Octado - information from Louet Website

This eight-harness dobby loom is available in three weaving widths: 70, 90 and 110 cm (27 3/4”, 35 3/8” and 43 1/4”). The special features, like easy programming and light treadling of the counter march shed, described on page 15, are all integrated in the Octado loom.

The Octado is made out of lacquered beech hardwood and the most complex castle section is pre assembled. Included with the loom are a shelf and built-in raddle, a stainless steel reed 40-10 (metric), 600/800/1200 Texsolv heddles (330 mm), lease and tie-up sticks and sixteen warp sticks. You must choose between a mechanical and electronic dobby.

Dimensions (wxdxh)
Octado 70: 115 x 99 x 127 cm (45 1/4“ x 39“ x 50“)
Octado 90: 135 x 99 x 127 cm (53” x 39“ x 50“)
Octado 110: 155 x 99 x 127 cm (61” x 39“ x 50“)

Weight
Octado 70: 45 kg (99 lb)
Octado 90: 48 kg (106 lb)
Octado 110: 53 kg (117 lb)

Dobby looms
A dobby loom has a dobby mechanism, which is used to program the harness combinations for the weave pattern. Dobby is short for “draw boy” which refers to the weaver’s helper who was used to control the warp thread by pulling on draw threads. The dobby mechanism replaces the treadle/lam combination of the traditional floor looms. The performance of a multi-harness loom is vastly improved by using a dobby mechanism, as it overcomes the major problems associated with the use of a large number of treadles.

A dobby loom allows you to select the combination of harnesses for every shed opening you wish to make. The great advantage of a dobby loom is that it avoids the necessity and the labor involved in making multiple tie-ups to treadle positioned underneath a loom. An investment in a Louët Dobby ensures many years of comfortable and productive weaving.

The mechanical dobby is a program bar with pegs system. The numbered holes in the program bars correspond with harnesses of the loom. If you want a harness to be raised, you place a peg in the corresponding hole of the program bar. Your series of program bars can be as long as you like; however, if the number of program bars becomes very large, you may want to consider an electronic dobby. The electronic dobby will give you almost unlimited harness combinations using a computer and software from Fiberworks PCW, Patternland, Weavemaker, Weave It, WeavePoint or Pro Weave, which all work with the Louët electronic interface.

Easy treadling
Both Octado and Megado looms feature a countermarch shed. This is accomplished by raising the back beam at the same time as the shafts are being raised. The beam movement also compensates for changes in warp tension as the shed is made. An innovative construction ensures the action of the well balanced pedal to be very light in operation. This main pedal and also the optional weaving bench are adjustable in height to accommodate the weaver’s physical requirements.

As with our Delta and Spring looms, Octado and Megado have the Louët sprung breast beam, a unique warp tension control system, which allows the weaver to set and check the warp tension each time the warp is advanced.

These innovative design features give our Octado and Megado looms an indisputable advantage over other competitive products. No other multi-harness loom treadles as light and creates as large a shed, even with a very high tension on the warp.