Standard Floor Loom
Instructions for Assembly

Attaching the Apron Bars
Locate the pre-cut looped apron cords. There is one cord for each hole in the cloth and warp beams. To attach the apron cords to the cloth beam, insert one end of the cord through one hole in the beam, and pull the cord through a few inches. Take the other (long) end of the cord and put it through the second loop from the short end that you just put through the beam. Pull firmly on the cord to tighten it around the beam (Figure 1-A). Repeat across for the cords on the cloth beam.

To attach the cloth apron bar to the apron cords, start at one end of the beam with the outermost cord and work across. Fold the end of the looped cord at about 4” from the end and insert this doubled cord through the second loop from the end of the cord (Figure 1-B). Slide the apron bar through the loop formed by the doubled over cord at point X. Pull the cord tight (Figure 1-C). Repeat until the cloth apron bar is attached to all the apron cords. Center the rod on the strings.

Attach the warp apron bar to the warp beam in the same manner.

Figure 1

Unfolding the Back Beam
When you receive your loom the back beam will be folded up against the castle. It is fastened in position by means of a black plastic fold knob which passes through the back beam brace and fastens into a metal insert in the castle side. The back beam must be extended for weaving. To extend the beam remove the thumb screw from both sides of the loom. Hold on to the back beam and ease it back until the hole at the end of the brace lines up with the insert in the castle. Place the thumb screw and washer in the hole and tighten. Line up the other brace and secure it. Your loom is now in weaving position.

Attaching the Warp Beam Crank Handle Slip the washer onto the large bolt. Put the bolt through the crank handle and then through the hole in the end of the metal crank and fasten with the lock nut. Leave just a little room so the handle can rotate freely. Use a couple of l/2” wrenches to do this job. To engage the crank for turning the warp beam, pull the hexagonal hole of the crank onto the hex head bolt. While weaving, the crank should be pushed off of the hex bolt.

Figure 2

Adjusting the Friction Brake Adjust the friction brake action by tightening or loosening the turnbuckle. To see if the friction brake is adjusted properly, run the following test. Stand at the rear of the loom. Grip the warp beam firmly with both hands. Try to turn the warp beam away from you (if you view the beam from the left side of the loom you would be turning the beam in a clockwise direction). If the beam turns at all, tighten the turnbuckle a few turns (Figure 3).If it still turns, tighten the turnbuckle again. Repeat until the warp beam will not turn under a good amount of pressure. Now depress the brake release pedal at the front of the loom. While the brake release pedal is down you should be able to turn the warp beam easily in the clockwise direction. Remember to press the brake release pedal whenever you are winding or unwinding the warp beam. The wing nut under the back of the brake release pedal can be used to set the pedal to your preferred angle.

Figure 3

The Brake Release Hold
The brake release hold is used to keep the brake release pedal depressed when you are winding on the warp. Push the brake release pedal down and adjust the brake hold by pulling it out and slightly back so it is wedged against the brake release pedal holding it in the release position (see Figure 6, page 4).

Installing the Heddles in the Harness Frames
If your loom has a high castle, first remove the entire tray assembly (see below). Remove the nut from the jack pin at the bottom of each harness (Figure 4). Lift a harness from the loom castle by lifting it straight up. Lay the harness flat on a table. Release the heddle bars from the lock hooks that hold them in the harness. Bend the heddle bars just enough to remove one end from the slot in the the harness frame. Pull the other end out of the opposite slot in the harness frame
Carefully slide the number of heddles that you need onto the heddle bars. This is best done by holding a small group of heddles
firmly together (Figure 5), sliding one end of the heddle group onto the upper heddle bar and then sliding the other end of the heddle group onto the lower heddle bar. Do not to let the heddles slip out of place while transferring them. Replace the heddle bars in the harness frame, by bending the bars slightly. Replace the harness in the castle, insert the jack pin into the hole in the bottom of the harness frame and fasten with the nut (Figure 4). Repeat for each harness.

Removing Harnesses on High Castle Looms
To remove the harnesses from the castle you must first remove the accessory tray from the top of the castle. Using a 7/l6” wrench, loosen the two bolts at either end of the tray. Lift the tray straight up to remove it. You may need to give it a light tap with a rubber mallet from underneath. (If you do not have a rubber mallet you may use a hammer with a block of wood to protect the loom from the tap of the hammer). Be sure to tighten these bolts after the tray is put back on. This adds to the loom’s stability.

Beater Height Adjustment
The height of the beater has been set at the factory to suit the average weaver for most projects. However, if you want to raise or lower the beater, loosen the two nuts on the inside of each of the metal beater pivots. Position the beater at the desired height and tighten the nuts. Be sure that you have set the height of each side of the beater equally
(Figure 6).


Lamp Holder
The two holes, one in the top of each castle side, are designed to accommodate the swivel pin of an extension-style lamp.




Treadle - Lamm Tie Up
Work from the front lamm to the rear lamm for each treadle. Loop one end of the tie-up cord through the lamm as illustrated in Figure 7. Slip the cord through the slot in the treadle. After you have completed tying-up your treadles push each one all the way to the floor and then lift it back up. Make sure that the plastic button of the tie-up cords are all the way against the treadle.

Figure 6                        

Figure 7