no supplemental light at the front of the loom
supplemental light at the front of the loom
Winter is here and we have been plagued with a series of really grey dreary days with heavy overcast.
One of the things that becomes necessary during these kinds of days - or if you have to weave after dark, after work, after the children are in bed - whatever - is some supplemental light.
The big consideration in choosing light is to make sure the light is actually illuminating your work area so that you aren't working in shadow - either yours - or that of the loom.
I don't attach supplemental lights to the loom because over the years I have broken light fixtures and bulbs due to the vibration of the loom while I'm weaving. Now, not everyone weaves as much as I do, or as quickly as I do, so attaching lights to their loom might not be a big deal. For me, it was. So my lights are to the side of the loom and adjustable. As I move from threading to sleying to weaving, where I need the light changes.
When I'm threading, I need the light trained onto the heddles. An overhead light means I would be working in the shadow of the loom castle and the tops of the shafts.
Then I'm sleying, the area needing to be lit has moved out of the heddles and now needs to be on the reed which is inside the beater. (Some people do this job with the reed laid flat, so their light placement would be different than mine.)
When I'm weaving, the area needing to be lit changes slightly again. My lamps can be adjusted for all of these positions, simply by swinging them where they need to be.
As I get older and grow my 'baby' cataracts, supplemental light will become increasingly important. My lamps will serve me well so that I can see what I'm doing.
When choosing lamp placement, keep in mind what it is you need to see and make sure the light shines on that.
2 comments:
I have found that using a headlamp that I got at REI is a helpful, hands free way to supplement my task lighting needs. My headlamp has 3 settings, and uses a rechargeable battery, so I can get a full day's work out of one charging. I just need to take a break once in a while because having the lamp on all the time starts to make my forehead warm :)
I've put LED light strips on both of my looms. They go under the castle and get plugged in. You can get battery powered but then you're dealing with batteries. In addition, for threading or a dark warp, I have them underneath a board, actually on my 60" PDL, it is the sectional box "rail". You can then slide the board on the castle and position it where you like. They are incredibly cheap and easy to set up. I much prefer them to my floor lamp as they illuminate the entire loom and don't get in the way of the beater or fly.
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