Louet Weaving Loom
Looking for a smaller, modern loom with excellent functionality? The Louet David might be the loom for you!
Louet has created a loom for modern life. This is a loom that will fit in most homes, folding to create extra space when needed. A loom that is not only beautiful to look at with it's pale wood and simple design, but one that come with 8 shafts as standard; so you can create complex patterns and explore your own creativity without feeling limited.
Easy to set up and a joy to use, Louet has applied it's unique "Spring System" of engineering, which allows for light and effortless treadaling.
I own this loom and I find it perfect for weaving everything from fabrics to cut and sew for clothing or homewares, accessories, blankets, mats, and the occassional rug.
Small but Mighty. Named after David and Goliath, David is a compact 8 harness loom loaded with functionality. The David, a unique sinking 5-inch shed jack loom, has become a very popular alternative as an entry level floor loom. David is a compact eight harness loom that looks modest, but with tremendous functionality, it surpasses many large floor looms. Smooth and light-weight treadles due to a cam system give the David treadles a mechanical advantage. Weaving on this loom gives you a real appreciation for the word balance.
Like a counter balance or a jack loom, it has a singular tie-up. All harnesses that are not pulled down by a treadle are lifted by an ingenious spring system. The spring system also results in easy treadling: once the treadle is pushed down, the weight of your leg is sufficient to keep the shed open.
Available sizes, each equipped with 8 harnesses and 800 heddles:
- David 70: 27.5″ (70 cm) weaving width
- David 90: 35″ (90 cm) weaving width
- David 110: 43" (110cm) weaving width
Optional accessories include fly shuttle and sectional warping systems, second back beams and more.
What Louet says about the new David 3 (A long read!)
"David III, the third generation of David loom from Louët has been even further improved in many ways.
First, the unique system that creates our large sinking shed: The shaft height is adjusted by a more precise lam connection resulting in improvement in forming the progressive shed.
The David has a single set of lams that connect to the treadles and shaft movement is only in one direction, downward. The shed of the David III has similarities with a counter-march shed: The warp threads are pulled both upwards and downwards, just as with a countermarch loom, so that an optimal shed is created.
When a treadle is depressed, the springs of the tied-up shafts are stretched. Generally, more force is required the more you stretch a spring. With the David, that spring force transfers through the unique cam discs. During their rotation, the force required to depress a treadle reduces. The result: Only in their highest position the shafts are pulled up considerably and when you press a treadle you will notice the opposite of what you are used to: The further you press a pedal, the lighter it is and the weight of your leg is sufficient to keep the shed open.
So the David has the shed of a counter-march, with a simpler tie-up system. Tie-ups are easy. Tie-up cords remain permanently attached to the lams and can then be moved across the lam to the appropriate treadle, at which point you only have to hook the cord to the screw head.
A full list of improvements can be found here:
- It has a sturdier frame: the front posts, the main uprights and the foot rail are 27 mm thick (was 21 mm).
- Standing beater, with a hinge point close to the floor, the result is smooth movement and a favorable pivot radius to strike the fell line.
- We have added a new cloth beam advance lever. It has a magnet that holds the pawl in the ratchet wheel, allowing you to advance more fabric with one movement of the handle.
- The breast beam has countersunk holes to make it easier to mount the beam on the front posts.
- The tension brake on the warp beam is no longer an accessory, but standard. The brake disc is much larger and is now also a crank handle with which you can wind on your warp. The handle rotates in the disc, not in your hand.
- Folding the David is easier and there are no loose parts that can get lost.
- We include two wooden raddle covers that you can slide over the raddle. These are useful for inserting the warp threads into the raddle and then they close the raddle when winding on your warp.
- The hinge hooks of the beater are mounted on the loom and not on the beater uprights. This makes it easier to remove and replace the beater.
- The warp beam and the cloth beam have a larger diameter. This requires fewer revolutions to wind your warp beam and therefore less tension discrepancies in the warp threads. The sectional warp kit now has space for 4 bars that attach to the warp beam, instead of 3. This improves assembly and function.
- The tie-up cords for the treadles are permanently connected to the lams and can be moved above the treadles where you need them. The screw heads on the treadles are slightly smaller, making it easier to hook on the cords.
- You can now adjust the shaft height with a knurled nut and the horizontal adjustment with a screw. Therefore the small texsolv pins in the cords are no longer needed.
- Two side clamps are included and useful when setting up and threading the warp.
- In addition to the assembly instructions, there are instructions on how to dress the loom."