1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. AVL Looms Manuals
  4. Other
  5. HOME LOOM with Compu-Dobby III
  6. Assembly & operating instructions

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

Hide thumbs
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

Download this manual
HOME LOOM
with Compu-Dobby III
ASSEMBLY & OPERATING
INSTRUCTIONS
WIDTH:
____________________
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

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading
Need help?

Need help?

Do you have a question about the HOME LOOM with Compu-Dobby III and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Related Manuals for AVL Looms HOME LOOM with Compu-Dobby III

Summary of Contents for AVL Looms HOME LOOM with Compu-Dobby III

  • Page 1 HOME LOOM with Compu-Dobby III ASSEMBLY & OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS WIDTH: ____________________ 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...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    TABLE OF CONTENTS Figure Index FI-1 Introduction • Preface Home Loom Instructions • Loom Set-Up • Compu-Dobby III • Serial Cable (RS-232) • Power Cord • Set-Up Your Computer • Adjusting the Solenoids 2-10 Adjustments • Warp Tension • Beater Height •...
  • Page 3 Warping the Sectional Beam Maintenance and Lubrication • Sectional Beam Calculation • Lubrication • Loom Preparation • Finish • Extension Cords • Feeding the Spool Rack Troubleshooting Chart • Adjusting the Tension Device • Tension Box Glossary 10-1 • Tension Box Heddle Installation Instruction •...
  • Page 4 FIGURE INDEX Figure # Description Page # Full Loom Unfolding the Loom, #1 Unfolding the Loom, #2 Attaching the Brake Pedal Routing the Brake Cable Attaching the Warp Beam Crank Sectional Beam Installation Cutting the Heddles Apart Dobby for Compu-Dobby III Cables in Dobby Slide Plate Insert Springs, Pulley, and Keeper Treadle Cam, Pulley, and Axle...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    INTRODUCTION AVL Looms was formed in 1977. Jim Ahrens, an experienced engineer/ designer/weaver, designed the original looms. He has been weaving, designing, and building handweaving looms for over fifty years and is considered by many weavers to be the greatest handloom designer in this country.

  • Page 6: Home Loom Instructions

    FIGURE 1 FULL LOOM The AVL Home 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.

  • Page 7: Loom Set-Up

    LOOM SET-UP Remove the loom from the shipping box by opening the flaps at either end of the box. Slide the entire loom out of the box, including the wooden packing base the loom is attached to. Remove all tape and packing materials from the loom. Remove accessory box(es) from the loom.
  • 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: Sectional Beam Installation

    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 •...
  • Page 10 Remove the folding leg support arms saving the bolts, nuts, and locking levers. 10.) Attach the extended support arms (see Figure 7) and secure to the folding legs. (Be sure to insert the bolt from the outside, through the support arms and castle side, then slip the locking lever on as before.
  • Page 11 16.) Your loom has been shipped with the polyester heddles in place on the harnesses. They are bundled together in groups of one hundred, with two bundles on each harness frame. On eight harness looms there are two groups of fifty heddles each on the rear four harnesses.

  • Page 12: Compu-Dobby Iii

    COMPU-DOBBY III The Dobby board with cables will arrive 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). Dobby Slide Plate Insert FIGURE 9a CABLES IN DOBBY SLIDE PLATE INSERT...

  • Page 13: Springs, Pulley, And Keeper

    Each of the cables should have a little tension. If there is not enough Check that all the bolts and screws holding the dobby set up to the back tension on the cables, locate the small springs at the end of the cables, board are tight.

  • Page 14: Serial Cable (Rs-232)

    The black Compu-Dobby III solenoid box will arrive with a board at- Set-Up Your Computer tached to its back. Unscrew the four black thumb screws and set the wood board aside. If you haven't already, set your computer up at the right side of the loom.

  • Page 15: Adjusting The Solenoids

    Newer Macs use USB ports. You'll need a serial-USB adapter to connect the Mac to the Compu-Dobby III. We recommend the Dual Adapter from KeySpan or the Belkin adapter. Thumb Older Macs usually have two serial ports. These are round and Screw contain holes for eight pins and are labeled modem or printer -- you may connect to either.
  • Page 16 17.) Before proceeding to the weaving section, you should take a minute to see that all the harness cables and treadle cables are seated in the correct pulleys and are routed properly. 18.) One last thing to check is the spring lever system. This system is located directly underneath the harnesses and is made up of two rows of wooden levers with springs and chain between them.

  • Page 17: Adjustments

    ADJUSTMENTS Once your loom has been set up and warped, you should make the following adjustments before you start weaving. Warp Tension (refer to Figures 4 and 5) The warp tension is determined by the combination of how you advance the warp with the cloth beam handle and when you let up on the brake pedal.

  • Page 18: Beater Height

    Beater Height (refer to Figure 12) Spring Levers The height of the beater is adjustable to compensate for different weav- The springs of the spring lever return system should also be adjusted for ing situations. Each leg of the beater can be lifted and the steel pivots can positive harness return, i.e., the harnesses stay all the way down in the be screwed into or out of the bottom of each beater leg, thereby chang- depressed position and require the least amount of effort for lifting.

  • Page 19: Warping The Plain Beam

    WARPING THE PLAIN BEAM If you have ordered only a sectional beam, proceed to the section titled “Warping the Sectional Beam”. Various warping methods can be adapted to the AVL loom. However, we recommend the following method in which the warp is first wound on to the plain beam with the use of a raddle.

  • Page 20: Securing The Crosses

    SECURING THE CROSSES STICKS IN THE RADDLE CROSS Before removing the warp from the board or the reel, secure the Place two lease sticks in the raddle cross and secure together with string crosses. Use four ties to secure each cross. These ties go on each side of through the holes in the ends of the sticks.
  • 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 4-3...

  • Page 22: Preparing The Paper

    PREPARING THE PAPER Prepare the paper for winding between the warp layers. Again, for the most professional results, and fewer tension problems, we suggest that the warp be as smooth, tight, and compact as possible. This would mean not using corrugated paper or sticks as they will make the warp too fate and/or lumpy.

  • Page 23: Winding The Warp

    WINDING THE WARP If you have to do it yourself, you can use the jerking method. Make one turn around with your beam crank and then go to the back of the loom When winding the warp on from the back, i.e., with the warp spread out and jerk one section at a time to make the warp that is already on the in back of the loom, turn the crank in a clockwise direction so that the beam tight.

  • Page 24: Warping The Sectional Beam

    WARPING THE SECTIONAL BEAM The AVL sectional beam is designed to be warped in sections with the use of a tension box. The yarn travels directly from cones or spools which are mounted on a rack behind the loom, through the tension box, and onto the beam. Throughout the warping process, the tension box automatically keeps a constant and uniform tension on the warp.

  • Page 25: Loom Preparation

    It is important to make these calculations in advance so that you can FEEDING THE SPOOL RACK purchase your yarn in spools or cones corresponding to the amount of yardage needed on each. Sometimes this is not possible and you will Next, place a spool or cone rack about five or six feet behind your loom.

  • Page 26: Tension Box Heddle Installation Instruction

    TENSION BOX HEDDLE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTION Now push down on the harness that is up, making the other harness come up. If this is your first time to use a tension box, you need to install heddles on the harnesses. Remove the heddle retainer. Your tension box is delivered with one bundle of one hundred heddles.

  • Page 27: Threading The Tension Box

    THREADING THE TENSION BOX 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 The best way to thread the tension box is to take one thread from the inch, you will divide the E.P.I.

  • Page 28: Winding The Warp

    Next, bring the thread straight through the tension peg section in- Once the tension box has been threaded, it is not always necessary to between the larger adjustable tension pegs and the smaller stationary rethread it. If you need to change spools or cones, simply tie the new pegs or just above the smaller stationary pegs if you have removed the ends on to the old ends just before the rear stationary reed, then gently larger ones.

  • Page 29: Adjusting The Size Of The Section

    ADJUSTING THE SIZE OF THE SECTION 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. Line up the tension box approximately behind the section you will be If the warp falls down at the pegs, the warp section is too narrow.

  • Page 30: Counting Turns Or Yardage

    COUNTING TURNS OR YARDAGE To determine the length of the warp you are putting on the beam, you need to count either turns, revolutions, or yards. To count turns, you can do it in your head, but it is more reliable to use a digital or mechanical revolution counter. Counting revolutions even with a digital counter will still give the approximate warp length only, because the circumference of the beam will in- crease slightly with each rotation.

  • Page 31: Creating The Cross

    CREATING THE CROSS INSERTING STICKS IN THE TREADING CROSS When there is about a half yard left to be wound onto the beam, it is When all the winding is complete, remove the rubber bands, unwind a time to make the threading cross. Simply push on the rear heddle frame few feet of warp, and slip one lease stick through the path created by the of the tension box, making half of the threads go up and the other half go upper portion of each marking tie.

  • Page 32: Combining Plain And Sectional Warping

    COMBINING PLAIN AND SECTIONAL WARPING Attach each baby warp to the extension cords and proceed as in regular sectional beaming procedure. If you are winding a very fine warp, say forty ends to the inch or more, and do not have or do not want to wind a lot of spools or cones, it may be Since you are not using the tension box for tension, be sure to more convenient to wind separate warp sections on a warping board or keep it taut manually.

  • Page 33: Threading, Sleying, And Tying On

    THREADING, SLEYING, AND PREPARATION FOR THREADING TYING ON To prepare for threading, tie the threading cross sticks up to the rear harness pulley support with lengths of string so that the cross is in a comfortable and visible position for threading. Now cut the warp end loops (if you are using the AVL plain beam warping method) so they will be ready for threading.

  • Page 34: Heddle Preparation

    HEDDLE PREPARATION THREADING THE HARNESSES Choose the approximate number of heddles you wish to use. If you have Now insert the threading hook through the eye of the first heddle you planned a narrow warp, make sure you leave some heddles at the far wish to thread.

  • Page 35: Tying Onto The Apron

    TYING ONTO THE APRON 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; Attach the apron to the beam and wind the cloth beam up (so that the simply grasp the ends and pull them away from you, then re-tighten the apron is winding up on the top surface of the beam) until the notched end knots.

  • Page 36: Tying On To The Old Warp

    TYING ON TO THE OLD WARP A new warp can be tied on to an old warp, thus eliminating the threading and sleying process if the new warp introduced into the loom uses the same threading pattern and EPI as the last warp. This process is espe- cially good for production weavers, as it saves time.

  • Page 37: Weaving Procedures

    WEAVING PROCEDURES WEAVING With everything properly adjusted, weaving is an easy and enjoyable process. Sit up straight and comfortably at the loom so that your body remains stationary while your arms and legs work the loom. Simply press down on the treadles in the sequence determined by the pattern of your weaving.

  • Page 38: Starting Weaving

    Replace the harness wire. SAMPLE WEAVING For sample weaving, if you wish to remove part of the weaving from the loom before the entire warp is woven off, use the following procedure: When the piece to be removed has been woven, weave one inch of tabby.

  • Page 39: Maintenance And Lubrication

    MAINTENANCE AND LUBRICATION LUBRICATION The AVL Home Loom has been designed and built to deliver many years of trouble free service. A minimal amount of maintenance will be required to insure that your loom will continue to perform properly (refer to Figure 29). The arrows show the points on the loom which should be oiled occasionally.

  • Page 40: Troubleshooting Chart

    TROUBLESHOOTING The AVL Home Loom, by design, is simple and uncomplicated. You should experience very few problems with it. If you do experience any difficulty, consult the following troubleshooting chart. If the problem persists, do not hesitate to contact an AVL service representative for additional assistance.
  • Page 41 PROBLEM REASON SOLUTION 4.) Harnesses catch on one another. a.) Heddles catching on adjacent harness. a.) Spread out bundled heddles. Increase spring lever tension. 5.) Heddles fall off end of harness a.) Heddles too close to end. a.) Move heddles inward. sticks.
  • Page 42 PROBLEM REASON SOLUTION 9.) Treadles difficult to operate. a.) Lifting large number of harnesses. a.) Lubricate loom. Reduce spring lever tension if possible. b.) Harness or treadle cables routed b.) Check routing of cables. improperly. Make sure all cables are on pulleys. 10.) Large warp build up alters shed a.) Folding legs need adjustment.

  • Page 43: Glossary

    GLOSSARY APRON: A piece of canvas attached to the warp and cloth beams to which the warp ends are tied. ATTITUDE: A state of mind or feeling. Everything works better with a good one. BEAM, BREAST: The beam at the front of the loom between the beater and the cloth beam over which the web passes to the cloth beam.
  • Page 44 HARNESS: Frames on which heddles are hung. SLEY (noun): The number of warp ends per inch drawn through dents in the reed. HEDDLE EYE: The opening in the center of the heddle. SLEY (verb): To draw threads through dents in the reed with a sley HEDDLE: Made of either polyester or steel, the heddles hang from the hook.

Table of Contents