The Toika Eeva ES is a computer-assist loom designed for weaving. It is shipped in a birch plywood crate, which can be repurposed.
Components and Assembly
The loom's main frame consists of two castle sides, a warp beam, a cloth beam, and three interchangeable cross beams (back beam, breast beam, and knee beam). It also includes various wooden and metal cross pieces, wedges, and a computer assist box.
Shafts:
The loom uses Texsolv heddles, small metal rods, and shaft bars. Each metal rod has two indentations on each end for O-rings, which secure the rods to the shaft bars. The heddles are bundled and slid onto the parallel shaft bars. Once assembled, the loops connecting the heddles should be cut to allow independent movement.
Main Frame Assembly:
- The right castle side (with the cogwheel mechanism) is stood upright.
- A 2x6 cross piece with holes is inserted into the bottom rear square hole of the castle side, with its narrow side parallel to the floor. A wedge is inserted into the slot at the end of this piece.
- Another 2x6 cross piece (without holes) is placed into the bottom front hole, with its wide side parallel to the floor, and secured with a wedge.
- A 2x4 piece is inserted into the upper rear hole of the castle, narrow side parallel to the floor, and secured with a wedge.
- The warp beam, with a threaded end and gears, is inserted through a hole with a metal plate on the back of the frame, about two and a half feet from the floor. The worm gear (cogwheel) plate should be in the upper position and tightened to engage the gear and teeth. The pawl above the gear should be vertical and tightened, not touching the gear.
- The cloth beam is slotted into the wooden upright towards the front of the loom, after the crank's round end is slipped over its axle. The ratchet part of the crank should be above the crank handle.
- The left castle side is aligned with the cross pieces, and the remaining wedges are hammered in securely.
Back, Breast, and Knee Beams:
The blocks that hold the back beam are initially installed inside the castle sides for packing. They must be unbolted and reinstalled on the back of the castle sides, ensuring the back beam slots are level with the breast beam slots. Small wooden dowels are installed into the holes for the beams. The back beam is slipped onto its support blocks, the breast beam onto the front of the loom, and the knee beam into its slots about two feet from the front. These beams are identical and can be swapped for a better fit. Soap can be used on the dowels to aid sliding.
Leveling the Loom:
The loom must be level for the control mechanism to function correctly. A level should be placed on the top edge of each side frame to check back-to-front level, and on the rails holding the control box for side-to-side level. Shims can be used under the corners to correct any issues.
Overhead Beater Assembly:
The beater consists of two side pieces, a beater bottom with rubber bumpers, and a top connector.
- The beater bottom is attached to the side pieces by aligning dowels with holes. The rubber bumpers face forward, and metal slides on the side pieces face back. It's fastened with a long bolt and wingnut (wingnut on the back side).
- The beater cap is attached to the sides with bolts and wingnuts, near the top of the metal slides (wingnuts facing back). The cap can be moved to accommodate different reed heights.
- The top connector attaches to the side pieces with bolts and wingnuts (wingnuts can face either front or back). It's recommended to start with the 2nd or 3rd hole down and adjust as needed after the first warp.
The beater sits in mounts on the front uprights. After shafts are hung, the beater can be lifted and dropped into the mounts.
Computer Assist Box Installation:
- The control box is mounted on two rails. The rails are placed on a flat surface, and the box is carefully placed on top, aligning the Toika logo on the front rail with the front of the box.
- The lid is removed by loosening two screws at each end.
- The holes in the four corners of the box are aligned with holes in the rails and screwed firmly in place.
- Four 10mm x 40mm dowels are located. Two dowels are inserted into the top of each side frame: one into the second hole from the end (away from the beater) for the front rail, and one into one of the three holes furthest back for the back rail, based on the distance between the attached rails.
- Two people lift the rails and box over the frame sides, aligning the notches in the rails with the frame sides and the holes in the rails with the dowels. The rails are then pushed down onto the side frames.
Usage Features
Building the Bench:
The bench kit includes a large board with notches, two "T" shaped bench sides, a 2x4 piece with dowels, two long barrel bolt assemblies, two slim bolts with wing nuts, and two heavy rods with holes.
- The 2x4 piece is pushed into the holes on the side of each "T" piece, with the holes in the 2x4 facing downwards.
- Barrel bolt assemblies are placed in the large holes underneath the 2x4, with the nut slot parallel to the 2x4 sides. Bolts are inserted through the "T" shaped leg and tightened.
- Heavy rods are slid through one set of large holes at the top of the "T" shaped legs. One rod's hole should be at the far side, the other at the near side.
- The seat's holes are aligned with the metal rods' holes, thin bolts are inserted, and secured with wing nuts. The tops of the bolts are hammered to indent them into the seat. The bench legs have four sets of holes for height adjustment.
Hanging the Shafts and Installing Pulleys:
A video tutorial is available for hanging shafts and connecting the control box.
- Three long rods with holes, a bag of pulleys, and three cotter pins are used. The rails have three preinstalled blocks (left underside, right underside, right top). Back blocks are drilled all the way through, front blocks partway.
- Pulleys (16, 24, or 32 depending on shaft count) are counted out into three piles.
- For each set of blocks, a metal rod (end without hole first) is slid through the back block from back to front. Pulleys are slid onto the rod between the blocks, ensuring the rise on each pulley faces the same direction.
- The rod end is pushed into the front pulley hole. The small hole drilled into the rod should be inside the rear block. A cotter pin is slipped through the hole to secure it.
Installing and Tying Up the Shafts:
The shafts, precut Texsolv cords, and anchor pins are needed.
- For a 16-shaft loom, shafts are installed back to front. For 24- and 32-shaft looms, the back half is often installed first, then 12 or 16 forward.
- A piece of Texsolv is looped around one end of a wooden shaft bar (left shaft side), a few inches around, and secured with an anchor peg.
- Holding the shaft inside the loom, the other end of the Texsolv is looped OVER the left side pulley of shaft 24 (if applicable). With one person holding the shaft level, the cord end is slid to the right side.
- The person on the right slides the Texsolv end up under the bottom pulley, up the side of the loom, and over the top pulley, pulling it until it's halfway between the right end of the loom and the right side of the computer assist box. A loop is made in the long Texsolv cord.
- A heddle hook is inserted through the two holes at the end of the Texsolv loop.
- The Texsolv cord from the computer assist box for that shaft is pulled through the holes in the Texsolv loop.
- The cord is pulled so the knot aligns halfway between the box and the loom end. An anchor peg is placed into the hole of the Texsolv from the box, just outside the loop. The short piece of Texsolv is folded over and secured again onto the anchor peg, creating a tight loop. The anchor peg should be tight against the looped end from the shaft. This procedure is repeated for all shafts, ensuring connections line up uniformly.
Leveling the Shafts:
After shafts are hung, their leveling can be fine-tuned. A strong thread is tied to the back beam, run through a heddle eye on a single shaft, and tied to the front beam. The thread should sit at the bottom of the heddle eye. The Texsolv cord on the shaft is adjusted until the thread is at the bottom of the heddle eye. Once the first shaft is adjusted, the remaining shafts are adjusted to match its height. The guide thread is removed when done.
Leveling the First Warp:
Once the loom is threaded and the reed is sleyed, the warp threads should come through the bottom 1/3 of the reed. This allows room for sinking threads in a countermarch loom. If the position is incorrect, the beater is adjusted up or down at the top connecting piece using the holes in the side pieces. This setting should not need to be changed after it's set.
Loom Control Box Tour:
The back of the box has an on/off switch, power cord connection, and control pedal cord connection. The front has a USB cord connection for a computer, an indicator light next to mode buttons (lights up when on), two mode buttons, and a reverse button.
Modes:
The Toika loom has three speed settings:
- Normal: (Left mode button pushed in) Pressing the pedal lifts shafts for the next pick; the shed stays open as long as the foot is on the pedal and closes when lifted.
- Fast: (Both mode buttons pushed in) The shed is always open. A first tap opens the next shed and holds it open; a second tap closes that shed and opens the next. The foot only taps the pedal.
- Slow: (Right mode button pushed in) One tap opens the shed and leaves it open; the next tap closes it.
- Reverse: Operates in any mode. It causes the loom to work backward through woven picks. A red 'R' appears on the computer screen in Weavepoint. It takes one pick before reversing direction (or moving forward again) because the control box sets up for the next pick first.
Start 'er Up! (Powering On):
- Turn on the control unit in the back. An orange/yellow light should appear in front, and a soft click may be heard. If shafts jump, a mode button was pressed before turning on. Press mode button(s) to turn the light green.
- Turn on the computer.
- Connect the control unit to the computer with a USB cord.
- Start the computer and open Weavepoint. Select "Loom Control" under the "Weave" menu.
Important: Use a surge protector for both the loom control box and computer to avoid voiding the warranty. The ES series requires a precise power-on order.
The Loom Test:
This diagnostic test checks if the control box is working correctly.
- Disconnect the computer.
- Turn on the control box and select "normal" mode.
- Press the pedal (hand or foot). All shafts should rise.
- Continue slowly pressing the pedal. The control box will cycle shafts through a specific series of lifts:
- Wake-up lift (all shafts).
- Even shafts alternating with odd shafts (like plain weave).
- Individual shafts, starting from the back and working forward. (For 24- and 32-shaft looms, this starts at shaft 16 and the last shaft simultaneously, then parallel singles "walking" forward).
- Shafts in pairs, from back to front.
Successful completion means the loom and control box are working correctly.
Weaving with Weavepoint:
- Connect the computer to the control box and open the Weavepoint program.
- Open the desired draft.
- Under the "Weave" menu, select "Loom Control."
- In the selection box, ensure "Liftplan" is checked. Set "Start Pick" and "End Pick" to define the repeat length.
- Click "OK." The weaving screen will appear, showing the drawdown, treadling plan (with an arrow indicating shafts for the next pick), and current pick number/weft color.
Technical Specifications
- Shaft Count: Available in 16, 24, or 32 shafts.
- Cross Beams: 3 identical, interchangeable pieces for back, breast, and knee beams.
- Cross Pieces:
- 1x 2x6 (approx.) with holes, narrower ends, slots - lower back cross piece.
- 1x 2x5 (approx.) narrower ends, slots - lower front cross piece.
- 1x 2x4 (approx.) narrower ends, slots - upper back cross piece.
- Wedges: 6 (10 for Liisa model).
- Shaft Bars: 2 wooden per shaft.
- Shaft Rods: 2 metal per shaft.
- Pulleys: 3 per shaft.
- Metal Rods: 3 long, with holes in one end (for pulleys).
- Dowels: 10mm x 40mm (4 for computer assist box installation).
- Control Box: Computer assist box with USB connection.
- Software Compatibility: Weavepoint.
Maintenance Features
Control Unit Maintenance:
- Cleaning the Outside: Turn off power to the unit and computer. Wipe the outside of the box with a soft cloth.
- Cleaning the Inside: Turn off power, disconnect electric and connecting cables. Remove the cover. Use a mini vacuum to gently remove dust.
- Lubricating the Slide Bars: Every 6 months (more often with heavy use), lubricate the metal slide bars inside the box. Disconnect power and computer cables. Cover the electronic card with cardstock or cardboard. Wipe slide bars clean with a dry cloth. Spread a light amount of sewing machine or spinning wheel oil on the bars using a cotton swab. Avoid putting oil on the square bearings or spreading it elsewhere.
- Checking Wingnuts and Wedges: Periodically check that wingnuts and wedges are tight, especially after projects with heavy beating. Tighten as needed.
Troubleshooting:
- General: Check all power cords are securely seated. Check comports (page 17) and power-on order (page 15).
- Shaft will not rise: Cord too loose/disconnected, check tie-ups for loose spots/slippage.
- Shaft will not go down: Shaft rests on another shaft, check rollers and cords.
- Shaft rises with a shaft next to it: Cords crossed, pegs fastened to next shaft.
- No shafts go down: Burned out fuse (call WEBS for replacement), cable between control box and computer disconnected, computer not in software's weaving mode.
- Shed doesn't change: Cable between control box and computer disconnected, computer not in software's weaving mode.
- Shed doesn't open completely: Peg attaching shaft cord to control box too close, warp too tight.
- Cords often slip from rollers: Peg too close to roller.
- Shaft only rises from other end: Neighboring shaft cord jumped over roller, short cord not threaded through long cord, check cord connections.
- Control box squeaks: Metal slide bars need lubrication (see maintenance notes).
- Loom squeaks: Rub soap on rods holding rollers.
For further assistance, contact 1-800-367-9327.
Warranty
A two-year limited warranty is provided by WEBS America's Yarn Store to the original consumer purchaser, covering defects in material and workmanship. It covers repair or replacement of defective parts within 2 years. The warranty is valid only for the original buyer and is not transferable.
For the first 60 days, shipping costs for loom box repairs are covered. After 60 days, the purchaser is responsible for shipping.
The warranty does not cover damage from shipment, alteration, accident, misuse, abuse, or neglect. It is voided if:
- The loom is not connected to power via a high-quality surge protector.
- Work is performed inside the box without authorization from WEBS or Toika.
- The unit is not lubricated as described in user notes.
- The loom is not installed level.
Parts not covered by warranty include Texsolv cords, Texsolv pegs, and fuses. No other warranties are expressed or implied.
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