“Getting Acquainted With Your Bergman Loom” ca. 1969

Here is a typescript of the tie-up instructions that would have come with a new Bergman Loom circa 1969.  The guidelines for lamm and treadle height are not very effective for earlier Bergman looms like mine.  I’ve written a post with my own hints (including diagrams and measurements), which you can see here:

https://trapunto.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/bergman-tie-up-tips/

Getting acquainted with your Bergman Loom

To unfold the loom:

1. Open the loom.

2. Remove bar which holds the treadles and place in position at lower end of the front wings.

3.Pull cloth beam forward in its slot to its lowest position. (The cloth beam is the one at the front with the canvas apron and is the one on which the cloth is wound as it is woven.) When in place at the bottom of the slot, engage the dog which prevents it from turning backward, and insert locking pins hanging inside each front wing.

4. Remove breast beam from its place at the top of loom and place in dove-tailed tops of the front wings.

5. Remove back beam from its position directly over the warp beam and place it in position near the top of the rear wings, putting the pegs in the ends of the beam into the holes provided for them. Replace the locking pins which will pass through the top of the wing and through the beam to the bottom. (Observe that back beam is marked “L” and “R” near the holes and must be so placed that “L” is on the left and “R” is on the right.

 

To fold the loom:

1. Remove the back beam from its position in the rear wings and put in place immediately over the warp beam. Fold the wings flat against the rear of the loom.

2. Remove the breast beam from its position in the dove-tails at top of front wings and place on the pegs at the top of the loom immediately in front of the jack box (or rollers if yours is a counterbalanced model.)

3. Remove locking pins from cloth beams and slide cloth beam up and all the way back in its slot.

4. Lift treadle bar and treadles from their weaving position and place in position at the top of the frame in front of the cloth beam. (It may be necessary to push the ends of the treadles back as you do this.) Fold the front wings against the front of the loom.

 

As it is impossible to satisfy all weavers, we do not attempt to furnish patterns for use in threading your loom. You will find directions for threading hundreds of different patterns in the many weaving books available today. A good weaving book is almost essential for all weavers and a few of the better ones are listed below for you convenience. All or most of them are usually available from us.

 

Foot-Power Loom Weaving by Edward F. Worst (no longer in print but your Library may have a copy- worth looking for.)

The Shuttlecraft Book of American Handweaving by Mary M. Atwater

New Key to Weaving by Mary E. Black

A Handweaver’s Pattern Book by Marguerite P, Davison (four-harness patterns)

The Joy of Hand Weaving by Osma Gallinger Tod

Contemporary Handweaving by Ruth Overman and Dula Smith

Step-by-Step Weaving by Nell Znamierowski (paper back)

 

 Getting Acquainted With Your BERGMAN Loom  – Sheet #2

 

The warp comes from the bottom of the warp beam, over the back beam, around and forward under it, then through the heddles and reed and over the breast beam, fastening to the apron on the cloth beam. This is a Contra-march loom. The warp will be level between the back beam and breast beam, neither rising or sinking when the loom is at rest with the jacks locked. From this point some of the harnesses rise and the rest sink in making the shed. It uses two sets of lamms to do this, also a double set of jacks, one for each end of the harnesses. The lower lamms tied to the treadles are the ones which raise the harnesses by pulling down the inner ends of the jacks, raising the outer ends of these jacks and raising the harnesses with them. The upper bank of lamms tied to the treadles are the ones which pull the other harnesses down at the same time. (Of course no upper and lower lamm for the same harness can be tied to the same treadle.)

In most cases where the tie-up is shown in a draft by crosses only we put the cords in the upper lamms and the blank spaces in the tie-up would go into the lower ones. Some tie-ups show both crosses and dots in which case we usually put the crosses in the upper lamms and the dots in the lower ones. We might reverse this procedure (dots in the upper lamms, crosses in the lower) if we wanted the other side of the piece being woven to show while weaving.

We use string heddles which are much lighter and quieter than the metal heddles. They are made of strong seine twine and take up less space in the loom than metal heddles with their frames. As a result the BERGMAN loom is built lower than would be possible with metal heddles and using the contra-march system. Also, the loom works easier with the lighter harnesses, there being less weight to raise in raising the harnesses. We also find them easier to thread as they eliminate the use of a hook for threading the heddles. It is much easier just to place the thread up against the flexible eye of the string heddle with one finger of one hand and pull it on through with the other thereby eliminating the need for a threading hook. String heddles will not fray a linen warp as metal heddles will and are, in fact, much easier on any warp.

 

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TIE-UP

When using less than the full amount of harnesses in the loom, always use those which are closest to the front of the loom next to the beater frame. You will get a better shed from these than from the rear harnesses, as less of the shed will be lost on the back side of the beater.

When adjusting the tie-up cords, always keep the jacks locked with the metal rods furnished for them and lock the lower heddle sticks with the two long heavy wire rods (in the box at the top of the loom) by putting them through the holes in the ends of the lower heddle sticks. The heddles should be adjusted so the warp, when tight, will come through the center of the eyes in the heddles. If you find some of the heddle sticks uneven it may be necessary to put the cord from the ends of the jacks to the heddle sticks an extra turn around the hooks in the ends of the upper heddle sticks in order to make them even.

Next the cords from the lower heddle sticks must be put in and adjusted to the upper lamms. These should be adjusted so the upper lamms will point upward about two inches or so at the ends. If some do not it may be necessary to put these cords an extra turn around the hook in the lamm to get them even.

 

                           Getting Acquainted With Your BERGMAN Loom – Sheet #3

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TIE-UP (Continued)

The lower lamms should be level when they are properly adjusted and the jacks are locked. Here again it may be necessary to take an extra turn around the hooks in the inner ends of the jacks in order to make the lower lamms level. In putting the wire in it must be BEHIND the harness to which it belongs and BEHIND the upper lamm also. In this way the wire from the front jacks will be behind the front heddle sticks and the front upper lamm, and the wire from the second jacks will be behind the second heddle sticks and lamm, etc. If this is not done the wire will bind the harnesses.

Next come the cords from the lamms to the treadles. The cords from the front upper lamms must be in FRONT of the front lower lamm, etc., and this, too, is important. Then the cords to the treadles must be adjusted. All of the cords to each treadle must be of the same tension. If some are looser than others it will cause trouble. The cords from the lamms to the treadles are adjusted and secured at the treadles with the snitch knot so are easily adjusted to get an even shed.

In order to get the treadles all even and have the cords from the lamms to the treadles of equal tension we take a strong straight piece of lumber and place it across the tops of the treadles but under the frame right next to the bottom hinges on the front wings (if your loom is the double-folding type; on non-folding looms it will be just about at the fastened end of the treadles.) The top part of your beater can be used for this. It will only take a moment to remove it and use it there. This will be placed in such a way that it will not permit the treadles to raise more than about 5-1.2″ at the free end. In this way the free end of the treadles will be just a trifle higher than the cross piece at the rear of the loom. ( If the treadles are higher than this the lamms will come in contact with the cords where they fasten to the treadles when the lamms come down and the treadles go up. If they are lower, the treadles will hit the floor before opening the shed as wide as it should be.) With the beater frame in place over the lamms as directed, proceed to pull each of the cords from the lamms to the treadles through the snitch knot in the treadle loop so they are just snug and with the same tension.

           When properly adjusted this loom will weave anything that can be woven on a loom of this size and with this number of harnesses. Remembering that the more harnesses in use the harder the loom will work, you will find that this loom will work easier than others of equal width and number of harnesses. If the harnesses do not come down evenly they should be adjusted so they will. A properly adjusted loom is a joy to use, but it is next to impossible to use one not in adjustment. You will learn to adjust the loom best by doing it when it needs it. Do not hesitate to try. You will find it easier than you thought.

You will find two hooks, one at each side of the loom, under the box at the top of the loom. We use these to hang the lease sticks from while threading the warp ends through the heddles, hanging the lease sticks a little higher than the heddles with the warp ends hanging down from the lease sticks. This makes it easier to see the threads which are to be put into the heddles and to put the correct threads into the heddles.  (See Warping instructions.)

 

BERGMAN LOOMS

The Yarn Barn, Inc.

Route 4, Box 660

Poulsbo, Washington 98370

9-25-69 grs

Retyped 9/27/1997