Hello everyone!
I am new here, having signed up a couple of weeks ago after purchasing an Ashford table loom, coming from working joyously with rigid heddles for a couple of years. Well, the weaving fairies smiled upon me and I found myself with an opportunity to purchase a mint condition LeClerc Nilus with a whopping 45" of weaving width at a price I couldn't say no to. So, here she sits, all settled into her new home and I am excited to learn how to weave with her. (This loom has presence! Hence my tendency to anthropomorphize this beautiful piece of equipment as a her.) Excited, yes. Clueless, yes.
I have a couple of questions... I noticed that a lot of the floor looms I see manufactured today do not have canvas aprons. My loom does. What is the benefit of leaving them versus removing them? Like, what are they for? What purpose do they serve??
My loom offers the ability to fold up in the back. There are two metal brackets that help stabilize things when it's folded out and they noticed they have several notches, allowing the back to come all the way out or I can set those notches so the back beam is closer to the harnesses. Is there a reason that I couldn't set that back beam where I wanted or does this loom require me to set it up so that back beam is all the way out? She's perfectly stable even when not completely folded out so I am taking this to mean it's weaver's choice. Am I wrong?
Finally, I am just curious to know what other LeClerc Nilus weavers have to say about their looms. What are their quirks and tricks? Aside from my questions above, everything else looks straightforward.
Congratulations on your new looms, Ellen. I’d leave the canvas on until you are comfortable weaving in your new to you Leclerc. It’s the way some looms were designed to keep even tension on your warp as you weave. Weaving with the loom fully opened is the way to get a good shed as you weave. You’ll notice the difference when you weave on your table loom versus your Leclerc. I don’t remember my original Leclerc floor loom with that ability, my loom was lucky to have a room of its own. However, if your loom is waiting for a new project, folding it up might come in handy. Have you checked out the Leclerc website? http://www.leclerclooms.com/ind_eng.htm
Thank you, Sandra!
Yes, I have visited the Leclerc website and also the Camilla Valley website. I emailed Nina at Camilla and she is so very helpful. She was able to help me confirm that I actually have a Nilus II. I joined a Leclerc weaving group on Facebook and the folks there were also very kind and helpful. So, yes, the aprons will stay and she'll be folded out all the way. And she does have her own room now as I claimed the dining room. Just took moving some things around so I can still use it when I entertain and my beautiful Leclerc can be part of the decor.