Sorry, Ron -- just sent this from my wrong return address. Trying again... Holly -- I sure wish you were close enough to pop over to my studio to see my AVL, currently warped sectionally with 50 or so yards of 16/2 cotton. First of all, I wind on directly on top of the warp extension cords. Yes, it deflects the first rotation or two of warp, but after that, I can't see it, and I've never had that deflection cause any problems with warp tension in weaving. What will cause warp tensions in weaving is if the section winds on in such a way as to build up unevenly overall, ie. one side builds up higher than the other, or the sides build up higher than the middle. Overall, it should be as flat as possible. Secondly, regarding the tension in winding on. What tension box are you using? I use an AVL tension box, but I believe that others operate the same way. There should be some sort of spacer like a reed, then the dowels that create the tension and then another spacer/reed. I have two different spool racks. One is built in such a way that it applies some tension to the spools (because it rests at an angle) so that the yarn doesn't unwind completely freely. The other is actually not a spool rack but rather a cone rack and the yarn comes off the cones completely freely, through screw eyes and into the tension box. In either case, once I start winding, though, the act of winding puts enough tension on the yarn coming off the spools that there is no tangling between the spools/cones and the tension box. Then, there's the question of tension. It sounds to me like you are perhaps not applying enough tension to the warp as you are winding it on. If you were to go to my studio now and rap your knuckles on my AVL's sectional warp beam, the 16/2 cotton feels hard as a rock (well, almost). Yes, that much tension. As I'm winding, I start slowly and then ramp up to (what is for me) full speed. That way I don't jerk the yarn coming off the spools/cones which is what causes breakage. Does any of this help? Amy St Louis, MO -- a bit too far to actually come over and help, but there might be another AVL owner in your area, if you want me to check the Complex Weavers directory
I decided to try winding on the 1st section in spite of the problem of winding on top of the warp extension cords. All I can say is, I'm NOT impressed by sectional warping, if this is the way it's supposed to be done. This sloppiness of tension would not be acceptable to me on any regular-beam loom. To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
