Northern Community Bow

[Dano]

Sorry Lonnie, I was raised in South "ern" Californy

[DanaM]

Holy wuh eh, u guys id awedsome, dats gunna be da one nice bow eh!

Yooper

[Ryano]

Thanks Greg, but I don't think I want to attempt that on a wood Ive never worked before, besides These guys might hang me for betrayal.....    

[mnewcomb59]

Hey guys its comin along. Out of the form it took too much reflex in one spot, so I reheated it and made it more even. After sitting for a few days of re-hydrating I strung it up and it looks like I have to get the string tracking in the middle of the handle.. Just thought I would give you an update.

Matt

[T]

Is this ever a great thread!
You guys are having way too much fun...

Comical with the Southern boys peeking in.
Keep up the good work!
Tara

[Dane]

And now, a report from the work' o' the weaver. This is for the bow sock.

I've calculated the warp thread lenght requirements, which will come out to a 74" piece of fabric 8" wide, to allow for the actual sewing, waste, shrinkage, etc. Warp is the term for the long threads in a piece of fabric. Weft is the threads going across.

The bow sock will be woven out of 100% Harris wool. I chose red for a couple of reasons. It looks nice, and it evokes a kill, if the bow will be used for hunting.

The images you see are measuring the warp on a contraption called a warping board. I needed 140 threads x 110" length. That comes out to, believe it or not, 15,400 inches of thread, just for this small piece of fabric. Extrapolate a bit, and you can appreciate what our ancestors had to do to just keep clothing on thier backs.

The next step is to warp the loom, and then weave this sucker. Prroably I wont be able to do that for a week or so, but it will happen fairly soon.

More pics later, of course.

Dane

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[Gordon]

You're handweaving a bow sock? Wow, that's really cool.

[Dane]

Thanks, Gordon. I plan to use tablet weaving to make an interesting boarder, perhaps for the top flap, and use reverse twist linen threads to make the tie.

Dane

PS Part of why the Yankess won the Civil War is because of industrial production, including the textile industry. Seems a bit appropriate, eh?

[Dano]

Dane, you are a man of many talents!!

[Ryano]

Nice Dane! I never seen that done before.....

[Bucknkd]

Dane, what type of loom is that?

[Dane]

Dano, Ryan, thanks! I try.

Buck, that is not a loom. It is a warping board. What that is is a large square frame with pegs. You use it to measure the warp length. For instance, you need a thread 85" long. You then tie that thread to one peg, and loop the thread on any of the pegs - called the warp path.

Why you do this is so you can create the warp chains, which are the things in the last photo, bundles of 20 threads each. This is just to keep the threads in order when I set up the actual loom. The threads travel through a metal screen called a reed, and then through metal wires called heddles, then finally, to the back of the loom, where a round back beam with a ratchet device to give all the threads the tension you need. The heddles move up and down in a certain order, and are controlled by foot pedals called treadles. So, you push down on treadle one and three, every other thread moves up, and you send the weft thread between those threads. You lift two and four, and the weft is sent through those threads. They all interlock, and there you have fabric.

Did that make sense? I will show pics of the loom once it is set up, and as things progress. It will make sense then.

Dane 

[Bucknkd]

Thanks.  Yes, it made sense - well a little.  I have done a small amount of weaving using an inkle loom.  As a Hysterical Reinactor and someone who participates in living history encampments, I try to make most of my own stuff.  I try to weave my own leg ties, quiver straps, sashes, ect.  Card weaving is next on my list of weaving skills just so I can weave some different patterns.  I don't know that I will ever progress past that point and become a "real weaver" (using a large loom that is).  I am not sure that I have the attention span for it.   lol

I'm looking forward to the pictures.

[Dane]

I like the term hysterical reenactor, very good, Buck. I've been thinking of Roman reenacting, and that has led me to composite bows. Gods help me, I hope actually to start constructing one early this year.

A large loom is just a bigger loom than a small loom. Not that hard to do the basics - warping the loom is actually the most fun for me, and you just have to focus very hard to make sure you get the threads in order, so they don't cross each other. One thread for one heddle, etc. The work itself is kind of hypnotic, and goes fast.

Dane

[Dane]

Okay, since some of you are interested in all this, more pics of the weaving process, for the bow sock.

These four shots show what happens after the warp chains are created on the warping board. I am holding the bundle, with each thead in the right order, which is critical when you actually warp the loom.

The second one shows me pulling the thead through the reed with a slaying hook. I am standing and looking down in this shot, so that is the floor and the treadles you see.

The third shot is how the threads look after slaying is completed, and finally, in the last shot, I have begun to thread each thread through the heddles.

After that, I tie off the threads on the back bream, do the same with the front beam, rachet up the tension, and I can begin to weave the fabric.

Dane



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