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Spiffy switches

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I’ve been fighting various ergonomic issues with weaving on the TC-2, which Mike has neatly solved for me by putting a pair of switches on the beater, like so:

a pair of activation switches for the TC-2 jacquard loom

a pair of activation switches for the TC-2 jacquard loom

Because the activation levers on both switches are small, Mike epoxied them to small wooden paddles. The switches are attached to spring clamps, which are clamped around the top of the beater. There is a thin sheet of rubber (bicycle inner tube) between clamps and beater, both to help the clamp stay in place and to protect the beater from abrasion.

These switches are ingenious in that they require no additional motion on the part of the weaver. They require very little pressure to activate – a nudge is quite sufficient – so I can activate them simply by putting my hand on the beater and grazing the wooden paddle with the side of my thumb or index finger.

Here’s a video of the switches in action:

I can’t wait to use them on a real piece! I’ve really been struggling with ergonomics of the pedal that comes with the TC-2. Repeatedly activating the pedal with my foot gave me hip bursitis, so I mounted the pedal on the castle of the loom. That worked, but resulted in shoulder issues until I lowered the pedal to below shoulder height. Even then, activating the pedal felt awkward and disrupted my rhythm. These switches should be far more comfortable, and allow me to weave faster and with more control than I could get with the foot pedal.

Kudos to Mike for designing and making these switches for me! Best weaving tool ever.


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