My first Mecchia loom
My first loom was a Mecchia 48” eight shaft countermarch. It was brand new, manufactured in 1986 at Waikato Turnery, Hamilton. It was my first love, and while others have since come and gone, my faithful Mecchia is still with me to this day. It has been used as a production loom at different times and has been in storage on a couple of occasions, but never have I contemplated getting rid of it, even at times in my life when I had no time for weaving. It has never let me down and has rarely required part replacements. We have grown and aged together, with minor tweaks and adjustments along the way that have evolved over time to adapt my style with it, and its rhythm with me.
I think in New Zealand there are, sadly, few loom manufacturers left. Ashford Wheels & Looms NZ still make a quality range of weaving frames and looms, but I am not aware of any others. I think serious weavers who want a new loom either have to import one from overseas or make one themselves from scratch (or employ someone to do so for them). That becomes a very expensive option.
Back in the 70’s and 80’s hand weaving had a much higher profile than it does today. Lots of people had a parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent with a loom in the spare room, or shed. Today though, most of those old looms have been left to gather dust, until such a time as its previous owner has had to downsize or pass on and their descendants are left to sort out and dispose of the ‘stuff’. Thus, I have found a good source of second hand looms to be found on Trademe. And at prices that they couldn’t be built for. In fact, I doubt you would even be able to buy the timbers alone to build a decent sized floor loom for the amount you can pick them up on second hand goods or auction sites.
If you are considering a second hand loom, don’t be put off by its age or dustiness – as long as all the parts are there and are solid, that loom will go together and if it worked before, it will work again. I say that because a reputable brand of loom, like a ‘Mecchia’ is guaranteed to work nicely regardless of its age due to being of quality design, but a handmade loom built to some random pattern may come with unknown design faults. The other thing about second hand looms is they are generally very cheap. I have bought three in the last year.
The ‘Havelock’ loom, put together and working well.
The first, an 48” eight shaft countermarch of unknown design, I bought sight unseen for $100 by winning the auction on Trademe. At that price I was prepared to take a gamble that all the parts would be there, and they were, even though it had been in storage for several years and was being sold by not the original owner. My husband helped put the Havelock loom (name of the town where we bought it from) together and I found it worked well. However, I did not like the braking system it used, so I decided to sell it and find a different loom. My second buy was a little more expensive at $300, (another 48” eight shaft countershaft, see any patterns here?), but it was at the other end of the country, so I had shipping costs as well, but again, all the parts were there and this was a beautiful loom. I set it up and worked a few warps on it with no problems, an amazing buy. It was made in Nelson at ‘Fred’s shed’ – though I have no idea if that was just a man called ‘Fred’, in his shed and it is the only one he ever built, or whether he was a production company and made dozens, but it is a beautiful timber loom, it works beautifully, and I am very happy to include it in my loom stable. Finally, the third loom I bought second hand last year, was a lovely little table loom. Quite old, maybe 100 years, though it is hard to be sure. It has only two shafts and they lift up and down on a simple roller system. I wonder if it may have been used as an occupational therapy tool in some institution or other, at some stage, but I haven’t been able to find out anything more about it. We now use it to weave scarves on, to save resetting the big looms unnecessarily.
The lovely little antique table loom bought off TradeMe.
The lovely ‘Fred’s Shed’, loom, originally built in Nelson, New Zealand
If you want to buy a loom and don’t want to spend thousands on a new one, don’t be scared to try second hand. Used looms are pretty cheap, so the risk is relatively low if either it doesn’t work as well as you had hoped (just resell it cheaply) or you find weaving is not your cup of tea after all (again, you can just resell it), hopefully you have only lost some time, rather than money.
The following photos illustrate the putting together of the $100 Havelock loom and the first thing that was woven on it: a red throw from cheap carpet wool just to check that it worked – and it did!
Tell me about your looms and where did they come from? Any cautionary tales of buying second hand and getting a bargain? Or stung? What are the key points you would urge others to take into account if in the market for a loom, of any sort?
All the pieces for the Havelock loom - we hope!
Like mecchano, a loom has to be assembled in a precise order.
Taking shape…
Nearly ready to warp - amazingly, everything all the parts were present and accounted for!
Very happy, finished throw, loom set up = success! Not bad for a $100 second hand loom find…
