AVL Looms HOME LOOM with Compu-Dobby III, Assembly & Operating Instructions

Page 1: ...TH ____________________ BATCH ____________________ SERIAL ____________________ APRIL 2002 AVL Looms 3851 Morrow Lane 9 Chico CA 95928 8305 530 893 4915 530 893 1372 fax www avlusa com e info avlusa com AVL HOME LOOM with Compu Dobby III ...

Page 2: ...justments 3 1 Warp Tension 3 1 Beater Height 3 2 Spring Levers 3 2 Warping the Plain Beam 4 1 Creating Two Crosses 4 1 Securing the Crosses 4 2 Removing the Warp for the Warping Board 4 2 Attaching the Raddle 4 2 Winding the Apron and Attaching the Warp 4 2 Sticks in the Raddle Cross 4 2 Feeding the Raddle 4 2 Preparing the Paper 4 4 Winding the Warp 4 5 Threading Cross 4 5 Removing the Raddle 4 5...

Page 3: ...ing the Cross 5 8 Inserting Sticks in the Treading Cross 5 8 Readjusting the Tension 5 8 Combining Plain and Sectional Warping 5 9 Threading Sleying and Tying On 6 1 Preparation for Threading 6 1 Heddle Preparation 6 2 Threading the Harnesses 6 2 Replacing the Beater and Sleying the Reed 6 2 Tying onto the Apron 6 3 Tying on to the Old Warp 6 4 Weaving Procedures 7 1 Weaving 7 1 Advancing the Clot...

Page 4: ...and Axle 2 8 10 Compu Dobby III Solenoid Box 2 10 11 Spring Lever System 2 11 12 Adjusting the Beater 3 2 14 Warping Board with Two Crosses 4 1 15 Feeding the Raddle 4 2 16 Using the Warp Beam Apron 4 3 17 Prepared Paper with Folded Edge 4 4 18 Winding on the Warp 4 5 19 Tension Box 5 4 20 Sectional Beam Extension Cords 5 5 21 Adjusting the Size of the Section 5 6 22 Creating Flat Layers 5 6 23 At...

Page 5: ...work together to produce the finest handweaving looms and accessories available in this country and according to some of our customers the world PREFACE Learning to warp and weave on an AVL Home Loom with Compu Dobby III will be a rewarding experience for beginning and experienced weavers alike The efficiency of the design along with the sturdy construction and trouble free operation will ensure y...

Page 6: ...Loom with Compu Dobby III has been assembled at the AVL factory in either an eight harness configuration It is nearly ready to use as it comes from the box Use the following instructions to assist you in setting up your new loom FIGURE 1 FULL LOOM ...

Page 7: ...he wing nut from the carriage bolt on each side of the loom Unfold the loom holding the rear portion in place by swinging up the wooden support arms at either side of the loom and attaching them to each folding leg using the same carriage bolts that held the loom in the folded position Notice that there are slots in three positions on each support arm as shown in Figure 3 Any of the three position...

Page 8: ... As shown in Figure 4 attach the snap at the free end of the warp beam brake cable to the steel ring at the end of the steel brake lever To make sure the brake cable is routed correctly check it against Figure 5 ...

Page 9: ...ure 6 8 Sectional beam tie up If you have ordered a sectional beam and tension box begin installation by locating the following parts if you haven t ordered a sectional beam proceed to step 15 sectional beam warp beam crank brake cable and tie up tension box track extended folding leg supports 2 tension box hardware pack track support legs hardware pack track support legs 2 tension box ...

Page 10: ... support arms with the lengthwise groove facing up 13 Mount the warp beam crank to the drilled end of the sectional beam axle see Figure 6 14 Attach the brake cable As shown in Figures 4 and 5 attach the snap at the free end of the warp beam brake cable to the steel ring at the end of the steel brake lever To make sure the brake cable is routed correctly check it against Figure 5 15 At this point ...

Page 11: ...ss loom you can remove fifty heddles from the front four harnesses and add these heddles to the rear four harnesses Feel free to place heddles on either side of the screweyes on the harness The loom will actually perform at its best with some heddles located to the outboard side of these screweyes but no closer to the ends than necessary NOTE Another hint to make threading easier while you have yo...

Page 12: ...rrive installed see Figure 9 Make sure that when you look down the cables each cable is in its correct position on the dobby slide plate insert see Figure 9a FIGURE 9a CABLES IN DOBBY SLIDE PLATE INSERT Dobby Slide PlateInsert FIGURE 9 DOBBY FOR COMPU DOBBY III ...

Page 13: ...right treadle Check measured placements and set up with Figure 9c FIGURE 9c TREADLE CAM PULLEY AND AXLE Left Cable LeftTreadle Center Cable RightTreadle Treadle Cam Axle Pulley Stop Collar Position 4 1 4 from Left Axle End Cap FIGURE 9b SPRINGS PULLEY AND KEEPER Springs Pulley Keeper Also below the bottom stop block is a pulley It is important that the pulley keeper is in the correct position to h...

Page 14: ...rt front lower left of the Compu Dobby III box Let s wait a bit before we add power Set Up Your Computer If you haven t already set your computer up at the right side of the loom Once you make the necessary connections you can move it to a position you find most user friendly Leave the computer unplugged for the moment You re going to plug the free end of the serial cable RS 232 into a port on the...

Page 15: ... ll be prompted by your weaving software Adjusting the Solenoids If you find that the solenoid do not push the corresponding cables then a small adjustment is needed Locate the two screws on the front of the Compu Dobby III see Figure 10 Loosen them slightly Now from above the Compu Dobby III look down the cables to where the solenoids are Make sure they are lined up with each of the cables Slide ...

Page 16: ...ning to pass your shuttle through Each set of spring levers is adjusted by tightening the spring that is between them This is done by simply tightening the chain that is attached to the spring Generally speaking the tighter the warp tension the tighter the spring lever tension should be You may also find that harnesses with a high number of warp ends will require a somewhat higher spring lever ten...

Page 17: ...to make here is to be sure that the brake adjustment cord is set tight enough so that the warp beam will fully lock when the brake pedal is in its upper not depressed position It is good practice to tie a simple knot or bow tie around the plastic cord clamp once you have set the tension This way you will be certain that the cord will not slip and your tension will remain constant NOTE The brake ad...

Page 18: ...ar harness Test the warp again by doing some more treadling and if more spring tension is still needed try one or more chain links less Under unusual conditions perhaps a very tight rug warp two springs on some or all of the harnesses may be necessary If all the springs are set the same the back harnesses will have a looser tension than the front This is because the back spring levers and their ho...

Page 19: ...on espe cially when dealing with long warps of twenty yards or more CREATING TWO CROSSES To begin wind the warp on a warping board or reel Make sure you put in two crosses the threading cross the raddle cross In the threading cross each thread crosses the next thread in opposite directions In the raddle cross groups of threads cross each other The number of threads in a raddle group can be determi...

Page 20: ...ING THE RADDLE Now secure the raddle to the back of the loom If you have an AVL raddle simply slip it into the set of holes in the back of the rear vertical members WINDING THE APRON AND ATTACHING THE WARP Put your apron on the beam with velcro and wind your beam in the warping direction so that your apron is wound on the beam Put the metal rod through the apron You can put your warp section onto ...

Page 21: ... If you are using an AVL raddle with a sliding cover slide it on after the raddle is threaded and secure it with two or three cord ties so it can t come off Remove the raddle cross sticks when this is completed ...

Page 22: ...umpy Corrugated paper is just too soft and the warp can never be wound tight enough with it Heavy wrapping paper works well seventy pound craft paper is good If you are going to be using smooth slippery warp yarns like fine linens or perle cottons the edge yarns are going to need extra help in order not to slip off themselves To do this cut your paper four inches wider than the warp width and then...

Page 23: ... time to make the warp that is already on the beam tight The idea of this method is that the warp does not need to be under tension all the time but the part that is on the beam has to be tight Make another turn go to the back of the loom and jerk all the sections again and so on If you have a wide warp you might need to do up to ten jerking motions after each turn THREADING CROSS When you come to...

Page 24: ...dage for the project WARPINGTHE SECTIONAL BEAM a NUMBER OF SPOOLS Sectional beaming requires the use of as many spools loaded with thread per individual section as your planned sett in the reed dictates To calculate the actual number of spools required we need to know how many EPI are we going to use in the fabric what SIZE will we have to use in the fabric If your warp is set at 24 epi per 1 you ...

Page 25: ... All extension cords should be exactly the same size When measuring the length of the cords also check to be sure that when the cords are wound on to the beam the end of the loop and any knots in the cords fall between the crosspieces of the sectional beam not on them A sectional beam is usually not solid It is a frame that has metal pegs That way you can keep the warp smooth on the beam without g...

Page 26: ...lding the heddles together Separate the top two Insert the top bar of the harness that is up into the space created by pulling apart the twist ties Insert the bottom bar of the harness that is up into the space created by pulling apart the bottom two twist ties making certain that the heddles aren t twisted Now remove the twist ties c Count off fifty heddles and cut the loop at the top between the...

Page 27: ...nsion pegs up above the stationary pegs or remove them completely Now sley the thread through the rear sta tionary reed section using a sley hook Since this reed is eight dents per inch you will divide the E P I into eight to find out how many ends will be in each dent with sixteen E P I put two ends in a section If your E P I does not divide equally by eight you can either vary the number of ends...

Page 28: ...fter the tension box is completely threaded the larger pegs are moved downward to apply tension The further down they are moved the more tension will be applied to the yarn This is an adjustable system as different yarns require more or less tension With a heavy wool the pegs may only need to be moved half way down whereas with a fine silk the pegs may need to be moved all the way down and the yar...

Page 29: ...eadjusted until you are using yarn of a very different size Extra care to correctly center and adjust the width of each warp section will result in more perfect tension while weaving Make sure that the threads are going on to the beam in flat layers If you notice that warp piles up at the pegs the section of the warp is too wide If the warp falls down at the pegs the warp section is too narrow If ...

Page 30: ...ate warp length only because the circumference of the beam will in crease slightly with each rotation This is called beam build up To count yards with a yardage counter while warping the sectional beam you need to place the yardage counter at the front of the tension box You should use an extra thread for measuring yardage because if you use one of the threads from your warp section that particula...

Page 31: ...ng all the sections in the same manner by moving the tension box along its track INSERTING STICKS IN THE TREADING CROSS When all the winding is complete remove the rubber bands unwind a few feet of warp and slip one lease stick through the path created by the upper portion of each marking tie Now slip another lease stick through the path created by the lower portion of each marking tie Secure the ...

Page 32: ...e the warp off the board or reel by taking off the thread by thread cross first c Put the warp threads from a first baby warp in the raddle making sure that threads are spread evenly and that they are creating flat layers when wound on the beam Put the raddle top on or secure warp threads with rubber bands Instead of a regular raddle you can put a mini raddle in place of the front reed on the tens...

Page 33: ...od so they will be ready for threading Unfasten the chains from the bottom of the lower harness sticks so that the heddles will move easily The important thing in threading is your comfort Take the time to position everything so that your body feels at ease while threading Lift out the beater Remove the breast beam by unscrewing the fasteners with the allen wrench provided Place a stool on the flo...

Page 34: ...s the threading is taking place THREADING THE HARNESSES Now insert the threading hook through the eye of the first heddle you wish to thread Hook the first thread and pull it out through the heddle Continue with the threading until all ends are threaded through their respective heddles In a plain weave the threading sequence will look something like this 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 meaning that the fi...

Page 35: ...s kind of knot is very good for readjust ing the tension Start with one section in the middle then the far right and the far left outside ones Work your way in By now the sections that were tied first are quite a bit looser than the ones tied last To correct this you do not need to untie the knots simply grasp the ends and pull them away from you then re tighten the knots Repeat this until all of ...

Page 36: ...e sticks into these sheds behind the harnesses Secure the sticks together with tie tapes through the holes Now carefully cut the fabric from the loom and tie bundles of warp coming through the reed together so the yarn can t slip through Cut the warp in back leaving one foot past the lease sticks and also tie bundles of yarn together for security Now after winding on the new warp you can sit on a ...

Page 37: ...ou depress the brake pedal and pull up on the cloth beam handle until the fell of the cloth is about three inches from the breast beam Now let go of the brake pedal and continue winding up the cloth beam handle until the desired tension is reached THREADING ERROR In case of a threading error use the following method for insertion of a new polyester heddle a Remove the harness wire from the nearest...

Page 38: ...oth beam making sure they are centered and parallel to the roller Wind the weaving back on the cloth beam holding the lease sticks in place until the weaving winds back over itself and holds itself in place Take up the tension by using the ratchet handle STARTING WEAVING At the onset of weaving first weave in one inch of a strong medium weight weft with a tabby weave Check the tabby weave for erro...

Page 39: ...y where it makes contact with the brake drum as this can cause tension problems FINISH The AVL Home Loom has been finished primarily with semi gloss water resistant lacquer It should require no maintenance other than an occasional dusting or application of furniture polish if you wish to do so Minor touch up of a damaged lacquered finish can be accomplished by simply applying a small amount of cle...

Page 40: ...ect tie up b Tie up cords tangled c Harnesses hanging up on each other a Check side tie up cords b Untangle cords c Untangle harnesses from each other 2 Not enough harnesses raise a Incorrect tie up b Broken tie up cord c Broken or misrouted treadle cable a Check side tie up cords b Replace cord c Check cables 3 Shed not large enough a Beater adjusted too high b Cloth too close to harnesses c Unli...

Page 41: ...rease spring lever tension Tape last heddle in place on harness stick 6 Brake not holding tension a Incorrect adjustment b Brake drum glazed or oily c Spring worn a Tighten adjusting cord b Remove cable and clean drum and cable c Repair or replace spring 7 Brake not releasing tension a Incorrect adjustment b Dirty brake drum c Cord crossed on drum a Loosen adjusting cord b Clean drum and cord c Ch...

Page 42: ...ate loom Reduce spring lever tension if possible b Check routing of cables Make sure all cables are on pulleys 9 Treadles difficult to operate 10 Large warp build up alters shed size a Folding legs need adjustment a Adjust folding legs so that they are being held in the outer or center slots on the support arms see Figure 3 ...

Page 43: ...the loom around which the warp is wound CHAIN Warp as taken from the warping board or reel chained to shorten and prevent tangling DENT A single space in a reed or raddle DOG OR PAWL A catch fastened to the side of a loom to act as a brake for a ratchet wheel It allows the ratchet to only rotate in one direction when the pawl is engaged DRAW IN The difference in width between the warp and the web ...

Page 44: ...m cross piece of the beater on which the shuttle runs back and forth REED A comb like piece set in the beater to separate warp threads and used to beat threads together to form the web SELVAGE The edges of the web Also spelled selvedge SET The number of warp threads threaded per inch through the dents in the reed Also spelled sett SHED Opening in the warp formed when the harnesses are raised throu...