Posted by Padmavyuha on Monday, 10 November 2008, at 6:48 a.m.:
Hello there - I'm in South Somerset, UK, and I've just got back into weaving after a 15-year break (!) and I have an 8-shaft Glimåkra floor loom set up as countermarche. I'm about to set up my 2nd warp, and the advice I got from someone after I had trouble with the shed the first time round was 'rake the shafts (harnesses)', i.e. tie them so that they get higher as you go back through the shafts.
I've done this, and it makes good sense - the back heddles need to go higher than the front ones for the warp to all rise to the same height in the shed, and the back shafts are also at a disadvantage because they're nearer the fulcrum of the treadles, so there's less movement. So far so good.
My question is this: is there any advantage/disadvantage (apart from aesthetic) to having the upper lamms level? When I changed the tie-up of the shafts, the upper lamms now go up in a slope too. I'm wondering whether I need to bother to level them out, or whether it makes no difference - or whether it's actually better that way!
Thanks in advance for your time...
- padmavyuha