Glimakra Update

After my last post I got busy cleaning my "new to me" Glimakra. When they say the Glimakra is just a bunch of sticks this is what they mean. It's amazing how the loom can be broken down into a bunch of sticks. I cleaned every wood surface. Joanne Hall recommends cleaning the parts with vinegar and water. I did this until I ran out of vinegar then switched to Dawn dish washing soap and water. I then wiped the wood surface with 100% Tung Oil from LeeValley.To learn more about the construction and care of Glimakra looms visit this page on Joanne's site.

I didn't really need any parts per se . I did purchase a 10-shaft countermarch from Becky Ashenden. I also purchased two books from her, Damask and Opphamta with Weaving Sword or Drawloom and The Old Linen Closet: From plain weave to damask. The loom came with 9 heddles (18 sticks) so I ordered another 2 sticks to give me 10 shafts. It also came with 11 treadles. I thought 9 heddles was a little odd but 11 treadles was very odd.

I set her up all by myself in the spare bedroom but already moved her to the living room. This time with the help of my DH.I'm in the process of outfitting her with Texsolv tie up cord. After washing and organizing the Texsolv heddles I ended up with ~ 850. I ordered 200 more from Earth Guild because that is what I will need for my next project. This loom is typically sold with 11" heddles but mine were 12 1/2". I guess the shorter length will give you a larger shed. Any shed on this Glimakra will be bigger than what I had on any of my jack looms. I cut this warp off my 45" Loomcraft. It started out as 6 yards. I'm using a trapeze. I need to decide if I will set the loom up as counterbalance or countermarch. My project is a 45" square Overshot. I should still have enough warp for 2 squares.

I Have a Glimakra!!!!

Did I need another loom? Not particularly. Did I want to own a Glimakra? You betcha! It helps having friends who are bad influences. I got an email about a loom in the Philadelphia area for a very good price. It was a 40" wide, 8-shaft, counterbalance and countermarch Glimakra with no extra accessories like reeds. Turns out someone else got the loom.

I looked on the Spinners', Weavers' & Knitters' Housecleaning Pages and found a 47" 8 harness, 10 treadle Glimakra for an even better price. This one is counterbalance but came with 6 stainless steel reeds and a few other extras. If I add the countermarch parts I will still come out ahead. This loom was located about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia. My bad influence friend and I went on a road trip a few days later and brought her home.

Here she is before taking her apart. The loom needs a good cleaning. It was filthy. Here is the bad influence helping me load the loom into my SUV. This is everything. I actually had room for another Glimakra with room to spare. I was pretty tired by the time I got home so she had to sleep in my SUV last night (The loom not the bad influence!) Actually she may have to sleep there again tonight. The bad influence and I had a fun time. I picked her up at 7am, it took a little over 3 hours to get there, we spent about 2 hours taking her all apart and loading her up, we ate lunch at Olive Garden, then had a long drive home. We got hung up in some slow traffic. I pulled into the driveway a little after 6pm.

I did manage to wash all the Texsolv heddles and cords last night. The water turned black instantly. They are all nice and clean now. I don't want to bring the other pieces into the house until they have had a good cleaning.

It has all its original parts including the owner's manual but the lady did keep the packing sticks. Grumble, grumble. It was made ~ 1981. It is missing a few pieces here and there. Just minor stuff. I've already been in touch with Joanne Hall about replacement parts. She responded to my email quickly. I've only heard good things about Joanne and her husband Ed. It's refreshing to get good customer service these days. I'm working on a list that will include the countermarch upgrade. I plan on getting her up and running as counterbalance then transition to countermarch.

I think I shall call her Emily!

Structo Artcraft 240/4

I recently purchased this little cutie on eBay. It's a Structo Artcraft 240/4 (4-harness). It's 15 inches long x 10-1/2 inches wide x 13 high and has a maximum weaving width of 8". The loom came with a 15-dent reed. If the reed is slayed two threads per dent (for a sett of 30 ends per inch) the loom could accommodate 240 warp ends.

The Structo Artcraft loom was originally produced by the Structo Manufacturing Company of Freeport, Illinos. The company was started in 1908 and was the producer of metal toys. In 1921 they began producing toy weaving looms. Later, the toy looms were discontinued and actual standard weaving looms were made. The looms were manufactured until 1972 when the loom business was sold to the Dick Blick Company who continued manufacturing the looms until 1981 when they decided to take them out of production. Dick Blick still holds the manufacturing rights to the loom.

The Structo Artcraft looms were sold through retail outlets as well as mail order. They manufactured both pressed steel and wooden looms. In 1930 Mary Meigs Atwater wrote "Manual of Instructions for the Structo Artcraft Looms: Nos. 240, 420, 600". Atwater sold the loom through her Shuttle-Craft Guild mail order business.

The looms were popular workshop looms and for weaving samplers. For more information visit this website or join the Yahoo group all_things_structo.

Structo Artcraft 600 Loom from eBay

I purchased this loom from eBay almost 2 years ago. I think I paid more for shipping than I did for the loom. No surprise! There wasn't any part of this loom that wasn't rusted or filthy.


It's a Structo Artcraft 600 4-shaft loom with a maximum weaving width of 20". The loom came with a 15-dent reed. If the reed is sleyed two threads per dent (for a sett of 30 ends per inch) the loom could accommodate 600 warp ends. It was made sometime around 1925 but before 1932 (when the next model was released). I was able to find an original owner's manual and product catalog on eBay. Click any picture below to enlarge.

I took the loom completely apart and sanded all the metal parts down to bare metal and spray painted them back to their original black paint. I decided not to sand the mahogany down to bare wood, instead I sanded the old finish off with steel wool and used Restor-A-Finish. This stuff is amazing.

Ta-dah... Here is the completed loom. I created cloth aprons with rods and ordered TexSolv heddles. I really didn't think I could get the rust off the 15-dent reed but I kept at it and it came out beautifully.


Here she is with her first warp. I used the Katie Reeder Meek method of using a trapeze. You can get a review of her book Warp with a Trapeze and Dance With Your Loom Using Live-Tensioned Weights here.

For the first project I put on a little over 5 yards of cotton warp for dishtowels.


I really enjoyed restoring this old loom. It's hard to believe it's the same loom.