Let's Talk Warping Square
When I began weaving, my very first loom was a Schacht 25-inch 8-shaft table loom. It came with a Schacht warping board.
I had seen sectional beams, but it was all I could do to figure out how to prepare a warp on the board and beam it on the loom plainly.
In those days, I warped front-to-back because that is how the book I bought did it.
Later, a second book I acquired discussed warping back-to-front. Once I did it that way a few times, I was sold.
However, loading the beam was a constant source of frustration with frequent tears whether it was on the table loom or any of the subsequent floor looms I acquired, especially, when I made much longer warps (anything over 12-yards).
At some point, I found a Leclerc Nilus 36-inch floor loom that had literally been stored in someone's barn for decades. It was in fairly rough condition, and I was able to bring it back to life.
It also came with a sectional beam.
I knew nothing about sectional warping.
I scoured the internet and did my best to research it, but it was not until I saw this video on the Leclerc Loom website that any of it made any sense to me. Warning, the music is dramatic and distracting. I watched it without the sound.
Those fifteen minutes provided my "Ah, Ha!" moment.
I purchased the necessary equipment to beam sectionally, and I was off to the races.
At that time, I had the Leclerc with the sectional and the 56-inch Macomber Beast, which only had a plain beam at the time.
Thus, I was beaming both plainly with chains and sectionally.
My progression as a weaver continued, and I purchased a Glimakra warping mill on which to prepare chains for plain beaming. The seller told me she had recently bought a Warping Square and no longer needed the mill.
That was the first time I had ever heard of a Warping Square.
A little research identified it as a Sawyer Bee Warping Square.
AVL makes something similar called a Warping Wheel.
At the time, there were very few videos or other instructional aides for the Square. In fact, there are not that many more now, but after watching a few, I finally had some understanding of how they worked, at least in theory. I had not actually seen one first hand.
A used AVL Wheel came up for sale in my Facebook feed, and I discussed it with a good friend. I was not quite ready to bite the bullet on one yet, so she bought it AND loved it.
I dithered going back and forth between the Square and the Wheel.
Price-wise, they were similar. They basically worked the same way. When I was prepared to invest in one, I tilted toward the Square for a couple of reasons: 1) it was on locking castors, which would make it easier for me to move between and among the looms and 2) it was the only one with the option of a motor.
While space is an issue, the difference in size between the two (the AVL Wheel is smaller and takes up less floor space), space was not a deciding factor in my choosing the Square.
I placed an order for the Square in June 2020.
The original lead time was supposed to be 6 to 8 weeks. I think it was actually September before it finally arrived.
Sawyer Bee is a one-man operation. I believe the gentleman is actually a furniture maker who has a wife who weaves. Thus, the Square-making is done on the side, instead of a large corporate operation like AVL with Wheels in stock.
I was okay with that. I had joined a Facebook group called Square Talk for owners/users of the Square and gleaned quite a bit of useful information from there.
By the time it arrived, I had a good working knowledge of how to use it.
I would like to say the Square and I got along famously from the very beginning.
The first thing I did was put a dummy warp, 1-inch wide on one of my looms using a tension box, spools, and spook rack. Next to it, I did a second dummy warp, the same length as the first, but I used the Square and pulled full from cones in a cone stand.
The tension with the section using the tension box was superior to the Square. Hands down, there was no comparison.
I tightened the tension on the Square and did it again.
The tension box won again.
Undeterred, I cut those three-inch sections off and in earnest used the Square for its maiden warp.
Some threads were looser than others, but I attributed this to new user error.
I was underwhelmed by the first warp using the Square.
I liked the concept and the process, which I found easy and straight forward, but I was not pleased with the results.
However, I continued using it with only marginal improvement in overall tension.
Almost two years later, I am finally in love with the Square.
I no longer pull from cones standing on a cone rack.
I wind spools on a spool rack and pull from there.
This single change has resulted in the most significant improvement to the overall consistency in the tension of the entire warp.
Is it perfect?
No.
Does using a tension box improve the tension?
Absolutely.
However, there is a significant tradeoff in adding a step to run the warp from the Square through a tension box and onto the beam.
That requires far more time, as three of my four looms have 1-inch sections and only one has 2-inch section, than I am willing to add to the process.
Is the tension across the warp using the Square better than on a plain beamed warp?
Yes, at least for me.
Plus, I find it takes me far more time to prepare a warp on the Glimakra warping mill and plain beam it onto the loom than to use the warping Square, even though I load spools with thread, rather than pull directly from cones.
Having said that, I still make chained warps on the mill to load on the plain beam. These warps are almost exclusively hand-dyed, though. The only exceptions are the two warp chains I have left, which I made before I bought the Square.
If I had to choose one piece of equipment with which to prepare warps, I would go with the Warping Square because I can make up to 2-inch chains on it to warp plainly, as well as warp sectionally; however, I would also recommend using spools and a spool rack to pull from, rather than cones and cone stand.
Does this mean I will finally sell the Glimakra warping mill and Leclerc tension box?
No.
Fortunately, while tight, I still have enough space to keep all the things.
But if someone did not have any warping equipment, I would enthusiastically recommend the Square. It is easy to use, there is no waste of warp (as is with the traditional method of spools/spool rack/tension box), and it is relatively fast. (The absolute quickest way to beam a warp is to make it a single, solid color and pull from spools using a tension box; however, I rarely do solid warps using a single color.)
One last caveat: I overbought. Even though I have made 50-yard warps on the Square, I have not used the motor even once. I find it easier to keep up with the number of rotations by counting (muscle memory tells me when to count) and using the magnetic counter as backup when I become distracted to check my count.
The Square is heavy and exceptionally well crafted. The casters are a must, and I do not regret this purchase at all.
Nine out of ten times, when I warp a loom for myself, it is using the Square.
This all came to mind this morning because I decided on my next project: sarongs.
I have been receiving feedback from some of the last year's recipients who have universally been sharing they use their sarongs daily and love them. YAY!
If you recall, I put on two warps for sarongs last summer, one was 50-yards long and the other was 25-yards. The former used 20/2 cotton for warp with a sett of 40, even though I pulled two threads through each of the heddles. The latter used 10/2 cotton with a sett of 20.
As I now have a sizable stash of 20/2 cotton, I will be using it again with a sett of 40.
Oh, boy!
As I set up my project page with photos and notes, this is where I start:
20/2 warp - Sett of 40
50 yards long!
40" wide
40 x 40 = 1600
1,600 ends (held double through heddles) at 50 yards long is 80,000 yards.
8,400 yards/pound
80,000 divided by 8,400 = 9.52 pounds of thread.
20 rotations on the Square.
Here is the draft from Pinterest I intend to use for these:
Comments
Excellent! :)