The reed is an18-dent reed so I am using a special tool for sleying. It is the AVL Patent Denter. Here in the first picture you see one side.
Here in the second picture you see the other side. In this picture, the tip of the denter is facing up. In the previous picture it was facing down.
In this third photo you see a close-up of the working area. The slots in the left are where you lay the warp ends to be pulled through the reed. Just to its right is the tip of a triangle. This tip creates the magic that allows the denter to move automatically to the next dent. When you push the denter through the reed, you apply just a bit of pressure and that tip splits and goes through the next dent, the rest of the tool still going through the original dent. When you grasp the warp ends and pull the tool through, it is the dent to the right that the tool comes through. Each time you sley another set of ends, the tool automatically moves to the next dent, assuming you have applied the right pressure.
There is a learning curve. But when you are talking about going blind sleying an 18-dent reed, or even a 15-dent reed, it is a life saver.
Here is a picture of the denter at work. I have three groups of warp ends (four ends in each group) sitting on top waiting to be sleyed. Normally I hold those ends in my left hand. Each group lies within a different set of two fingers. I cannot seem hold those ends in my left hand and manipulate the denter. So I space them out across the top of the beater.
For more information about the denter, including complete instructions on how to use it, go to the AVL web site.
Related Post: Sleying the Reed
© 2008
1 comment:
I hadn't thought of having the thread groups lined up like that, but it would solve a problem for me. When I used my autodenter last it did speed up the sleying but I struggled find the threads for it. Thanks for this tip, Peg.
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