Looming Changes for Cariboo Handwoven - Part 3

The new loom is up and running. But boy, what a process for me and what a change from the old one. There are some significant design changes in the Leclerc Colonial v2 compared to the original version although it's still the same model. However, if you've ever become very physically comfortable with some sort of machine or process, and then make a change like I have ... well, I had some doubts. But my doubts are over.

As I've already noted, the v2's back beam is higher, so warping with the sectional and moving the tension box for each section is easier with less bending over. There is less room between the back beam and harness block though, and the raised treadles take up a lot of that floor space.  Confession: I've been threading at the back to the front, which I was taught long ago, and now I have to learn to thread from the front. There's another looming change for me ahead.

Once I started weaving, I quickly found that the handle on the beater bar helped reduce every little stretch to grasp the top of the beater and pull it back into the cloth, which keeps me more upright in the process, too. My back thanks Leclerc for that improvement.

The treadles - wow, quite a difference. I often used the front base to rest my feet but that base is no longer there. The whole treadle mechanism has been improved but that takes some adaptation. I need a lower bench because when I press down on any treadle I am almost sliding forward.

Has anyone been through this, too? Maybe you're smiling to read about my little trials and tribulations, and thinking of your own ones. But it's just that habitual thing that we get so into - then we change some significant part of it and have to relearn some of the muscle processes.

I'm weaving a set of towels to get to know the new loom.

And those are enough looming changes for me for awhile!