Caring for your loom

Proper maintenance and cleaning of your loom, will keep it in good running order. If your loom came with cleaning and maintenance instructions, follow them. If you purchased a used loom, without instructions, the following list should help you extend the life of your loom.

**The following tips have been revised with suggestions from Bill Koepp (Weaving since 1975, woodworking since 1952)

1. Metal parts of the loom should be cleaned with a cloth and oiled using sewing machine oil. Use silicone spray on nylon or plastic parts.
** The use of Pam is not recommended as it contains Canola Oil, Alcohol and Lecithin. This adds up to a sticky residue sooner or later

2. Rust can be cleaned from reeds with powdered pumice. Using a stiff brush and pumice, scrub the reed to strip the rust off. Then oil the reeds well.
** Pumice should be kept well away from brakes and bearings, it is an abrasive and not to be breathed in.

3. Tighten all bolts and screws securely. If bolts are loose, this can cause permanent damage to the loom, with the excessive beating that a loom has to withstand. The wood can be crushed, screws stripped and bolt holes enlarged.

4. In warm or changing climates, it is especially important to clean and wax or oil hardwood regularly to prevent drying and cracking of wood. Varnished surfaces can be dusted and cleaned with lemon oil.

For stained or unvarnished wood, use boiled linseed oil or lemon oil. Rub it on with a soft cloth and let dry.
** Linseed Oil - Boiled or raw, one should be an expert to use it, you can end up with a sticky mess, depending upon the temperature, humidity and the old finish underneath.

Lemon oil has a more pleasant odour.
** Lemon Oil - Lemon Oil is Mineral oil with 1 percent of synthetic lemon scent, you're paying more for the same oil and mineral oil is almost odorless anyways ( it used to be called paraffin oil years ago ), smell a baby ! Bill Koepp recommends: Johnson's paste wax.
5. If using loom tie cords (not texsolv) coating them with beeswax can protect them from drying out.