I have a 4 shaft baby wolf and am weaving the parrot kit in plain weave. I am having problems with many floats as I weave. My shuttle is thrown on the race of the beater so I think the threads must be sticking causing threads not to raise / drop completely resulting in floats. I have had floats on occasion in weaving, but not like this. Any suggestions? Thank you so much!
A couple of questions, Heidi ……. are you using the recommended sett in the size of reed that is listed in the pattern, and when you change your shed - can you see clearly across your race if you take a peak when either shed is raised?
Yes, I'm using the sett in the pattern and the shed is fully open when I look. I have taken the tie up cords off of all but the tabby treadles and moved my bench up closer so that I am sure to fully depress the treadles. That has helped a lot, I just feel like I have to be extra careful to advance the warp often and keep the shuttle close to the beater.
That's great news, Heidi! You seem to have found the "sweet spot" on your loom. Every loom is different and once you have found what works for you - you are on the way to being a happy weaver! It's all about understanding your loom and just sitting down and weaving ;-)
Hi Heidi, I have an eight shaft Baby Wolf and sometimes have dealt with this issue myself, depending on the pattern and number of heddles per shaft etc. I definitely find that the BW has a very small sweet spot and keeping the warp tension just right and staying in the sweet spot really helps. Also, if there are many heddles on a shaft, using the treadle aids that Schacht provides or jazz bands (Lunatic Fringe) help keep shafts lowering well. Also, if it’s been awhile since you maintained the loom, clean well, removing any yarn dust from everywhere, and use silicon spray (recommended by Schacht) to squirt down the sides of the metal groove that holds each shaft. The shafts move up and down easily then, creating a nice clear shed. Oh and one more thing that has helped me. I typically use the slim Schacht 11” boat shuttle, but recently got a 13” one and find it skims along the race very nicely. Not sure why the length makes a difference but it doesn’t seem to ever pick up warp threads by mistake.
Thank you so much for the great tips! I have thought about the treadle aids and will use the silicone spray once this warp is done. I also have the Schacht 11" shuttles and love them. That is so interesting about the 13" one. Hmm, maybe I'll be in the market for new shuttles? :)
Hi Sueann,
Great reply to Heidi. I’ve been having some of the same problems with my baby wolf. I just finished Jane’s canvas weave sample (season 5.2) and set up my treadles according to her suggestion - 8 treadles tied up. I found I had lots of floats on some of the patterns (mostly those with tie downs). I will definitely spray my shaft grooves with silicone. I also remember I had changed out my shafts to minimize the number of heddles I needed. That might have created a problem. My big question has to do with the jazz bands. I used them a number of years ago when I was a new weaver but I don’t remember tying them to a treadle aid bar. Can’t I just time them directly to each treadle? Thanks , Diane
Hello,
I'm new to the school and reading through the forums tonight. I have a 4-shaft Baby Wolf. I bought the loom second hand about 3 years ago from the original owner. I don't recall how long she had it; I don't think it was very old when I got it.
After the last project, I did a good vacuuming on it, but I didn't use silicon spray. One of the shafts doesn't return to its lowered position as low as the other three. I can't figure out why. I released the treadles I'm not using and checked the length of the Texsolv treadle cords to make sure they were the same length. I just figured that was its personality.
I've never heard of treadle aids or jazz bands. I looked at the Lunatic Fringe website and a couple other places, but I don't understand what they do. How do they help?
One thing I noticed a few weeks ago as I was trying to learn Jane's method of treadling was that I still had some weight in the foot that was not sliding forward. That was causing the yarn in the non-raised heddles to raise just a smidge; just enough to cause all kinds of floats and tangles and mild mayhem. As soon as I started to pay extra attention to my foot position the problem resolved, thankfully.
Reply
Hi Cynthia,
I think you might find that giving the metal shafts a bit of lubrication could really help. Also, you might try moving shafts around to different places, I read somewhere that sometimes shafts don’t like to switch places with one another.
Treadle aids and jazz bands are short bungee cords that attach to the treadles and help the shafts return to their place. I don’t use them all of the time, but I do when I have a project with a particularly dense sett with lots of heddles and shafts being used.
Here’s an explanation of how treadle aids/jazz bands work:
Oh and also… Schacht says to use only their metal heddles, not Texsolv. They advise that metal heddles are needed for the correct shaft weight, so perhaps that might be an issue for you in your situation. That said, this is an ongoing controversy in the Schacht loom world :) with many weavers switching to Texsolv for quieter operation and less abrasion on fine threads, and they have no problems at all. I myself am seriously contemplating it.
Hahah, me again. I see that you were talking about the Texsolv treadle cords, not the heddles…. Ah well. I will keep my last bit of info about the heddles in here just in case you do have Texsolv heddles, too. ☺️
Hi Sue Anne,
Thank you so much for answering a question that has been on my mind, but didn't ask .
I've been thinking about switching to Texsolv, too. I'd never considered it before watching Season 1. It was one of many a-ha! moments. One of the things about my Baby Wolf that I dislike are those clasps that hold the heddle rods in place. It's always the 3rd or 4th shaft that needs one more heddle, just one more heddle, and the clasps are hard to work when the the heddles are fully or even partially threaded. I've thought about just bringing all the rods outside the clasps, but didn't do it because the weight of the heddles combined with the movement of the shafts could lead to a terrible mess if the rod got fussy. With Texsolv heddles, though, the weight issue would be gone. Do you know if people who use Texsolv heddles still keep the heddle rods clasped?
Thank you for the help with treadle aids and jazz bands. I'm not sure if I need them ore not. I'll try changing the shafts around after I finish the current weaving. I hadn't thought about that. Maybe it just isn't "happy" in its current position. And,I'll pay closer attention to just how different that one shaft behaves so I can ask better questions.
Thank you again.
Kindest regards,
Cynthia
Cynthia, I know what you mean, those clips that hold the heddle bar in place can be tough to unclip and reclip when some heddles need to be moved. I am not sure if the bars would need to stay clipped with Texsolv heddles but I think probably so.
A few things:
- I bought repair heddles that are handy in a pinch if you need to add one. https://woolery.com/wire-repair-heddles.html
- Jane has a video on making a repair heddle:
Sueann,
Again thanks for these tips, especially Felicia’s link and the Revelry site on all things Schacht. I will check them both out. It’s great having access to Jane and her group but I also like the idea of using the Forum to share questions and ideas.
Diane
Hi Sue Anne,
Wow, like Christmas all over again !
Thank you for the links. I've made repair heddles before. I don't remember the way I did it being as easy as the way Jane does it. I like her way much better. And Felicia's video was wonderful. It answered all my questions. I'm going to put off changing to Texsolv for now. It was more curiosity and concern about abrasion than a compelling need. Her explanation of the full process was great, including the Jazz Bands. Watching the video gave me the idea to check that screw to make sure it is tight. I love the sweater she was wearing.
I bought a few repair heddles last time I ordered yarn from Yarn Barn of Kansas. Interestingly, I haven't needed them since I bought them. But they are nearby when I do.
I'll check out the Wolf Pack on Ravelry.
Kindest regards,
Cynthia
Hi Sue Anne,
The two pictures displayed when I clicked the links. They really clarified how Jazz Bands work. Thank you. Very tempting.
It took a week of stewing, but I finally solved my lost-the-cross problem and am now half way through sleying the reed. I noticed one place where the Green-Turquoise, G-T, ... pattern was goofed up, so one side will have two thin stripes, one of turquoise, one of green. I've deemed it a design element. It's like my quilts, there's always a gottcha. I sure learned a bunch with this set of towels and I haven't started weaving them yet.
Kindest regards,
Cynthia