Much has been written about Peter Collingwood's "shaft
switching" since his original use of paper clips, etc.,
and I wrote an article for HWSG Victoria Newsletter '84 describing
how I interpreted his technique for a jack loom. Now I have been
asked to update this information.
This technique is really only suited to using a wide set reed
(eg, 4 e.p.i).as a narrow setting could cause some tangling.
I had two extra shafts made to enable me to keep them set up
permanently for shaft shifting, and my loom (an Osborne) enables
me simply to lift out the shafts and replace them with normal
shafts for other weaving.
While designs on a traditional loom depend on the number of
shafts available. Shaft switching enables one to vary the design
at will, and still be able to throw the shuttle in a normal manner.
Four shafts only are required to weave in this technique. I set
up my front shafts for design change as follows:
Two wooden panels each 4"x1/4"x the full length
of the shaft are attached, one to shaft one, one to shaft two
as illustrated.
Using two thin steel plates screwed one either side of the
4" deep SS panel at each end of the shaft and fitted down
over the top of the shaft with a 1" wood spacer slotted
between the shaft and the SS panel and a 5" spacer on shaft
two. Light weight 1" nails are inserted 3/4" apart
along the top edge of both the SS panel s and in line with these
nails small eyelets are screwed along the bottom edge of the
two SS panels. Cords (I use Texsolv looped cord) to the exact
measurement from the nail, through the eyelet to heddle are cut
to hang from each nail (the back (SHAFT TWO) cords are of course
5" longer than the front cords). The back cords are threaded
through the heddles on shaft two and the front cords threaded
through the heddles of shaft one. The back cords are then threaded
through the front cord loops and the warp thread is threaded
through the back loops. Change of design is made by merely by
lifting a cord off one nail and putting its partner on the other
shaft up on to the nail. A small washer attached to the top end
of the cord will prevent them from slipping through the eyelets.
Further details on this and other techniques:
Peter Collingwood's "The Techniques of rug weaving"
1968
"A development of shaft switching" The Weavers Journal,
1974
"Shaft switching on a jack loom" Shuttle, Spindle,
& Dyepot, Winter 1978
