"bon marche" has an accent on the last "e" of marche and is the past
participle of the verb marcher, meaning to walk0- it means "at a good
price" (an english equivalent might be to walk away with a good deal- idioms
do not translate directly.) If you buy something "bon marche" it usually
means it is on sale, or just a good deal.
Bettes

I recently saw a piece of fine split bamboo, pointed at both ends used as a
temple. It was on a backstrap loom weaving about 25cm width fabric. The
bamboo being longer than the width held the correct measurement because it
was "sprung" into place. Very easy to move forward. Cheers Jenny Jackett in
Toowoomba, Queenslands Garden City.

I think someone mentioned using loom cord (from George Weil and Fibrecrafts)
as replacement for apron cords. I need to replace the apron cords on my
Macomber. Would that be the best product to use? And what is the best way to
attach them - the original ones are stapled into the wood of the warp beam
and cloth beam.
--
Sondra Rose (sondrose@earthlink.net)

Hi Patricia,
I have done this on cotton inkle bands and only one of the caps has fallen
off. We used a heat gun that a friend had.
Joanne

Patricia Townsend wrote:

One of my high school students has just finished some
tablet woven shoelaces (5/2 perle cotton). So we are
going to see if this works with either a heat gun or a
blow dryer. Thanks, Bill!

Patricia Townsend

_Joanne Hall

Elkhorn Mountains Weaving Studio
50 Hall Lane
Clancy, MT 59634
http://people.montana.com/~elh
406.442.0354

Maybe so, but the match worked!
Alice

"Weavers get warped, Spinners get a twist, Dulcimer players fret but Librarians get booked!"

--- In WeaveTech@y..., "Murphy, Alice" <amurphy@c...> wrote:

If you have nylon can just use a match to fuse the ends.

Alice,

FWIW, the rope website says that nylon and polyester ropes melt at 480 degrees, but polyolefin/polypropylene melts at 330.

Janet

Yes, you are right I had forgotten the crown splice, oops, need another memory chip! I have whipped ropes with no finger problems, but maybe mine are tougher from dulcimer playing.
Think is one of those things in which we each must find what works for us and our particular loom.
Warpishly,
Alice

"Weavers get warped, Spinners get a twist, Dulcimer players fret but Librarians get booked!"

Common forms of "heat shrink tubing" are designed to shrink down
to 1/2 their original diameter when heated to 250-350F (depending
on the material). When heated they soften slightly and shrink greatly
in diameter but only slightly in length; when cooled they become once
again firm rather slippery plastic, now with a somewhat thicker wall.

The most common and inexpensive kinds are made of polyolefins and are
available in a variety of colors, including clear. One can also get
specialized forms using Kynar, silicone, Teflon, and other materials
for special conditions. I've long used a Teflon version to line
the flexible ear-pieces on my metal rim glasses, Teflon being chosen
because it is biologically inert.

In my experience it is fairly easy to slide a shrunken tube off of a
soft material - the tension during shrinkage is quite low so it only
slightly compresses the cord you are shrinking around. If you are
shrinking around a knot or splice, the most common use, the shrunk tube
will be mechanically locked in place, but when shrunk around a smooth
section of cord, such as the end of a shoelace, it would be quite
likely to slip off.

There are "adhesive lined" versions which include an inner adhesive coating
which becomes semi-liquid at the shrinking temperature. The intent
is to "encapsulate", waterproof, and bond to the thing being shrunk around.

This form might be especially suitable for cords because the liquid inner
coating would penetrate and bond to the fibers... Coated tubing is most
often seen in black, but there isn't any reason to assume that a clear
or colored version could not be found.

Digi-Key (http://www.digikey.com), and many others, carry a variety
of heat shrink tubing, including adhesive lined versions.

Occasionally I've used a different expedient - coat the object with
epoxy ("Devcon 5-Minute Epoxy", etc.), slide over regular heat shrink tubing,
and shrink it. The shrinking heat also helps accelerate the epoxy's cure...

In my 30+ years of using heat shrink tubing I've successfully used just
about every type of heat source imaginable, but hot air guns certainly do
the best job with the least risk. The sooty flame from cigarette lighters
tends to discolor the tubing, but a small butane torch or flame from a gas
stove, used with care, will serve quite well.
--
Garth Fletcher, President, JacqCAD International
288 Marcel Road, Mason, NH 03048-4704
(603) 878-4749 fax: (603) 878-0547
JacqCAD MASTER website: www.JacqCAD.com

--- In WeaveTech@y..., "Murphy, Alice" <amurphy@c...> wrote:

You would not splice to fix the ends, did you mean "whipping" the ends.

Alice,

I tried both. Splicing is often used to join ropes without using a knot, but it can also be used to secure the ends. That nautical website illustrated using a "crown splice" to weave the loose strands back into the adjacent braided section. That makes the end fatter and not very tidy (I was splicing while riding in the car), and it takes some time.

Then I practiced whipping the ends with heavy thread. Whipping is fast, although hard on the fingertips because the thread has to kept taut. I think it would be a lot easier to apply the whipping *before* the cord is cut, and also attaching the cord to supports so it will be held stretched without needing to use your hands. Haven't had a chance to test that yet, but:

Patricia,

If the heat-shrink caps are easy to slide along the shoelaces, I would try applying a double-long piece to the *uncut* shoelace, shrinking it, and cutting the pieces apart afterwards.

Please let me know how well the caps work for your student.

Janet

Bill Koepp, I think your 'Signe temple stretcher' is the one designed by
Signe Haustoga from Norway. She gave me one when I had a one-man show in
Oslo. I never used it as I like the more positive effect of a normal
temple, at least for rugs. Its the difference between a pull-temple and
a push-temple!
For me the pull-tenple 'ne marche pas' (doesn't work) !

Peter Collingwood


http://www.petercollingwood.co.uk

In OED, thrums has a multiple derivation from Old English and
Scandinavian languages, and is related to terminus, end, in Latin.
Here is a quote from 1429:-
'The weavers have taken in common usage, what time that they have
wrought a Cloth almost to the end, to cut away to their singular
advantage the yarn that is left unwoven and called the Thrommes'.
(Spelling brought up-to-date except for last word).
It has many other meanings apart from the unwoven ends of a warp. It can
mean pile on a fabric, a raggedly dressed person.. and of course to play
(strum) on a guitar. As usual the OED opens so many doors it is hard to
close the page and a half devoted to this word.

The French is 'les pennes', at least in medieval writings. Shafts with
the thrums left in place were an item for sale in France in those days
as it meant a weaver could just knot his new warp onto the thrums and
not have the bother of threading the shafts.

Peter Collingwood

http://www.petercollingwood.co.uk

What is "bon marche"?

Janet

But Quebec French started to deviate from Parisian French in the 1600's and
may be closer to the old meanings of words - just as Appalachian English
often preserves old English meanings.

--- Bill Koepp <bgkoe@ncinternet.net> wrote:
It can be shrunk

with a heat gun, a
strong hair dryer or caressing it with a hot
soldering iron tip; wear eye
protection always ! Once shrunk, it is on
permanently. It takes a bit of
practice to make the tubing behave but after a few
melted pieces I got along
with it fine for electronic wiring stuff. NOTE :
I've never tried it on
cotton, wool or poly strands, so I can't really
recommend it for that.

One of my high school students has just finished some
tablet woven shoelaces (5/2 perle cotton). So we are
going to see if this works with either a heat gun or a
blow dryer. Thanks, Bill!

Patricia Townsend


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games
http://sports.yahoo.com

Now with the invention of heat shrink

tubes for electrical
wiring applications you can make the same ends as on
your shoe laces. I
'cap' the ends then trim to get a clean finished
end.

Can one readily buy clear caps? I'm thinking of
weaving some custom cardwoven shoe laces, but never
knew how to cap them. If I could get some caps at the
hardware store how would I go about heat shrinking
them safely at home?

Thanks!
Patricia Townsend in San Francisco


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games
http://sports.yahoo.com

"marche" is the french word for walking, working is "travailler"
The phrase " ca ne marche pas" is a saying that cannot be translated
literally like so many of the "saying".
Agnes

You can purchase shrink wrap tubing at Auto Supply stores also...Joanne
Caldwell
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You would not splice to fix the ends, did you mean "whipping" the ends. If you have nylon can just use a match to fuse the ends.
Alice

"Weavers get warped, Spinners get a twist, Dulcimer players fret but Librarians get booked!"

Wickedly, one last word, there are major differences too between quebec french and the parisian french we get in school.
I know time to go weave! Just could not resist. Will now go look at warps.
Alice

"Weavers get warped, Spinners get a twist, Dulcimer players fret but Librarians get booked!"

Can one readily buy clear caps? I'm thinking of
weaving some custom cardwoven shoe laces, but never
knew how to cap them. If I could get some caps at the
hardware store how would I go about heat shrinking
them safely at home?

Heat shrink tubing is sold in electronic stores, Radio Shack has it. It does
come in clear and the primary colors in several diameters. Usually it's in a
package of assorted sizes, so some may not be applicable to your project. A
larger electronics outlet will sell it in selected colors or sizes as long
as 2 foot. It cuts with scissors. It can be shrunk with a heat gun, a
strong hair dryer or caressing it with a hot soldering iron tip; wear eye
protection always ! Once shrunk, it is on permanently. It takes a bit of
practice to make the tubing behave but after a few melted pieces I got along
with it fine for electronic wiring stuff. NOTE : I've never tried it on
cotton, wool or poly strands, so I can't really recommend it for that.

Happy Shuttling ! - Bill Koepp in Central California