Posted by Penn on Saturday, 7 January 2006, at 3:00 p.m.:
In Reply to: Re: Ambitious beginner with Q about when to upgrade loom posted by Donna on Friday, 6 January 2006, at 5:45 p.m.:
Thanks for describing your experience with the J Loom. I've read about them and visited the website. Because I was oriented away from jacks, I didn't consider them.
However, yesterday I was searching the net for more information on choosing looms, and found what I think is a very helpful site. It's a biz, Elkhorn Mountain Weaving in MT, but they've got tons of great tips on judging looms, especially on getting one that fits, and tweaking your own to create optimum weaving conditions. Here is a link to an index page on their site: http://people.montana.com/~elh/equipment.html
Donna, I think you might find "Comfort at the Loom" helpful in resolving your issues with reaching the treadles. I found the discussion of the types of looms good; it had more observations about the pros and cons of the 3 different types than I'd read elsewhere.
Also yesterday, I visited a weaver supply store I'd discovered located about an hour from my home. The resident weaver there had a David, and attested to its easy treadling. She said the system of springs supplied some of the "oomph" one otherwise provided with leg power. Her David was completely inaccessible, surrounded by a sea of cones of yarn, so I didn't get to sit at it. I did buy some of the yarn, however.
After reading the Elkhorn material and considering experiences like the one you describe with the J Loom, I've decided I won't buy til I've tried first. I know I'll be spending over $3K when I take the plunge, and I want to make sure the loom is an asset to the weaving process in every respect, not a set of conditions I have to negotiate and tolerate every time I want to weave something. There are so many different designs, I know I can find a great loom, if not my "forever" loom.
Thanks again for writing, it was very helpful!
Penn