Setting up a warp - #8 tying on a warp

This article is part of a series on winding on a warp.
For an overview of the entire series - see Instructions for setting up a warp
Previous article - Setting up a warp - #7 Threading the reed
Next article - Setting up a warp - #9 tying on the treadles

The instructions below are written for the Spring-2.
The instruction for removing the breast beam also applies to Spring 1, Delta, Octado, David 2 and Megado.
The smaller looms do not have a removable breast beam.   The position of the two brake pawls may differ on some looms. Consult the assembly instructions for your loom.

Breast-beam, cloth-beam and tie on bar Place the cloth beam in the loom, turning the rear pawl so that it touches the ratchet wheel at the bottom. Then make sure the advancing handle is supported and hangs at the correct height.
	Place the breast beam on the floating breast beam arms.   When tying the warp, all bundles must be tied at equal tension. This is easier if you temporarilyconnect the floating breast beam short blocking cords. The breast beam is now blocked by the Texsolv cords that connect the spring arms to the front uprights. (check that they are both set at the same position)
	Lay the tie-on cords over the breast beam and insert the tie-on rod through the loops of the texsolv tie-on cords. You can support the tie bar on the left and right with the two raddle covers Make sure that the cords are positioned so that the tie bar is exactly horizontal and passes between the floating breast beam arms without hitting either one. In this way, when you bring the warp ends to the breast beam you have plenty of room to tie-on. Adjust the available warp length by slightly advancing or retracting the warp beam. Pull all warp threads forward in bundles )10-20 threads per bundle - so that they just touch the breast beam.
Tying on the warp to the front tie-on bar Accurately measure the center of the warp (the reed threading article includes a tip to mark the center of the reed.) You will be working from the center, using the first bundle and tie it on to the left or right of the center tie-on cord. With the Spring-2 and David-3, we use a metal tie rod in stead of wooden tie on bars that came with the David 2 and Spring 1. The advantage is that it cannot tilt. A slight bend in the bar may occur, but the difference is no more than 0.5 cm from the sides to the center with a good tying technique. This difference disappears as soon as the tie-on bar progresses over the breast beam during weaving.
	To avoid getting large spaces between the warp threads during tie-up, we tie the warp in smaller bunches of 2.5 cm. With this reed, we have 10 dents in this space. Divide the bunch of warp threads into two equal bundles and pass them over the tie bar. Pull the bundles tight and tie a half knot that fits snug against the tie-on bar. You do not have to pull hard, the warp threads should be just snug (see video) Then you alternate - tie a bunch on the left side and then one on the right side.
	Feel your warp with a flat handto see if the tension is the same everywhere. Usually the bundles you tied first are a bit looser. Tighten them again and re-check the tension - Start at the middle, alternately re-tie the half knots on the left and right, and repeat until the tension is roughly the same everywhere. The difference in tension can be felt better if you tighten the cloth beam slightly. Once you feel the tension is equal across the warp, go back and tie a second knot in every bundle so that no bundles will loosen again.
Now re-attach the floating breast beam cords to the floating breast beam arms (if you disconnected them).  The blocking cords will still be tight now, because there is now much more tension on the warp than you will weave with later. Lift the brake lever; the breast beam will come forward and pull a piece of warp from the warp beam. Then you advance the cloth beam until the floating breast beam arms are vertical. If you make sure that the floating breast beam arms are vertical each time after advancing the warp, your warp tension will always be exactly the same. If you need a higher or lower warp tension, adjust the position of the floating breast beam texsolv cord. Move the cord so it is tighter, for higher warp tension and looser for less warp tension.   Always make sure the left and right cord are adjusted identically.