# Building a power loom



## Humph7ey (Sep 7, 2011)

I want to make a small power weaving loom for weaving 1" ribbon. I found very little about construction details except for a 1922 copy of a book on cd rom that supposes prior knowledge. I think that I can make the Jacquard head that controls the patterning through punched cards. 
Are there any drawings out there that have not yet reached the internet?


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## Herbiev (Sep 7, 2011)

Sounds like a great project. Looking forward to your build


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## Richard1 (Sep 7, 2011)

I made my living on a power loom in the past. I don't know of any plans for one but I have seen a photo of a model Dobcross I think that was entered into the Model Engineer Exhibition many years ago. I don't have access to my copies of ME but would guess you are looking in the 1950s or 60s. It was not a Jacquard. I have done a little work on Jacquard heads many years ago and maybe able to remember enough about them to help you but don't count on it it was a long time. If the loom you are looking at is anything like the Hattersleys I used to work you are in for an interesting gear cutting job as the drive to the reed is via a two to one reduction gear but to get dwell on the back stroke to give time for the shuttle to pass the gears are made such that a small circular eccentric gear drives a larger elliptical gear in a two to one ratio. They are interesting to watch.

Richard


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## Humph7ey (Sep 7, 2011)

That kind of gearing may have been used on a few looms. I hope that it is not necessary. 
i am thinking of just four needles high with five rows making twenty needles. I think that should be enough for a 1" ribbon.


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## RonGinger (Sep 7, 2011)

Eliptic gears are not hard. You just need the program gearotic from gearotic.com

That is Art Fenertys latest project after he wrote the Mach cnc software. 

Ive cut a few eliptic gears, I had a hand cranked set at NAMES last year. The web site has some good videos of all kinds of strange gears.


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## Richard1 (Sep 7, 2011)

Are we talking about a pure Jacquard here or a shaft loom with a supplemental Jacquard head on it? How many pattern repeats are you looking at across the width of the ribbon? The last bit of ribbon I counted was more than 100 threads to the inch so with a 20 needle Jacquard you are looking at 5 - 6 pattern repeats in the width of the ribbon. It might be possible to set up a 1 inch width on a shaft loom to weave the ribbon and to have the Jacquard head bring differently coloured threads to the surface to place a pattern on the base fabric. This way you could still have a fine weave for the ribbon but not need so many needles in the Jacquard. If I recall right most ribbon is satin / sateen which on a shaft loom requires a minimum of 5 shafts with a lift pattern of 1, 3, 5, 2, 4.

Richard


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## Humph7ey (Sep 8, 2011)

This is a close up of the tape I want to produce. The weft is two threads.


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## Richard1 (Sep 8, 2011)

Near as I can count from that the bottom of the photo has 16 threads and the coloured pattern has 10 blue and I presume 10 back ground colour. The plain bit at the bottom seems to be plain weave (tabby) the pattern part seems to be a 5 thread satin. Where are you? Do you have a sample you could lend me? If so I will try to count it for you.

If my counts are right from the photo you could probably set up the plain weave on 2 needles from the Jacquard head the pattern on 20, I can't see the top edge well enough but could be some more there. Maybe you should be looking at a 25 needle head.

Richard


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## Humph7ey (Sep 8, 2011)

I just started with a plywood box frame and a wooden cylinder and I think I can get 32 with ease.
I am in the middle of France. I can send you a sample. The pattern part is 5/8" wide while the plain edge makes up the inch wide. There is a selvage both edges. The part that bothers me is that the dark wool seems to be woven over wires and clipped off at the back but that may have been the moths.


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## Richard1 (Sep 8, 2011)

I'm in Australia at present will be back in England on Saturday and back at my place on the 17th. If you drop a small sample in the post to me I will see what I can work out and send it back to you.

Richard Davies
x zzzzzz zzzz
Lowedges
Sheffield
xx xxx
Yorkshire
U.K.
Edit: address altered by moderator for safety


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## Humph7ey (Sep 8, 2011)

Will do. Thanks.


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## Humph7ey (Sep 8, 2011)

I got the address. Its on its way.
I managed to get 40 needles into my head (4x10). Just waiting for the straight piano wire now (1.22mm)


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## Humph7ey (Sep 8, 2011)

I am now thinking about the actual ribbon loom.
How about old typewriter platens for the take up and feed?


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## Richard1 (Sep 8, 2011)

On the full size machines I worked there are generally 3 rollers at the front

1 Friction roller is about 6 inches in diameter and is usually covered with a spiral of coarse sandpaper this is driven through a set of change gears to give constant ppi (picks per inch)
2 Guide roller about 3 inches in diameter to hold the fabric in contact with the Friction roller over about 3/4 of its circumference.
3 Take up roller, wooden, driven by some sort of a slipping clutch arrangement, take the cloth from the guide roller.

The fabric path is over the top of the friction roller around it until it almost touches the bottom of the fabric then over the guide roller and down to the take up roll. Take up roll on the Hattersley turns the same way as the friction roller but this is probably not that important.

Let off at the back on the Hattersley was I think just a friction brake with a lever and weight (don't quote me on that) on a Crompton Knowles the let off was a continuously variable belt drive much like the one in the head of a Bridgeport mill.

I see no reason why type writer rollers wouldn't work for the friction roller, take up roller and back roller you probably need a smaller one for the guide roller.

Richard


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## Humph7ey (Sep 10, 2011)

I looked at a very old typewriter platern and it is easily made with a wood core on a steel shaft covered with rubber. I should be able to find an old bicycle inner tube. Perhaps a friction clutch using a felt disc and spring. i could drive them using an adjustable pawl like on a shaping machine


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 10, 2011)

Hmm interesting project. I did a little project a while back . I compiled a cd on mill history fort ht e slader mills historic site. Itt has a couple books on the Jacquard.I will look and see if anything may be of help. Do any of the textile museums in your area have resourses you can research?A loom you can photograph ?
in the mean time this may help you http://www.pugpro.com/loom/Loom2.pdf



A few books I found 
http://www.archive.org/details/jacquardweaving00bellgoog


http://www.archive.org/details/jacquardmachines00amer

http://www.archive.org/details/jacquardmechanis00brad
http://www.archive.org/details/jacquardmachinea00poss
http://www.archive.org/details/lejacquardjourn00unkngoog

patten drawings
http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/patents030.html

Fledgling web site someone trying to develop a modern electronic controlled open source Jacquard loom. 

http://www.osloom.org/

If you are going practical rather than historic on your build you could go with electronic controls. 
easier to program and change programs. also fIY the jacquard I saw used pins on metal plates for control. 
Tin


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## Humph7ey (Sep 10, 2011)

Thanks for those links. At the moment I will be using punched cards as I only need it for one particular ribbon/trim.
If it fails, It will be useful for demonstrations. 
The rollers worked out well.


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 10, 2011)

it will be interresting to see OSloom.org grow. 
Tin


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 11, 2011)

Since this is a Model Engine building site and . Jacquard loom is technical a weaving engine. may I suggest building one of these. 
Anvil Prime







http://www.weavezine.com/reviews/tabletop-jacquard-loom

OK before I get called on this one I did do a little research and it is indeed a Aprill fools JOKE. 
But it could be and interesting challenge . 9 inches wide and and a couple feet high would likely be a more practical scale. 
Tin


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## Richard1 (Sep 15, 2011)

I have started working on the sample of fabric. The strip of plain weave on the side is 40 threads per inch standard over one under one plain weave and contains 16 threads. The pattern is a two colour warp faced fabric, the pale (almost white) stripes on the face of it are very faded dark blue threads which you can see on the back. Nothing appears to be eaten away by moths or anything else. I am waiting for some good strong sun light to try to dig a bit further into the details of it. The weft is probably cotton or linen. I burnt about 1/8 inch of a single thread it certainly doesn't smell like wool or synthetic.

Sorry I can't be more helpful right now but will work on it more later.

Richard


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## Humph7ey (Sep 19, 2011)

The woolen raised part is possibly made like moquette using wires. The Jacquard head is ready and just needs the cards punching. 
I now have more info on loom building and have enough scrap lying around to come up with something.
The insertion of the moquette wires will need some careful thought, but most things can be overcome.
They seem to be 1.25mm apart.
Question, Is a solenoid, like a lock bolt suitable to drive the flying shuttle over the short distance? 
The material was made in 1929, so I think it was well before synthetics.
I hope my 40 needle head will be enough.


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## Humph7ey (Apr 1, 2015)

Hello again folks.
The electronics are now virtually complete using a Arduino Mega. A kind chap wrote the code for me. Since then I toasted the Mega and am now waiting for a new one.
I tried using a shuttle-less design for the loom, but it was too much going wrong with the selvage so I changed the design to an under pick for the shuttle control.
A look on Youtube under my name "Humphrey Lees shuttle movie" should find the latest results. 
The wire insertion/extraction part of the loom should be an interesting challenge. I have a gripper mounted on a small x/y arrangement that has a solenoid operated gripper that will be moved by the beater arms two ways. The actual extraction will be controlled by an optical interrupter as the beaten up wire is in place.
The type of fabric is usually called Carriage Lace or Pasting Lace  where there is a hidden edge for nailing or gluing.


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