Follow-up on the DIY Vertical Warping Mill

I've had a couple of question about the making of my DIY Vertical Warping Mill from a few years ago.    I thought it would be best if my husband, Christian Long, answered the questions in this guest post, since he made it for me.

There are some plans available online that we consulted for the making of it, but did not follow exactly.   These are the links I sent to DH as possoble plans and ideas for making a vertical warping mill:

Foot-power loom weaving
      See plans on page 13

Photo of a very simple Warping Mill

Ravelry: knit4fun972's DIY Warping Mill
      This one looks a little clunky, but it would get the job done.

Plans for sale ($5.50) - Though I'd want a vertical one

DIY Horizontal Warping Mill - Joy of Weaving

Here's the question from

tbijourney said...

I'm interested in undertaking a project like this. I'm not much of a woodworker, more of a fixer and rough project doer but interested in making my own weaving gadgets. Most things I can figure out from the photos, but am unsure what the pipe goes into at the top and bottom to support it and to allow for almost silent turning.

The warping mill is in two parts - a stationary base and a rotating upper part.

The base is a piece of plywood with a length of 1/2" (nominal) black pipe attached using a pipe flange.

I cut out a little piece of plastic to serve as the bearing. This is a piece of UHMW, but any smooth plastic will do.

 

The rotating upper part of the warping mill is made up of two crossed frames. Each frame is 24 inches wide, and the whole rotating part is 36 inches tall. Each frame has a 7/8" hole in the top and bottom to allow it to fit over the pipe and to spin freely. 1/2" (nominal) black pipe has an outside diameter of .84 inches, and a 7/8" spade bit made a hole around .88 inches in diameter, so it fits nicely while still being loose enough to rotate freely.

 

 

A little wax on the bearing surfaces, and the whole thing moves smoothly.

Spinning Art Yarns

This is what I was looking for (in blues) at this year's Sheep and Wool Festival, but I wasn't seeing it this year.  Maybe it's already out of fashion?  I am often behind-the-times with things like this.  It takes me a while to figure out what to do with things I might see at a show --- and by the time I get the idea, I'm already home.




I found this helpful video that explains how to make my own thick and thin art yarn with sequins.  Yahoo!   So that's what I'm gonna do!  [Not to mention that the speaker looks like a younger me! ;-)]

Natasha Leher Lewis from Esther's Place makes it sound simple and straight forward.  I'm pretty sure I can do it after all these years of spinning.

Ingredients:

• Crazy Art Batt (I bought art batts from Wild Thyme and Big Sky Fibers  See below ...)
• Merino Top dyed in coordinating colors
• Sparkle Sequin Thread (Maybe this one?)
• And of course, your spinning wheel.

In the video (which is from 2016), she says she sells those art batts and the coordinating merino top through Ester's Place Fiber Arts.  But in 2019, I am not seeing anything available now. It looks like she has moved on to a fiber arts career.  Good for her!

I don't want to take the time to mix my own art batt (because that would also require dying all the fibers individually and buying a bit more sparkle), so I think I might buy one.
I think I have a good pound of top that I can dye in the coordinating colors.
I just hope I can still get the sequin thread locally.  If not, I'll buy that, too.

 Blue and Silver Art Batt from Wild Thyme (4 oz)

Purple Art Batt from Wild Thyme (2 oz)

 Bag of Brilliance - Rain Forest from Big Sky Fiber Arts in Montana

They also had another one in blues and silver called Dusk.  Though when it came, there was a bit more purple in it.  I'm fine with that!

These were not in a bat form, but I can make my own with my handy drum carder.
Stay tuned for another post on this series!

I also ordered some of this Ocean roving from Big Sky.  Not enough for the whole project, but if the colors are a good match, I think I can dye more of my own.  I certainly have the fiber siting around!

I think Big Sky Fiber Arts might have been at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. I remember seeing these bags of fiber, but not having an idea of what to do with it until the next day!

Like I needed another project!
But then, this is the season for spinning and fiber!

I used to be able to get a Yarn Bee yarn that had sequins and sparkle in it.  That has not been available for quite a while now.  But with the guidance in the video above, I'll be able to make my own with the simple addition of plying with a purchased thread that has the sequins on it.   Let's hope I can still get that!

DIY Angel Wings and Tension Device for Floor Loom

 The latest improvements and additions to my Kessenich Floor Loom include a DIY (simple) tension device  (4 wooden dowels) held up with "angel wings."   We used the "thick n thin" cherry from my Dad's woods.

Here's the full view at the back of the loom, where the warp strings run around the wooden dowels where the tension is evened out.  This can be used as you're are winding on, or later as you are weaving.   I tested a much more make-shift version with this last warp, and it worked pretty well, so we made a sturdier version with the angel wings.

Here's the angel wing on the other side.  That string is for the brake release.

This also gives a really good idea of how the strings "weave" around the wooden sticks.

 This shot shows the attachment points on my particular loom.   The piece is cut to simply sit between the back beam and the castle.  2 bolts secure it to the slot on the side of the loom that would otherwise allow it to be folded.  In other words, these angel wings will have to be removed, if and when I put the loom away.

Here's a detail shot of one of the angel wings.  The angle matches the legs of the Kessenish loom.   It's a very elegant solution that my husband devised to hold the sticks in place.  It reminds me of Roman aqueducts or bridges in Europe.  

The the 2 bolt hols down below.  

This is still in the "rough" shape.  They still need to be sanded down and finished properly. We were just trying to make sure it would work, and that I could easily install and remove them.  Check!

Sur le pont d'Avignon

O ny danse;  O ny danse

Tu son ron.

Want to make your own tension device for a loom?

There's a very simple version posted at Joy of Weaving.  

Minimal (if any) woodworking skills needed.

DIY Gelatin Plate

I made my own permanent gelatin (gelli) plate this weekend.  Judy Rhys at Color My World posted a recipe to make a permanent one, as opposed to the plain old food grade gelatin plate that eventually breaks down and soon goes bad in the fridge.  I've seen the official Gelli plates, and how expensive they are.  I never wanted to spend that much money on it, but I was willing to make my own for a fraction of the cost.  Who-hooh!

DIY Permanent Gelatin Plate

Here are the proportions I used :
1-1/2 cups Glycerin (equal to 2 3-oz bottles)
6 Packets of Knox Unflavored Gelatin (equal to 6 Tablespoons)
1-1/2 cups Hot Water

Mix the gelatin into the glycerin.  Add hot water and stir until dissolved.

Poured into a 9 x 13 -in jelly roll pan, and left to set up overnight.  Any little bubbles on the surface were easily removed with a fingertip BEFORE it solidified.  As for the mold, consider using an 8x10 inch clear acrylic box frame (or whatever size you like). The only problem with the metal jelly roll pan is that the corners started to rust after a while--not really a big deal as that doesn't impact the final prints. 

Caution : Don't pour the extra gelatin down the drain, or clean-up in your sink, as you could clog your pipes.   Scrape the excess gelatin into the garbage or use a paper towel to wipe out.

Clean-up of the gelatin pad is supposedly pretty easy :  Just pull off as much paint as you can, then spray it with a little water, and blot dry.  If it's really messy, you can use regular dish soap.  Works like a charm!

If it gets damaged, just cut it up, melt it in the microwave for 90 seconds and re-pour.  Works like 2  charms!

 This is my gelatine plate after an afternoon of use--a few tears in places.  Since I made this plate over a year ago, the corners dried out in the interim.  It did not adversely affect the prints.   

 So I cut out the dried up corners and tossed them, then cut up the rest of it (cleaning out the paint as best as possible) up and melted it in the microwave for 90 seconds.

 Then I re-poured it : Good as new!

Remarkable stuff!

I was hoping to make a larger one, but soon realized I didn't have enough glycerin to make the larger size.  I wanted it big enough to print a piece of fabric / paper sized so I could use it for a journal cover.   This will be good, though.  I can test it out, and use it for the 1/2-size journal covers.  If it works out well, I can always get some more supplies and melt down what I've got to make the larger size.

I've been missing my old surface design activities, so I'm hoping this helps to spark it back up again.  You can use it to do monoprints.

For your inspiration, here are a few more pages and recipes for making your own  Gelatin Printing Plate :

The Frugal Crafter's Permanent Gelatin Printing Plate (Hectograph)
If you watch the video, she explains some of the chemistry behind why this works.  She also demonstrates how easy it is to use it ...   She must have pulled a dozen pages in just a few minutes!

How to Make  Gelli Plate or Jelly Pad
Shaz in Oz offers a slightly different recipe, assuring that it will last for many years without going bad.  She even linked it to the history of mimeographs (I remember that from grade school back in the day---I loved the smell of fresh mimeographed pages!)  Very interesting stuff. 

California Iron Gall Ink

Raven painted with my own Iron Gall Ink.

 

 Raven #2 - Iron Gall Ink

 Iron Gall Ink Wash Texture

I painted the new ink onto a sheet of watercolor paper, then sprayed water in the middle to dilute it and blotted it off to make the middle a little lighter.  I'm quite pleased with the result.  ;-)

Of course, you can also WRITE with this ink.  It's recommended that you use a glass pen, or a feather quill, as this ink will damage and corrode metal nibs.   Writing isn't my real purpose for making the ink, though ...   It takes too long!

I had intended to use this recipe from The Fountain Pen Network, with California Oak Galls from JBB Pens and Paper at Etsy.

Local galls from Hartman Creek, WI - Noticeably smaller than the California variety below :

California Galls from JBB on Etsy

I would like to try the famous Aleppo Galls at some point with Dr Stark's Recipe, but I don't imagine much is coming from Aleppo these days with the war and unrest in Syria.

If you don't have the patience to wait for the fermentation process (or it's just too darn cold to ferment anything where you live this time of year), try this recipe from Scribe Scribbling.  He even has pictures of the process in this post.  It sounds like he's an SCA scholar and scribe.

I made a batch this afternoon with success!  Yup--sometimes the delayed gratification-thing just won't do!  The spent California oak galls didn't smell bad as they were cooking --  it just smelled like dried herbs--probably because I didn't ferment them.

Spent Galls

After I strained out the tannin-rich juice, the spent galls looked a lot like spent walnut hulls from making walnut ink.   I saved them in the freezer with the idea of trying to get a second batch out of them.

The Oak Gall Tea looked a lot like regular (black) tea -- with a rich red color.  Which made me wonder if this whole process couldn't be done with tea instead of going through the trouble to get Oak Galls.  I think the answer to this is that it is indeed possible to make Iron Gall ink from tea--the secret is to get enough tannin to interact with the iron.  To that effect, I found a few other recipes that I want to try out with strong tea and steel wool ...

Shortly after I added the iron sulphate, the red-brown tea turn black.   Like magic!  Closer -- but not quite ink yet ...   I next added the powdered form of gum arabic, which immediately gelled into something that looked like globs of amber.  I guess it was going back to it's original gum form -- which is basically a tree sap.  It eventually dissolved, and is said to be a binder that helps make the ink flow nicely.

This is all very reminiscent of rust-dying, too.  Where you mix the tea with the rusty liquor to get the stormy gray colors. I also found a recipe to use iron sulphate brine to age wood to that wonderful dark gray weathered barnwood color.  I have a project in mind for that, too!

 

Ink stain on paper.  

It goes on gray or translucent.  On one of the ravens, I kept adding more ink to make it darker, not realizing I only had to wait a bit for the ink to oxidize.  After a few minutes, the ink stain looked like this with no extra ink added :

I have a bottle of PH testing strips on order.   It's said this particular kind of ink is quite acidic.  Some recipes suggest adding crushed egg shells to balance out the PH levels.  I'll be experimenting with that in coming weeks.

 

Here, I bottled a smaller, more manageable portion for writing and painting.  You can see just how black black black this ink is in the jar.    Here you can see one of the ravens in in the background with the ink still wet.