Installing the Lower Held Rod

We have

Now reached that place to mention the reason you are not yet ready to install the lower shed held, or rod, that operates your lower warp shed opening. It is called 'Tension'. More precisely; Even Tension across all the warp cords. There can be no amount of stress placed upon the importance of this one thing that would amount to too much emphases. It is one of the very most important things to be done, that will aid your joy and success as a weaver at the primitive loom. Without an even tension across the warp cords a constant and oft unsuccessful battle will be continually under way. Frustration and a poor result will most likely be your reward for not paying great heed at this juncture of preparing your loom. So understand this to be one of those places along the path toward success where a good relationship with patients will pay its best reward.

It is normally at this point that I like to position and tie my loom in its permanent location. Clean up, lay out and organize all the tools and area around it and prepare all to be ready to weave. Then I will probably leave all alone until a quiet time is at hand to start the adjustment of the warp cords.

The two main methods are as follows:
First is the slipping of all warps to an even tension. Though mentioned previously, I will go over this process once more because it is something needing to be done with an ability toward success.

The first thing you want to do is to tie the piece so that tension is developed across most or many of the warps. It is very important at this time to check to be sure that the piece measures the same length at both sides, and that it is suspended with the ends squared or aligned with each other. Also be sure the ropes tying the ends are evenly tight from side to side at both ends. When this has been done to tighten these ropes sufficiently, enough stretch should be upon the warp cords to begin the process of stretching the warp cords, in order to even them.

To begin;
The center warp is pulled out to a certain degree of tension that amounts to a fair amount of pressure on your fingertip. Working toward the left or right, grab the next warp closest to you that is also toward the front. It will be the second from the very next warp, because the very next one is on the back portion of the warp loops. Pull this warp next to where the first was pulled, and with the tip of the same finger on your other hand.

Rely heavily on your ability to recognize the same pressure on that fingertip that is also still on the first warp you pulled. As you pull pressure on the second warp, you will keep pressure on the first, while also letting it go back in toward the loom, only going while this same tension is maintained.
When the first warp has returned to its original position it is time to pass the second warp to the first finger, in order to pull the next warp with the same that pulled the second warp.
In other words the same finger will always pull the tension into the new warp and the other finger will always hold the tension on the last warp pulled, until it is returned to its original position at the face of the loom. Only now with the same tension as all those that have been adjusted in this way.

It is not your intention to pull the warps extremely tight at this time. But instead to pull them all reasonably tight and uniformly tight. You will find your best success is to be had when you are able to complete this process in a quick and steady manor, without pause or interruption to spoil your concentration on your task.

Once you have reached the edge go back to the center and repeat this process going toward the other side. Even though you may still have some warps that seem looser than others directly beside other tighter ones, they should all be much more even than they were when you started. Rest assured they will continue to become more so as you continue to proceed to even them all out over a period of time.

For now, it is best to let the warps continue to even themselves out while you go about the next step in lending them aid in doing so.
This will be done by the use of the two shed rods that are still in place and tied together at the apex of the warps. After insuring they are not tied so closely to each other that they do not allow an easy slippage of the warps to pass through them, you may proceed.
Ideally, your loom is now positioned in an upright position and affixed in that position firmly enough to allow this next, without having it dance or tumble about as you work it. I only make mention of this because a good deal of pressure needs to be applied, in order for the greatest amount of success to take place.

Ideally, one wishes to grasp one or both of these apex poles out toward the ends, or as far out toward the ends as is possible to do in wider pieces. Then push into the warps with as even a pressure as you are able, and then pull out toward you with the same pressure. Additionally, it is desirable to slide these two poles up toward the top and pull them down toward the bottom, while still holding an even pressure on them. Let them return to the resting position between this movement, then repeat it again and again, possibly over several days.

You may discover you are able to only have a need to pull tension into the individual warps (as above, in the first process) a few times to get them where you have them suitable, or it may be that you need to do it many times over a period of several days before they are fit to weave upon.
As long as they end up where they need to be, it is of no import how long you spend in the work of achieving the proper tension.
This is because it is a little known fact that any productive time spent at your loom is not counted against your total time.

One other thing to be mentioned is that during this time the warps and ropes are all stretching out to a better working length, and so becoming more set and ready to be used more successfully in the weaving process. So it is not time to be considered as being wasted.
If, during this process of evening out the tension of the warps, things stretch to seem to be overly loose, then it will become necessary to re-tighten the rope at the top of the loom, in order to continue to tighten things instead.

Mention of these ropes should be mentioned here, in order to aid in the proper selection and use of them all.

First is that rope that ties the top and bottom of the secondary rods to the beams of the loom and is also used to adjust the tension of the warps. Here, as in most every other situation, a braided nylon rope is preferred to most any other to be used. Braided nylon hall all the strength one can find in any rope, without a tendency to stretch and continue stretching over much.
Additionally, it is preferred that a larger diameter, softer braided rope be used. I find those softly braided, slick nylon ropes with a width from 3/8" upward of 5/8 inch to serve for almost any sized piece being woven.
While these softer ropes do have a slight bit more initial stretch than those of a harder and tighter braid, their softness lends itself to being more able to tie them in multiple slip knots while holding tension on them, as well as being much gentler on the hands while doing so.
On the other hand I find the hard braided parachute cord of a small diameter to best serve in tying the primary and secondary rods, one to the other. This is simply because of its very small diameter compared to it being exceptionally strong and yet containing almost no stretch at all.
It is approximately 3/16" in diameter, yet could easily replace the larger 3/8" softer braided cord if it were not for the reasons already mentioned, to prefer the larger, softer one.

Now I suppose I would be remiss in not making mention of the various ways I have used to tie off my work to my loom, as well as a few I have tried that work for others but did not work out so well for myself.
I always try to tie in such a way as to always have my work at the exact level I prefer to work it in. This is accomplished with the aid of an adjustable desk chair with a back but no arms and a set of five caster type rollers under it, to start. It is adjustable in a range from high to low of about eight inches or so. This also allows me to glide from side to side, of large width pieces, in addition to the ability to rise a certain distance, as the piece is woven up in height. I find I prefer to have my piece almost centered between shoulder and hip level, because of the force required when slamming down the batten stick or beater bar, as it is being used. When the work progresses upward toward shoulder level it has a tendency to raise havoc with tendons.

I use a shorter bottom rope to tie off at the bottom beam to allow enough height to put the piece being worked into that zone of comfort mentioned previously, but will normally start while sitting on the froor, at the very start and for a an inch of two of the first rows of weaving.
I can site no grand reason for this, other than I find it helps in becoming in tune with the piece that is stile strange, but about to become an old fimiliar friend. Those first few days are normally spent fine-tunning the loom and becoming aquainted with the 'feel' for the new piece, as much as it is about weaving. Adjusting warps and just sitting before the loom incontinplation, will account for much of the time within those first few days after the loom is warped, stretched and readied to weave upon. So sitting on the floor is just a natural inclination from so many years of having done so.

Even though there are ropes at both ends of the piece being woven, it is normal that only one is used for the actual tightening of the warps. Which ever is the longer and more convient will be used for this, while the other is normally only loosened to allow moving the piece around the loom, as the work progresses. These will normally be those on the loom's bottom, while those on top will be the ones used to stretch and tighten.

For the most part, this is done similary to the same method we used to tighten the single warp cords, earlier. Starting at the center, you simply go out toward the edges as you pull a singlr rope with the one hand while holding the tension from slipping back with the other. Then pass the one that has been pulled out and so contains all the slack, over to the other hand, to free it to pull the next in line to be pulled. Work from the center out toward one end and then the other several times, as is needed to put the proper tension into the warps. You will find it is easier to go back over several times, instead of trying to get a great amount of tension all at once. Easier on you and your hands, as well as more possable to put great tension in the warp with several little pulls.
Another option to a direct pull on the ropes with the hands can also be used toward the last times of completing the tensioning of the warps, as follows:
Using a setion of 5/8" dowel rod of a sufficently long length. without being overly long, you can place the end portion behind and almost parrelle to a rope and while pulling the rope out toward you with the use of the dowel, start to use it to twist the rope, so it will become twisted around the end portion of the stick. Once the tip of the stick passes the rope in its circular reveloution, it is then easy to use the longer portion of the stick as a lever aginst the strain of the rope, so as to then continue to place several twist into it. Once a few or more are in this rope you can hook the long end of the stick onto the ajoining ropes or loom frame, in order to hold it while you prepare another one. When a twist is started in the ajoining one it is twisted while letting off on the first, in order to pass the twist along, just as was done before, with the hands. I have a set of smooth sanded and wax finished short dowels I use for this operation.

A mention should be made at this point about what takes place when the rope's slack reaches the end of the loom. Which I will start by also saying there are three or more knots that need to be learned, for the varrious ties that are involved in the primitive loom. They are the square knot, the half hitch and the slip and double slip knots.
It is the slip knots that are used to seccure the rope ends when pulling tension into the ropes.
A number of wraps around the pole are first taken with the ends of the ropes where they end from holding the two poles together. This is about three or four wraps, that will allow them to not slip to let off the tension, yet not so many as to disallow them being pulled to take the tension out. Just enough times around the pole where they are tied to allow you to easily pull additional tension out of the rope with one hand. Yet when a double slip knot is tied around the rope, instead of the pole, it can be easily removed and replaced while continuing to use one hand to hold tension on the rope. Yet will hold the tension in the rope while you are working it out from the center, and toward it. You will quickly figure how many wraps of the ploe are required that allow you to hold but slight one-handed pressure on it. As well as how many hitches are needed in the slip knot to keep it fast to the rope, while you go about removing more.
It is this same serries of half-hitch slip knots that is used to hold your piece to the loom while weaving, just more of them.