29/09/2014

Doodling for Halloweave

Well, that is not the whole truth.

By February I have to have something for an exhibition. That something has to be hung from a dowel, it can be max 80 cm wide and 160 cm long. It can also be some 10-15 cm deep.
So of course I want to weave something with a little depth :-)

The first thing that came to mind was a three-layer structure with offset layer-crossings, sort of like this: (never mind the colours, I have to see what I am thinking, here)


But... if that is going to be hung from the top, it will fall to be all flat. (Unless: maybe some strategically placed wires? But then: would wires survive packing?)

So I thought that maybe the outer layer(s) can be made longer? That way there will always be some depth, admittedly not much.

Hm. *Could* the outer layers be made longer?

As my scanner is out to lunch I tried to do all this drawing on the 'puter. (As you can see, I wasn't entirely lucky, but I think I can understand what I mean, at least)
By some cutting and pasting I think I have it, sort of:


Of course, this would require three warp beams, but perhaps the third can be improvised?

New try, only requiring two beams (I think):


But the middle layer would not be visible. Is that a good or a bad idea?

So I tried yet another idea, where all layers would have their "length of fame":

(yes, I just "painted over" the old colour... it is but a sketch, after all)

... and I am back to three beams, again.

What this has to do with Halloweave? Oh, over at Weavolution Sarah started a "Halloweave House" about 3D weaving...

23/09/2014

The innards of one table-top mangle



(Sorry, the workshop is too narrow, and the assembled mangle is too heavy to move for just a "beauty shot")

This one is different from the one pictured here, in that it doesn't have a protector sheet. Instead, this one is made to just send the mangle goods through - if you want harder mangling, you will have to send it through again. (And, possibly again, and again...)

It came to me in need of some tinkering. Here are the pieces, "top-down":


When all the detachable pieces are taken out, what remains is the frame and the table (in two pieces, hinged to make it shallower. Under the front table, there is a "manual" and an admonition to store it safely:


On the right-hand side there is a gear of sorts, to make the bottom roller go faster than one wants to crank. (I had it off to clean it, but mounted it before I thought to take pictures)


Next, the bottom roller (the one with the gear and crank at the right-hand side) is dropped into place. The gears mesh with a bit of jiggling:


Then the top roller goes in, on top of the bottom one. The gears at the left-hand side mesh.


Two smallish pieces, one on each side, to press down on the top roller, go under the heavy cross piece. The spring just sits on top of the cross piece.


To complete the assembling, the top piece is put into place. It is fastened with 4 screws, two on each side.


(The whole shebang has five screws only - one for the bottom gear, and 4 to hold the top.)

To control the pressure, you use the top screw.

A detail shot of the "manual" (click to make bigger):


An attempt at translation:

Manual
Grease the wheel screw an all bearings. Turn the wheel screw to the right, to make the rollers press hard against each other.
The clothes should be folded with seams, buttons, monograms [embroidered, my note] to the inside. Let the rollers take the clothes over the whole width. The clothes should not be let to go around the rollers. The mangling ought to be done over the whole width of the rollers, that is not on one side only. Dents in the rollers that can occur because of seams, buttons etc will even out over time and will not impede the good [quality, working?] of the mangle.
When mangling is done, turn the wheel screw to the left.

Ystad [town is south Sweden] Foundry & Mechanical Workshop [ltd]

These old mangles are slightly simpler than a spinning wheel - and only marginally more complex than a traditional (Swe) loom (mechanically, that is). And they work as well...