A blast from the past.

And you knew it had to do with weaving, right???

Well, even if you don't weave, these old looms are very cool, just to look at, even if you don't understand them.

They are huge looms.  The original was made in Scotland, and the other two were copied here, from that one.
They have flying shuttles, which for you non-weavers means that you do LESS work for the same result.  And you are FASTER.

They were used to make woolen blankets, 60" wide.

But the owners went out of business several years ago.

Now these three lovely old girls sit alone, waiting for someone to come and weave.

Waiting for someone to wind a warp on this sectional warping mill.
It looks like some kind of torture device.

They are very high, due to the dobby system that sits on top of them, and allows you to set up your pattern, without having to tie up multiple treadles.

It has an automatic cloth advance, and the warp on the back is weighted, you can see the weights hanging off the back.

The weights are attached to a leather strap that is wound around the wheel on either side.

This mechanism off the back of the loom is attached to the dobby system at the top, and the treadle at the bottom.

They are equipped with 4 shafts, but there is room for MORE.

 See the cord across the front, that is the one that you snap to the right or left to dispense the shuttle across from one side to the other.

This is the dobby mechanism.

 There are multiple warp beams with these looms, and they are easily lifted up and out, and exchanged.

 Here is the dobby from the other side.

 And here it is up close.

Seeing someone standing next to the loom, you can see how big it is.

Here is the spool rack.
See the hooks on the 'ceiling' of it???

  The dobby here is attached to the shafts.

The bench is different.....because it only has one treadle, the bench is at an angle.  You treadle with your right foot, and your left foot rests on the board next to the treadle, kind of keeping you on the bench.

Here are the dobbys.

These looms need a weaver, or two, or three.

They need a home, and someone who wants to preserve them for generations to come.
They are so unique.

 I googled the loom-maker, and this is what I found.  Arrol Young

Believe or not, I cannot bring one of these looms home.  Not because DH would kill me.  Nah, he is way over that.
But because I have NO ROOM.
These looms need 12' x 8' x 8' 5" H.

They are not for the faint of heart.
There is also a pretty impressive winder that goes with them, so there is NO pirn in the shuttle when you weave.

The thread actually feeds from the center, and the flat metal piece holds the wound thread in the shuttle.

So if anyone has any ideas about a new home for these pieces of functional history, please let me know.

In the meantime, I will try to figure out if I can cut a hole in the ceiling to make it tall enough.

Eek.