Note: washer dimensions are hole dimensions.

Loom Parts

Mortise: A hole or cavity cut in a piece of wood prepared to receive a similarly shaped piece

Tenon: A projection on the end of a piece of wood designed to fit into a hole or cavity of the same shape.

Note: for looms with a worm gear: if you have ordered a worm gear with your loom, attach it to the loom before assembling the frame. Bolt the worm gear to the inside of the right frame by inserting the ¼" x 2 1/2" flathead machine screws through the four countersunk holes on the frame side. Place the worm gear assembly over the screws and attach with 1/4" washers and 1/4" lock nuts. [Illustration #2b]

Assemble the frame
In the right frame side, insert the rear cross beam (note: the metal treadle support bar should face down) and the front cross beam in the rectangular holes. Attach the left side and the middle cross beam (beam with logo plaque) at the same time. Do not secure the beams on the left side to allow for space to insert the cloth beam. Secure the cross beams by lightly tapping the wooden wedges into place. [Illustration #1]

Insert the cloth beam (this is the large beam with steel axles and a small toothed gear). For looms with ratchet advance levers: place the ratchet advance lever, and a 1" washer onto the axle against the toothed gear. The wooden side of the ratchet advance lever should be facing the center of the loom and rest on top of the brake lock peg. Insert the axle into the hole in the right frame side. Place a 1" washer onto the axle at the left side of the cloth beam. [Illustration #2a] For worm gears: pull the worm gear crank handle back, towards the front of the loom. Place a 1" washer on the axle against the gear, and insert the axle into the hole on the right frame side. Place two 1" washers on the axle at the other end of the cloth beam.

Lock in the cross beams by lightly tapping the wooden wedges into place. Before moving on to the next step, check to verify that the cloth beam spins freely. If it does not, remove the washer on the left side.

Install the treadle separator beam
Place the treadle separator beam on the floor between the sides. Line up the two holes on the side of the loom with the adjuster block slots. Working from the outside, secure with 1/4" X 3" hexhead bolt in this order: bolt, washer, side frame, washer, nylock nut. Note: the reinforcing bar should face the back of the loom. The adjuster bar slots make it possible to adjust the treadle separator beam at different heights, ensuring uniform and maximum sheds. [Illustration #1]

Install the treadles and lamms
Install the treadle-lamm cords in the treadles. (Note: the tapered edge is the bottom side of the treadle.) Using the end of the treadle cord farthest from the red and black marks, thread the cord through a hole in the treadle from the top (flat side) and loop the cord around the edge of the treadle. Thread the cord through the second eye of the end that is looped around the treadle and center the cord over the treadle hole. The cords should all be looped around the same side of the treadle. Follow this procedure for all of the holes in each of the treadles. [Illustration #3a]

When all the cords are on the treadles, slide the treadles onto the steel treadle support bar of the rear cross beam. Remove the 1/2" washers and cotter pins and partially slide out the steel rod. Beginning at the center support block, work out from the center on one side, installing all the treadles needed on that side. Then work out from the center on the other side. (Note: when installing the treadles check to make sure the flat side of the treadle faces up.) Insert a treadle and then a 1 1/2" wooden spacer, treadle, spacer. For fewer than 12 treadles, center equal numbers of treadles on either side of the center support block--additional spacers will be provided to fill any leftover space. Install the balance of the treadles and spacers to fill in the open spaces between the outside treadles and the rod brackets. The entire space between the rod brackets must be filled. The space on each side of the center accommodates six treadles, with one treadle installed on the outside of the wooden rod brackets. When all treadles and spacers are on, secure both ends of the treadle bar with the 1/2" washers and hairpin cotter pins.

Attach the lower lamms. The lower lamm assembly consists of: two lower lamm extension blocks, 2--3/8"x 3 1/2" hexhead bolts, 2—1/2" washers, 2--3/8" cross dowel connectors, 4 or 8 lower lamms (lower lamms have one hook), 4--1/4" wooden spacers for 8-shaft looms or 5 --1/4" wooden spaces for 4 shaft looms, 1--3" wooden spacer for 4 shaft looms only, and 1--10" steel lamm pivot rod. The lower lamm assembly will be pre-assembled. You need only attach it to the side of the loom making sure that the lamm hooks face up. To do this, insert the cross dowel connectors into the lamm extension blocks. Insert the lamm extension box tenons into the oval shaped mortises located on the left frame side. Secure with 3/8" x 3 1/2" hexhead bolts with washers under the bolt head. The hole in the cross dowel will line up in the hole for the bolt when the slot in the cross dowel is horizontal. Hint: for ease of handling the lamms during installation, leave the wrapping materials in place until you’ve attached the lamms.

Install steel beams
The parts for each steel beam include 2 coated steel washers and 2--1/2" steel washers. The back beam is attached with 2--3" hexhead bolts and the front and knee beams are attached with 2--3" buttonhead bolts. Use one steel washer under each bolt head on the outside of the frame, and use one coated steel washer between each end of the tube and the inside of the frame.

Front Breast Beam: The breast beam fits at the front of the loom in the slots on top of the front posts [Illustration #4]. Washers and bolts are attached to the beam with the coated steel washer first followed by the steel washer. Thread the bolts about 1/2" deep into the fittings in the tube ends. Place the tube with the bolts over the slots in the front posts, position the washers, and slide the assembly down to the bottom of the slots. Hand tighten the bolts, then use the Allen wrench to secure as tightly as possible.

Back Beam: The back beam fits in the holes in the rear uprights of the side frame. Hold the beam in place at either end and slide the coated washer in between the side frame upright and the beam. Working from both sides, insert the bolts with the washers attached, being sure that the coated washer is aligned with the beam hole. Hand tighten the bolts until the beam is secure. If you are having difficulty slipping the coated washer in place, remove the treadle support cross beam wedges and slightly spread out the side frames. When both beams are installed, use a wrench to tighten all four beam bolts. Then tap all the cross beam wedges in securely.

Knee Beam: The steel knee beam allows for additional knee room within the loom. Woven material passes over the top of the knee beam to the cloth beam below. Install the knee beam in the same way as the front and back beams.

When all of the beams are installed, you may now securely tap in all of the wooden wedges.

Install the jack-lamm box
The jack-lamm box is pre-assembled. To install, place it on the top of the loom, lining up the holes in the bottom of the jack-lamm box with the pins on the top of the frame sides. The wooden knobs of the pivot and locking pins should face the front of the loom. [Illustration #5]

Assemble the shafts and install the heddles
Each shaft frame consists of: 1 shaft top, 1 shaft bottom (has three hooks), 1 wooden center support dowel, 2 long metal shaft spacers, 2 short metal shaft spacers, 2 metal connector sleeves.

Installing the heddles and assembling the shafts is done simultaneously. First, determine how many heddles you need on each shaft. Then, insert a wooden support dowel in the center holes of the shaft top and bottom. Take care when installing the heddles that the wooden support dowel does not come out because it cannot be replaced after the heddles are on. Note: in order to get the heddles on without breaking the wooden support dowel, follow this procedure exactly. Install the heddles on one side first, sliding them over the hooks. Cut the heddles apart before sliding them all the way to the center. (This will both facilitate moving the heddles across the shaft and help in installing the heddles on the other side of the shaft.) Install the heddles on the other side, cutting them apart and sliding to the center of the shaft before placing the shaft spacers and connector sleeves in place. Insert the long metal spacer pins in the holes at the sides of the shaft top, insert the short metal spacer pins in the lower shaft holes, and secure with a metal sleeve. [Illustration #5]

When each shaft is assembled, hang a suspended lamm on it by interlocking the three hooks on the lower shaft frame with the corresponding hooks on the lamm. Beginning at the rear of the loom, hang the shafts in the 8th hole of the shaft suspension cords. Note: The yoke cord should be in front of each corresponding shaft. Attach in the 6th hole of the yoke cord to the corresponding lower lamm. For 4-shaft looms, the shafts should be installed in the four forward spaces.

Assemble and install the warp beam hanger blocks
Install the warp beam hanger blocks by inserting two cross dowel connectors into the holes in the hanger block, securing with a 3/8" x 6" hexhead bolt with a washer under the head. Note: be sure that the cross dowel connectors face outward as the beam lock blocks will not be removable if installed on the inside. To install the warp beam, remove the locking pegs, slide out the lock blocks, insert the beam, and replace the lock blocks and pegs. Place the turn wheel over the square shaft of the warp beam. [Illustration #6]

Install the warp beam release assembly
Install the warp beam release lever (hardware is attached) to the block on the lower right inside of the loom side. (The connector should face the loom side.) Bolt from the outside in this order: 1/2" x 5" hexhead bolt, washer, frame side block, lever, washer, and nylock nut. Tighten so that the lever moves freely.

At the rear, attach the connector strut to the pawl by bolting with a 1/4" by 1 3/4" hexhead bolt, bolting from the inside as follows: bolt, washer, connector strut, washer, pawl, nylock nut. Tighten so that the assembly moves freely. [Illustration #6]

Assemble the beater
Working on the floor, assemble the beater uprights to the beater race by inserting two cross dowel connectors into the holes at the tenoned end of the beater upright. [Illustration #4]. Insert the tenon into the mortise. Join with a 1/4" x 3" buttonhead screw and fender washer. Tighten the buttonhead bolts with the Allen wrench provided. Repeat for other side. Now place the beater on the side frames. Place the reed in the slot of the beater race and slide the beater pull bar (beater top) down on the reed to secure it. Attach the beater swing bar to the uprights by sliding it over the top of the beater uprights. Make sure the metal pivots are hanging down, facing toward the back. Insert the steel locking pin in one of the four holes of the beater uprights. Set the pivots into the bronze pivot block on top of the frame.

Forward and backward adjustment. The notches of the hanger pivot block allow control of the depth of the weaving space. A maximum shed is attained with the beater closest to the front shaft.

Height adjustment. With the beater hanging freely, the warp line should bisect the center of the reed. To adjust, hold the beater upright in one hand and slide the metal pin out of the hole with the other hand. Move the upright up or down as required and reinsert the pin. Repeat this procedure on the opposite side.

Aligning the beater. The beater must be perfectly parallel with the front breast beam. This alignment should be checked periodically; especially if the loom has been moved or is subjected to severe climatic changes. With your hand in the center of the pull bar, slowly pull the beater forward. Both ends of the beater should touch the front posts simultaneously. If they do not, alignment is required. The slotted screw holes in the base of the beater pivot blocks provide this adjustment. Loosen the screws and tap the blocks lightly with a hammer, either forward or backward, until the beater is aligned. Tighten the screws securely.

Tying up your countermarche loom
It is easiest to tie-up the treadles before the loom is warped. The treadle-lamm cords (also known as "tie-up cords") should already be attached to the treadles (see page 2). Before starting the tie-up, make sure that the lock pins are inserted in the overhead jacks—your loom comes with them inserted. Then check to see that the heddle eyes are in a direct horizontal line from the breast beam to the back beam. To do this, simply tie a length of yarn from the warp beam, up over the back beam, over the breast beam, and around the cloth beam. Looking from the side, check to see that the yarn forms a horizontal line from front to back and passes through the center of the heddle eye. If it does not, adjust the height of the shafts on the shaft hanger cords.

The countermarche loom is a balanced system of rising and sinking shafts. There are two sets of lamms, an upper suspended lamm and a lower lamm. A shaft tied to the lower lamm will rise when the treadle is depressed. Hint: remember: "bottoms up". A shaft tied to an upper lamm will sink when the treadle is depressed. In tying up the countermarche loom, each shaft is tied to either an upper or lower lamm on every treadle. When you are done, if you are using all of your shafts, there will be no untied holes left on your treadles. Mark your tie-up draft so that you know which shafts should rise and which should sink. Most tie-up drafts are marked for the shafts that rise, so the blank spaces in the draft represent the shafts that sink.You will tie the rising shafts for each treadle to the lower lamm, and the sinking shafts to the upper lamm. Each shaft works independently, meaning that the action of one shaft does not affect that of another. You will note that you can only depress one treadle at a time--nothing happens when two treadles are depressed.

The specially designed Texsolv tie-up cords supplied with your loom are all the same length, and each one can be tied to either an upper or lower lamm. Each cord is marked with a red and a black mark. To tie a treadle to the upper lamm, pass the cord in back (or front, when facing toward the front of the loom) of the lower lamm and up through the upper lamm hole. Secure it with a plastic anchor clip in the loop with the black mark. To tie a treadle to the lower lamm, pass the treadle cord through the corresponding hole in the lower lamm. Fasten to the lower lamm through the loop with the red mark, leaving the long tail end of the cord hanging.

Sitting behind the shafts facing the front, begin the treadle tie-up with the treadle on the left (or the point farthest away from the lower lamm pivot point). In the example tie-up draft in illustration #3a, the O’s (shafts 2, 4, 6, 8) represent the rising shafts. It is easiest to tie all the O’s (or rising shafts) first. You will tie these to the lower lamms (remember: "bottoms up"). Tie each treadle cord to the corresponding hole in the lower lamm. Secure the cord with a plastic anchor clip* through the red reference mark (see illustration).

* To place the plastic anchor clip through the loop, slip the loop lengthwise along the curved half-moon of the clip and then slip the other side of the loop under the flat edge. It will be easier to do this procedure when there is no tension on the cord; working with the treadle resting on the treadle separator is helpful. [Illustration #3]

To complete the tie-up for this first treadle, tie all the remaining cords (the empty boxes in the tie-up draft, shafts 1,3,5,7) to the upper lamms, passing the cords in back of each lower lamm. (Note: the Y-cords are in front of the lamms; the lamm cords are in back of the lamms). Secure the anchor clip in the black reference mark. You will notice that that back cords are tighter than the front cords. This is as it should be.

Hint: When tying up treadles, rest them on the adjacent treadle separator upright, as it is easier to tie-up treadles when there is no weight or tension on them.

Tie up the next treadle: Using the same process as for the first treadle, tie up all of the rising shafts (O’s in the tie-up illustration—shafts 1,3,5,7), then tie up all the sinking shafts (empty boxes in the tie-up illustration—shafts 2,4,6,8).

Note: your 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 and even/odd tabby, or if they were tied-up for a previous weaving, leave them as they were.

Now remove the jack lock pins. The shafts will drop slightly from the weight of the shafts and treadles.

Adjusting the treadle separator beam
The treadle separator beam is used to regulate the size of the sheds and to ease treadling. Adjust the treadle separator beam on a gradual incline, higher on the left. To determine where to adjust the beam, depress the leftmost treadle and look at the shed from the side. It should be as open as much as possible but not hit the top or bottom of any shaft. Check each shed by depressing each treadle in turn. Set the treadle support beam for the optimal height side to side.

The brake lock
The brake lock is a rectangular piece of wood that hangs from the peg on the right frame side over the warp beam release lever. It is used to hold the warp beam release lever down while cranking on the warp. To engage the brake lock, slide it out to the end of the peg so it is over the warp beam release lever. This will allow the warp beam to turn freely.

Engaging the ratchet advance lever
To engage the ratchet advance lever, lift up the handle to a horizontal position. Push the lever in to engage it with the teeth of the gear, and then continue lifting up. This will release the front pawl and take the tension off the warp. Now the back beam can be released by pressing on the tension release pedal. Advance the warp by engaging the ratchet advance lever. Re-engage the warp beam.

How to use the worm gear
The worm gear is engaged by pushing the worm gear handle forward and turning it clockwise at the same time. Turning the handle clockwise will advance the cloth and provide tension. By turning the handle counterclockwise the tension is released. When weaving is complete, the cloth can be removed easily by turning the worm gear handle counterclockwise until the tension is released and then pulling the handle back to disengage the worm gear. The cloth beam will now turn freely. Note: tension needs to be released before the warp beam release lever can be operated.

Illustrations

Illustration 1

Illustration 2a

Illustration 2b

Illustration 3

Illustration 3a: Attaching tie-up cord to treadle

Illustration 3b: Close-up of anchor hook