms
Photo of a countermarch loom Click here
Diagrammatic representation of horizontal and vertical countermarch seen here
This loom of Scandinavian and European design is becoming more available and more popular. It gives advantages of a counterbalance loom: quiet, smooth and light treadling on a tight tension. Shafts are tied independently, without a pulley connecting shafts to each other as with counterbalance tie ups. A countermarch can be added to a counterbalance loom. It is a good tie up method if you want to weave with more than four shafts.
How the countermarch loom works
An extra set of lamms, which are heavier and usually about a foot longer than the other lamms, is placed under the lamms used for counterbalance tie ups. This second set of lamms gives you a complete tie up of the shafts, so that each treadle moves all of the shafts. This complete tie up gives you perfect sheds, easy treadling and more versatile weaving.
Countermarch Tie-ups
This second set of lamms provides the independent tie up of the shafts. This gives you a tie to the treadle for each shaft you are using. It is like tying up a jack loom and then tying up the resting shafts to pull them down. You start by tying up the treadles to the shafts just as with any other loom. Then you tie up the empty spaces on the treadles. This takes a few extra minutes to do, but the ease of weaving and ease of treadling more than make up it. As with other looms, you can leave the treadles tied up to the lamms when putting on a new warp. You must put a warp onto the loom before tying up the lamms and treadles, as the light weight shafts need the warp threads in order to work. You don't need to change the treadle tie up unless you will be adding or taking off shafts for the next warp, or changing the treadle tie up.
Horizontal and Vertical countermarch
There is a castle on a countermarch loom as the countermarch jacks are at the top of the loom. Horizontal countermarch looms have two jacks for each shafts and they sit horizontally. Vertical countermarch looms have one jack for each shaft and they sit vertically. Both types of countermarches are available and a loom can change from one to the other. There is little difference in the weaving on a loom between the two types of countermarches. For the vertical countermarch the lower lamms are longer and extend outside of the loom frame. The cords for tying these lamms to the countermarch jacks, go on the outside of the loom. The horizontal countermarch tie up has these cords in the center of the loom. The horizontal countermarch is more common and is less expensive.
Advantages of a Countermarch tie up
The countermarch loom is a good choice for those who want more than 4 shafts.
There is a castle as the countermarch jacks are at the top of the loom. Since countermarch looms have castles, there is usually a heavier, hanging beater attached to the castle. This gives better control of the beat and a better view of the weaving as you beat.
Countermarch looms are often deeper than jack looms. This is usually because they are made for weaving all kinds of warps, so they are made deeper to function better. Deeper looms give a more even tension on the warp, a more even beat and easier treadling. The second set of lamms requires the loom to be taller.
To read tie-up instructions for a countermarch loom, visit: Loom Tie-up Instructions.
Table Looms
View a Victoria table loom
These smaller, less expensive, portable looms are usually jack looms. Table looms are used for learning as they are portable enough to put into a car or even on a plane to take to a workshop. If they are purchased for weaving small items rather than for taking to workshops, it is helpful to order the legs and treadles.
The disadvantages of a table loom for weaving are first that the weaving progresses more slowly because there are no treadles. Secondly, because you use your hands to move levers to change sheds, you must always interrupt the weaving and usually put the shuttle down. Thirdly, the shorter distance front to back gives a less even beat and some difficulty producing even selvages and an even width.
For more information on table looms, visit table looms
Drawlooms
This type of loom is a two harness loom which greatly expands pattern capability. The first harness has 4, 5 or 6 shafts and they weave the ground weave. You only need 4, 5 or 6 treadles for weaving these shafts. The second harness is either a single unit draw, giving images with no repeat, or a shaft draw which gives repeat patterns.
The second harness is placed behind the first harness. The single unit draw has individually tied groups of warp threads and these cords are pulled to make the pattern. The shaft drawloom is set up to weave a fixed size of repeat, but can make an infinite number of patterns.
The single unit drawloom gives the most flexibility of design and is easier to thread, but takes more time to draw the cords while weaving. Its purpose is primarily designs with no repeats, but it can make repeats if desired. There are loom makers who combine both the single unit and the shaft systems into one loom.
The heddles on the shafts of the first harness have long eyes of about 2 1/2". These shafts produce the ground weave. Traditionally this is twill, broken twill or satin, since this is not the major design feature. If you have 4 or 6 shafts you usually use a counterbalance tie up. If you have 5 shafts it is best to use a countermarch. A jack loom cannot be used as there are always some shafts which remain in a neutral position, one shaft which rises and one which sinks. Elastic bands or counter weights are used to hold the shafts which remain in the neutral position.
The second harness has very long heddles with normal eyes. When the weaver pulls the threads up by a handle or a cord, the threads rise to the top of the long eyes of the other heddles in the ground shafts. This allows a shed to be produced even in the group of threads pulled up. The back harness threads are placed in groups of 4, 5 or 6 threads, corresponding to the number of shafts in the first harness. Designs are planned on graph paper. Each square represents a group of warp threads (4, 5 or 6), and an equal number of weft shots treadled in order. These groups of warp threads are pulled up according to the graph design and then the wefts are woven for that row.
Since the second harness is in the center of the loom, the loom needs to be about 2 feet deeper than usual. If you have a shaft drawloom the more shafts you use, the deeper the loom needs to be, up to 3 or 4 feet deeper. This is especially true for non stretchy warps.
One can use a drawloom to expand the number of blocks in a pattern weave such as summer and winter or crackle. The shaft type drawloom is used in this case.
Visit drawlooms for more information
Glimakra-USA... 866-890-7314 or 406-442-0354
update 1/08