Weaver's Delight Sectional Beam and Reed Restoration

I started my day off by removing the rust from these two large cast iron ends to the sectional beam.  Bob bought me a wire brush that could be put in a drill.  It worked great for these large pieces.  It was quick, and best of all, I didn't have to soak them in vinegar, or coat them with navel jelly.  The blue painter tape on the left one is covering the brake surface.  I'm hoping I didn't get the surface too smooth while removing the rust, since it is supposed to be a bit rough.

I did use fine sandpaper and navel jelly on the reed, and lots of wire brushing by hand.  I still didn't get all of the rust off, but it should be enough for some rugs.  After I wire brushed the jelly for several minutes, I rinsed the reed with water from the hose.  I did it in several sections, because I don't like the navel jelly drying on the metal.  It turns white, and the metal turns black if allowed to dry.  When I was finished, I wrapped the reed in an old towel to dry it as much as I could and then finished with a hairdryer.  I left it in the sunshine so the wrapped strings around the edges could continue to dry.

 The rust is worse on the ends, with some pitting.  I don't think I'm going to fuss with it much more.  I'll weave with it first, and if it harms my warp threads, then I'll think about cleaning it again or replacing it. 

I also did a bit of sanding on two of the bars of the sectional beam, and the top bar of the beater.  There are still two more bars to do for the sectional beam.  They will all get a couple coats of wipe-on polyurethane varnish to protect the wood and to make it a little easier to clean in the future. 

After looking at a couple of my other reeds, I decided to get some cloth tape to cover the edges of the reed.  I bought the 1 1/2" wide stuff and it went on easily.  If the glue gives out eventually, it can be stuck down again with tacky glue.  The stark white is a little glaring, so it might get a bit of spray paint to tone it down.

Bob found a supplier of square head bolts called Blacksmith Bolt and Rivet Supply in Portland, Oregon, so I may replace some of the overly rusty ones. Here is a link:
Blacksmith Bolt and Rivet Supply
We thought the cost of the 5/16"-18x2 1/2" bolts, at $.27 each with a minimum order of 10 was quite reasonable.  They have a black oxide coating, so they won't be bright and shiny.
Bedtime.  My thumb, arms and shoulders are sore and tired.

Weaver's Delight Renovation--Straps

My long weekend was over last night.  Today was a long day at work, so I didn't get too much done on the loom when I got home.

Last night, I started soaking the warp beam straps in straight vinegar.  They have overall style buckles on the ends that were quite rusty, so I left buckles in the vinegar till I got home today.  I still had to use the wire brush to get the rust off, but it was easier and a lot more came off than with just elbow grease.  One precaution to take if using vinegar, is to rinse it well, and then use a baking soda and water rinse to neutralize the vinegar.

Here are all 18 straps on my drying rack after being washed, and the rust removed.  I actually think I will be able to use them.  The straps were in good shape, except for being dirty.  Once the straps are very dry, I will get some lubricant on the buckles to help prevent rust.

I also oiled up all the screws, bolts, and nuts that were painted.  I'm calling it a day!

Day Two Weaver's Delight Restoration

This is my loom number.  I found out the following information about the loom from Leslie, at Riverside Loomworks, in Eaton Rapids, MI:  it left the factory Nov. 15, 1949, on its way to Lydia Olson in Cokato, Minn. The next owner was Clifford Smorstad, in Decorah, Iowa. No date on that. And any later changes either weren’t reported back to the factory or occurred after the company went out of business (early 1980s). The loom cost $137.50 new. 

The top back beam and the warp beam were removed from the loom before I brought it home, so I could get it in the van.  The metal parts on the blanket looked like someone had started restoring the loom, but that is as far as they got.  

There was a little rust on the metal, so I removed them, brushed the rust off, primed and painted them, along with the cams and a couple braces.

Poking the bolts into an old piece of styrofoam made it easier to paint the heads. 



 

Starting the final color.  It isn't quite as dark as originally on the loom, but it's close.

The black trim had faded quite a bit, and was flaking off, so I cleaned the dirt off, let it dry, and started painting it.  I still have more to do on the other side of the loom.

This is big, with heavy cast iron ends that have a fair amount of rust.  All of the dowels are there, some replaced by the previous owner, so all they need is a little sanding to smooth them out a little.

Bob helped me remove the heavy cast iron.  I haven't cleaned either of these parts, but did start on the bolts.

I got out my trusty staple remover, but hardly needed them.  The staples were so rusty, they just fell apart with a little pull.  I got all of them out, checked for metal ends still sticking out, and either pulled them out, or pounded then in, so I don't scratch myself with something rusty.

The straps were dirty with years of dust, and the loop ends were quite rusty.  I washed the straps, and now have the rusty ends soaking in vinegar to try and remove rust.  I probably shouldn't have started that tonight, because I need to do some scrubbing on them, and I'm too tired.  I may chance leaving them overnight, and take care of them after work tomorrow.

That's it for today!

Weaver's Delight Loom Restoration

Since I was last on here, I purchased an old Weaver's Delight loom, made by the Newcomb Loom Co.  I had to wait over a month to get enough time off work to make the trip to Minnesota to pick it up.  This is a view from the side and back, taken by the seller.

This is a view from the front.  It is in pretty good shape, so hopefully the restoration will not take a long time.  I spent today laying the parts out in the garage, getting some before photos, and going the the hardware for navel jelly, and a wire brush for removing rust, kerosene for cleaning gunk off the cast iron parts, and something to clean the wood.

I thought I would start by trying the navel jelly on the rusty heddles.  It worked pretty well on most of them, although there were a few that were pretty rusty.  I may be throwing some of them out.  I coated the bunch with the jelly, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and let them sit while I washed windows and screens inside and outside the studio.  When I came back to the parts, I rinsed the jelly off, and then used my wire brush to remove a little more rust.  Once they were as clean as I could get them, I put them on cookie trays in the oven (on low) for a while to dry them.

This is about half of the heddles.  The rest of them are still on the shafts.  I also tried the navel jelly on the most rusted cam, and the nuts, bolts, and washers that held on the top part of the beater bar.  They cleaned up beautifully. 

The cam will get a coat of Rustoleum to help prevent rust in the future, and everything else will get a light coat of machine oil, also to help prevent rust.

There will be more pictures to come, as I continue with the restoration.