Tension

 

Tension box

Yesterday I finally felt up to tackling the beaming.  I also pressed the additional samples for the current article, edited another article and emailed a couple photos I wanted to provide and will work on continuing processing the samples today, writing up a 'legend' and then adding string tags to more easily identify the samples for the editorial team to inspect.  Not sure how many of the samples will actually make an appearance in the magazine - if any.  They are...boring...to view.  Much more interesting in the hand - as is the case with so many textiles.

The photo shows the tension box set up with the maximum amount of tension, generally used when beaming using cones and pulling off the top of the cone.  Usually beaming from tubes is done from the side and the weight of the tube provides some tension, and less needs to be added to the tension box.

You do need to beam with tension, preferably more tension than will be used during weaving, in order to prevent the upper layers from cutting down into the lower layers and messing up the tension of the entire warp.

And this is why I constantly tell people 'it depends'.  Because change one thing, and everything can change.

Every 'variable' in weaving is dependent upon one or more of the other variables in the craft processes.  The reason I stay intrigued is that I try to understand how they all balance beside or across from each other and remain happy during the beaming and weaving of the web.

I don't think my body much likes the threading position.  Or should I say, it enjoys it even less than it used to do?  Anyway, I didn't get much sleep last night.  I may need a nap this afternoon.  But in the meantime I need to finish threading before I can sley and tie on.  Hopefully I can begin weaving tomorrow.

We'll see!

Guest Post (part II)

 Note correction in the comments section

How to measure warp tension

 

As a student I have been given information on various practices for setting tension, such as gently releasing the brake, which ratchet and pawl to tune first, counting the brake clicks and feeling the warp itself. I wanted to find a way to measure warp tension, so that I could use numbers to guide me in resetting my tension after each warp advance.

 After searching on Amazon, I found a precision spring gauge, referred to as a dynamometer (also known as a tensiometer)  with a scale of 1 Newton or 100 grams. The price was right, starting around 8 dollars and I purchased the Eisco precision spring scale at a cost of twenty -four dollars. After experimenting with different ways to attach the tensiometer to my loom , I finally settled on this set-up. I first advanced the warp and did not reset the tension, next I hooked the scale ( yellow end) onto a few warp threads in the middle of the warp. The other end of the scale ( measuring hook part) was attached by a slack Texsolv cord to a central treadle on my Glimakra loom.

 

 Now that the tensiometer was  positioned  I started my measurements. I measured how far my warp threads sagged under the weight of the tensiometer alone and then I started tightening the warp, one click, two clicks and so on and at each point I measure the displacement and noted the force being measured on the tensiometer. The table below summarizes my observations. The direct measurements are the displacement and the force from the tensiometer and these two direct measurements are sufficient to provide guidance on resetting the warp tension after advancing the warp. The right side of the table shows the calculated warp tension in both newtons and lbs. The warp tension is calculated using the formula T=F*L/(4*d), which is a reasonable approximation for small displacement, d and large distance, L between the breast beam and the warp beam. 

 

 

Number of Brake Rachet Clicks        (increasing tension)	Warp Displacement (d,cm)	Force (F) Measurement from the scale ( Newtons)	Warp Tension Calculated ( Newtons)	Warp Tension Calculated      ( lbs)
0	5.5		-	-
1	5.0	0.01	-	-
2	4.0	0.16	1.45	0.32
3	3.5	0.22	2.28	0.50
4	3.0	0.28	3.40	0.75
5	2.5	0.34	4.90	1.10

 

So what did I learn from this little experiment? First of all, warp tension is measurable, just like they measure guitar string tension or the string tension on your restrung badminton racquet. The tension on the warp in this particular experiment increased by 30 times from an initial brake position to the tightest brake setting. For my cloth I learned that I was looking for a displacement of around 3 cm and a force of about 0.3 N on the tensiometer. This setup is unintrusive under my loom, so I can leave it on and practice resetting my warp tension as my weaving progresses.

 Changing materials,  looms and many other factors will change these numbers and therefore these exact numbers are not to be relied upon, but rather demonstrate the possibility of learning how to effectively reset warp tension through measurement. I hope  you will give this a try and develop your own guidance for the materials you like to use.

 

 

 

 

 

Tweaking

One of the things that has concerned me since the fall in March was the damage done to my spine/hip.  Apparently it (the damage) was significant and my body is not happy with me right now.  The x-ray also revealed the extent of the damage to my hip from over use.  Weaving on a floor loom with that awful side-step-depress motion to release the brake has taken it's toll.

Once I had recovered from the initial fall - and everything seemed to be ok - I was still a bit suspicious about my hip and had discussed with Doug on several occasions about converting the Leclerc Fanny to a live weight tension system.  After getting the results of the x-ray last week I realized that it was not something that could remain in the realm of theory and over the past couple of days Doug has been messing about with a cord and weights.

The live weight tension system is really simplicity itself.  So simple it seems like it shouldn't actually work.  It took quite a bit of weight before I felt I had the correct amount of tension on the scarf warp, but it seems to be working just fine now.  That's 25 pounds of lead on the heavy end, one pound on the other end of the cord.

Of course, how I beam warps may have to change, but we didn't remove the old Leclerc brake system from the loom, just locked it 'off', so it will be easy to remove the cord and lock the brake on again for beaming the warp with the trapeze.

I suspect more weight will be needed for cloth that requires a firmer beat than the rayon scarves I'm currently weaving, but Doug bought lots of weights of various sizes.  And we know where to get more.

Currently reading In Praise of Slow; how a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed by Carl Honore'.  I saw a TED talk with him a while ago, and of course the Slow Movement has crept into the world of textiles.  The thing that I noticed however, is that the Slow Movement is not solely about doing things slowly, but doing them at the correct speed.  If you have ever watched a chef prepare food, you will have observed that they do not slice and dice slowly, but very efficiently.  IOW, very quickly.

Handwoven cloth is by it's very definition 'slow'.  That doesn't mean that I want to work slowly (even when my body demands it!)  I want to work at a purposeful, efficient pace.  I want to work at the 'proper' speed for whatever it is I'm making.  Sometimes that means I go more slowly (ie. use a temple) in order to be more productive in the long run.

The big thing about the Slow Movement is that it wants people to stop rushing.  Rushing through their day.  Rushing through their meetings, their meals, their interactions with other people.  Stop rushing through their lives.

Being Slow doesn't mean wasting time.  It means using your time well, staying focused on what you are doing rather than always thinking about the next thing and the next and the next, forever not in the moment.  A lesson more of us need to learn, I think.