The good thing about having a loom with lots of mechanical assistance is - well - the assistance. The bad thing about having a loom with lots of mechanical assistance is that it breaks down. Periodically.
So it is with the left foot switch. I noticed yesterday that every once in a while the throw was wimpy. The fly shuttle wasn't always making it all the way across the shuttle race from the left hand box to the right hand box. It wasn't often and I just figured the shuttle hadn't seated properly for a good throw.
Well, today it became more and more frequent and I finally realized that it wasn't going to last much longer. I barely made it to the end of the second shawl of the day due to the frustration of having to stop and shove the shuttle all the way into the right hand box. But I persevered and I'm really hoping that Doug will have time tomorrow morning before work to fix the switch.
The repair doesn't take long - it's normally a simple 50 cent O ring that fails. We keep them on hand so that when a repair is needed on the weekend or late at night it can be done without waiting for the hardware store to open.
Since I haven't been using the fly shuttle a lot the last few years, it's been quite a while since one of the switches needed to be repaired - so I really can't complain too much. Except that there are just two hours of weaving left to finish this warp and I'm really really anxious to get it done!
As for the ugly? That's in reference to the dust buffalo from the lint shedding from these shawl warps. I have purposefully not cleaned up knowing that it's just going to continue until the yarn is all used up. Another reason I really want to finish these warps tomorrow - so I can run the vacuum cleaner around and pick up as many of the herds of dust buffalo as I can. And look forward to coming home to a - for me - relatively clean studio!
No comments:
Post a Comment