(And a few other things). Lots of loom developments this year! Soon after the first set of adjustable spindle units was finished I became aware that an unusually narrow chain wire spacing is being used by at least one paper maker. The chain wires that I saw were only 15-16 mm or 5/8″ apart. ThisContinue reading “#64 Some Improvements to the Adjustable Chain Spacing System”
Category Archives: Making Wire Facings
#63 Adjustable Chain Spacing
I’ve been working with and gradually improving my mould maker’s looms for about forty years. I have tried a few times to figure out how to do this but didn’t get very far until now. This is one of a number of spindle units that make it possible to create any spacing between chain wires.Continue reading “#63 Adjustable Chain Spacing”
#59 OOPS!
A spoiled facing. This was to be a post about improvement. The laid wires were straighter and the facing much improved. Instead, in a few thoughtless seconds, scrap! After the laid facing was completely finished I cranked too far and look what happened. The bottom of the wire twisting mechanism started to run into theContinue reading “#59 OOPS!”
#58 Making a Very Fine Laid Facing
At 30 wires per inch this is the finest facing I’ve ever made. After running tests to see what size chain wire to use I set out to make a facing for a 12″ x 18″ mould. The laid wires are .0144″ diameter 3/4 hard phosphor bronze and the chain wire is .0102″ diameter annealedContinue reading “#58 Making a Very Fine Laid Facing”
#56 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 9, Working with Wire
This doesn’t include straightening laid wires or sewing with wire. Both have been covered in earlier posts. In some ways this is a continuation of the last post, #55: Configurations of Laid Wire. The wire used here is phosphor bronze. It is corrosion and fatigue resistant, stronger and much better for mould making than copperContinue reading “#56 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 9, Working with Wire”
#55 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 8, Configurations of Laid Wire
The Structure of a Laid Facing Mould facings vary in how closely the laid wires are packed together. What is perhaps an average proportion is represented above with the spaces being a little wider than the wires. A 53%/47% split is shown between the size of the openings (spaces) and the size of the laidContinue reading “#55 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 8, Configurations of Laid Wire”
#54 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 7, Some Other Important Parts
The larger structures and functions of this loom have been described in the last six posts. Some small but essential parts have not received much attention and these are more fully explained here. Spindles and Spindle Drive Weights Spindles A spindle is required for each pair of chain wires so a lot of them areContinue reading “#54 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 7, Some Other Important Parts”
#53 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 6, More on The Wire Twisting Mechanism
Most of this information is good for understanding the way this loom works. But you should look at posts #63 and #64 for recent improvements in the loom design which make some things here obsolete. This is a self contained mechanism that is fastened to the front of the traveling beam of the loom. TheContinue reading “#53 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 6, More on The Wire Twisting Mechanism”
#52 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 5, The Wire Twisting Mechanism
Assembly of the Mechanism Note: Parts of this post may have been rendered obsolete. See Post #63. Examining the parts as they are put together may be one way to understand its workings. I don’t usually assemble the parts on the loom as I will do for this post. Normally the various spindle racks (aContinue reading “#52 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 5, The Wire Twisting Mechanism”
#51 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 4, The Lift Mechanism
The purpose of the lift mechanism is to repeatedly lift the wire facing so that laid wires can be added at the bottom. A treadle and lift lever (not pictured, at the bottom of the loom) pull down on the middle of a “V” of rope. (The top ends of the V are visible here.)Continue reading “#51 Mould Maker’s Loom Part 4, The Lift Mechanism”
Timothy Moore Bookbinding Tools 