3.
Attach the Y cords to the upper jacks. Suspend the Y cords from the upper jacks so that each cord passes behind its
corresponding shaft.
4.
Place lower lamms on lamm pivot rod.
5.
Attach Y cord to each lower lamm (pass cord through hole in lamm and attach with clip below lamm).
6.
Suspend the treadles from treadle pivot rod. (It is a good idea to position all the treadles whether you are using them all or
not.)
7.
Loop tie-up cords around all treadles for all shafts (marked black notches should be at end of cord farthest from the loop.)
8.
Tie treadles to lamms according to tie-up. Every cord on every treadle is attached to either a lower lamm (to make the shaft
go up—BOTTOMS UP!) or an upper lamm (to make the shaft go down). A cord tied to an upper lamm must pass in front of the
corresponding lower lamm for its shaft (not through a hole in the lower lamm). To tie, pass the cord up through the appropriate
lamm hole, push the tab on the texsolv clip through the marked notch (black for upper lamms, red for lower), and stick the two
legs of the clip down into the hole in the lamm.
9.
Remove the locking pins. It is important that the down shed be even so that the shuttle can travel smoothly from selvedge
to selvedge. It doesn’t really matter if the upper shed is uneven; it must only be big and clean enough for the shuttle to travel
through. Adjustments can be made if the shed is not even enough.
10.
Step on each treadle to check each shed. If any shaft does not go down (or up) enough, tighten the tie for that shaft on that
treadle (i.e., make the cord shorter by moving the clip one notch closer to the treadle). If any shaft moves up or down too much
more than the others, loosen the tie for that shaft (move the clip one notch away from the treadle). Remember that any clip you
move will only affect that shaft on that treadle; you can’t wreck anything by moving a clip.
11.
The loom will function best if you tie up at least eight treadles. If you don’t need that many for a particular tie-up, tie the
treadles you are not using (up to eight) as though they are weaving an even/odd tabby (alternately evens/odds up/down) (or, if
they were tied-up for some previous weaving, leave them as they were).
12.
Sometimes the front shafts sag when the loom is at rest—their heddles will appear loose. This can be counteracted by tying
one treadle (usually the one farthest from the pivot point) to the lower lamms for that shaft(s) and weighting it if necessary. This
sagging is not a problem except with very fine warps—the sagging heddles can catch on adjacent threads, pulling them counter to
the movement of their own shafts during treadling, causing them to break.
Miscellaneous
1.
Note that the upper lamm tilts slightly upward as it moves away from the pivot point. The treadles will therefore rise slightly
higher as they are further away from the pivot point.
2.
It is important that the warp be centered in the loom. There should be as many warp ends to the right of the Y cord as to the
left.
3.
If heddles don’t slide easily on the shaft bars, tie a cord around the shafts at each side so that the shaft bars move slightly
closer together, loosening the heddles on the shafts (this may not be necessary on the Cranbrook; I couldn’t tell how easy it is to
slide the heddles).
4.
For very fine warps, the texsolv Y cords can be too rough. They can be replaced with a smooth dacron fish line or other
material (or covered with a plastic tube) or some other method devised to insure that they do not rub or catch on the warp.
5.
Beater height: the warp should be in the middle of the reed at rest.
6.
Beater position (forward or back): I don’t personally find it necessary to have many positions for the beater. The best spot
allows maximum shed formation without too much pushing back of the beater. It is best to advance the warp often and beat in
approximately the same place throughout weaving.