The Louet 24 shaft Magic Dobby Loom. Choose a 15.7" weaving width or a 27.7" weaving width. Made of lacquered beech, this loom follows in the long tradition of high quality equipment designed by the clever engineers in Holland. The Magic loom is a combination of popular features from other Louet looms, many unique innovative ideas, and the well known dobby loom concept.
The Magic loom was designed with several purposes in mind. First of all, we wanted a multi-harness loom that was more affordable than some of the alternatives. We also wanted a small loom that was portable. Portability was necessary because we were designing a workshop loom. Can you imagine walking into a workshop with a 24 shaft loom? Finally, for those weavers who already have a large multi-harness loom, this would be a perfect sampler loom.
Floor Loom-Table Loom
The Magic loom comes with a stand; however, it is equipped with small rubber buffers (feet), attached on the bottom of the frame near the warp beam and cloth beam. The floor loom can be converted into a table loom simply by removing two long bolts that connect the main frame to the stand. Once you have removed the bolts you can lift the loom off of the stand and place it on a table where it will rest on its “feet”. This very versatile feature allows the loom to act as a table loom while at a workshop, and a floor loom in your home.
Folding
In order to take your Magic loom to a workshop, you will have to fit it into your car. This could be difficult even without the stand. Fortunately, the front cloth beam and back warp beam sections both fold upwards and can be fastened to the castle. In this ”ready for travel”, state, the 16” loom becomes a very portable 24" x 24” x 30”.
Two Methods of Raising Shafts
The Magic loom comes with a treadle, which is attached to the floor stand, to raise the shafts. In the scenario that you are operating the loom in the table configuration, there is a lever with a detachable handle that can be attached to raise the shafts.
Ratchet Tension System
Both cloth and warp beams are tightened with a ratchet system. The same ratchets have proven reliable and effective over time since they are the same tensioning systems used on 4 of 5 of Louet’s other weaving loom models.
Shelf
The built in shelf is on top of the castle on the opposite side of the dobby head. As you are probably well aware, there is always a lack of space to store shuttles, bobbins, scissors, etc.
Warp and Cloth Beam Positioning
When you receive the loom from Louet, the warp and cloth beams are located in the back and front sections of the loom respectively. In this configuration, both beams are limited to the amount of warp or cloth that can accumulate. Fortunately, for larger warps, both beams can easily be relocated in the stand allowing a much greater warp/cloth capacity. Also, an extra cloth beam can be placed both in the stand and in the frame.
Dobby Chain and Weight
With the mechanical dobby, additional program blocks can easily be added or removed as your pattern needs change. After you exceed 45 bars, it is recommended to add a weight to the chain so that sufficient tension is maintained on the bars to ensure proper movement as the chain is advanced.
Electronic Interface
Instead of the mechanical dobby you can choose the computer driven electronic dobby: The Magic Box. This electronic interface recognizes both PC and Macintosh inputs and allows unlimited design possibilities. Software is available from Fiberworks PCW, Patternland, Weavemaker, Weave It and Pro weave.