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How do I install apron bars and apron cords on my old Standard Floor Loom or Wolf loom?

How do I install apron bars and apron cords on my old Standard Floor Loom or Wolf loom?

If your Wolf loom or Standard Floor Loom was built before 2000, it has pairs of holes drilled through the warp/cloth/double back beams. To attach apron bars, you will use one long black nylon apron cord* or multiple short white Texsolv apron cords, sold in packs of 5.

Note: Schacht no longer carries the black nylon cord, which was sold in a 14-yard package. If you find it sold elsewhere, you will need one package for each beam on the loom (cloth beam, warp beam, and/or second warp beam). Installation instructions are below.

To replace one long cord with short Texsolv cords, install one cord at each end of the beam, then at one hole of each pair.

installing Texsolv apron cord

  1. Insert one end of a cord through a hole in the beam and pull the cord through. Then insert the other end through the second hole in the end of the cord that you just put through the beam. Pull firmly on the cord to tighten (A). Repeat across the cloth beam and the warp beam.
  2. To attach the apron bar to the apron cords, take a pinch of the cord about 4″ from the end (B). Insert the pinched cord through the second hole in the cord. Pull on the pinched cord until a new loop forms that is large enough for the apron bar to slip through (C). Slide the apron bar through the loop (D) and pull tight. Repeat until all cords are attached to the apron bar. Attach the other apron bar to its beam in the same way.

 

Installation of black nylon cord:

  1. Tie a knot in one end of the cord, about 1/2″ from the end. Thread the opposite end through the single hole on one side of the beam. Pass the cord through the first hole under the end of the apron bar and back up through the next hole in the beam. The cord is now threaded back through the next hole and carried down and through the next hole in the beam. Continue in this way until the entire beam has been threaded. Tie another knot in the end of the cord after you have reached the opposite end of the beam.
  2. Adjust the cord until the apron bar is parallel to the beam. Adjustments are made by pulling the cord up and down, somewhat like adjusting a shoelace, until the loops that hold the apron bar are all the same length. It is important to have the apron bar parallel to the beam or problems with the tension are likely to arise during weaving. Once adjusted, the cord is quite secure and will remain in position.