Posted by Maria on Saturday, 19 January 2008, at 9:44 a.m.:
In Reply to: adding 2 harnesses to Union Loom #36 posted by Susan Mason on Wednesday, 16 January 2008, at 6:53 p.m.:
It can be done, if you are handy, and understand loom physics.
You need to raise the castle about 12 inches, so you will have to make new pieces for that.
you will have to add 2 rollers under the top roller. Make these of a smaller diameter than the top roller. They should be attached to each other by the ends of the rollers in such a way that they can still roll freely. The cord you use to do this will loop over the original top roller, just like your shafts do now.
You will need either 2 more shafts that match yours ( perhaps cannibalize another loom), or 4 more shafts that match each other. Easiest way I can think of to do that is to make each one out of 2 strong flat pieces of wood, and make string heddles to hold it all together. A heddle jig to use to tie string heddles is not hard at all to make.
You need 4 lamms to position directly under the shafts, and some way of fastening them on 1 side so that they can pivot freely without hitting the treadles or the shafts when tied up and ready to use.
You need either 2 more treadles, or 4 more treadles, depending on whether or not you want 6 treadles or 4. These could be narrower that your original treadles, and should be spaced on each side of the originals. Of course, you need to atach them so that they pivot also.
The shafts are tied to the 2 new rollers at the top (two to each roller, just like they do now to your top roller), and to the lamms at the bottom, directly in the middle of the shaft. The lamms are tied to the treadles, according to your pattern requirements.
Do you have a manual for your Union Loom? I would be very interested in a copy of it, and would gladly reimburse you for your time and trouble. I have a Union 36 in sad shape and would like to get it working again. I might have the shafts for it, and if so, I would be willing to let them go.