Project description
I weave at home, for myself, and I have outgrown the simple peg frame I started on. I would like a proper tabletop shaft loom built to order, with a working weaving width of roughly fifty centimetres — enough for scarves, runners, towels and small wall pieces. The frame should be beech or ash, well dried, with no knots anywhere that carries load. To be clear from the start: this is a loom for weaving, not a spinning wheel and not any kind of spinning equipment, and I am not looking for someone to weave cloth for me. I need the machine itself.
What worries me most is tension. A warp under tension pulls on the frame with real force, and if the uprights are thin or the corners are held by a single screw, the whole frame twists. Once that happens the shed stops opening evenly, the selvedges wander and the cloth comes off the loom crooked. So I want honest joinery — mortise and tenon or through bolts with proper shoulders — and I would like the finished loom tested under a real tensioned warp before it is handed over. The loom will be clamped to an ordinary writing desk, so the clamps need soft pads or wooden cauls: the desktop must not be marked, dented or scratched.
The second thing is surface finish. A single burr on a beam, on a heddle bar or on the reed cheeks will shred the warp thread, and instead of weaving I will be tying knots all evening. Everything a thread can touch must be sanded smooth, including the inside of slots and holes, and finished with oil rather than a sticky varnish.
What the build should include:
— two beams, warp and cloth, each with a ratchet and a reliable pawl that holds tension by itself;
— two shafts with string heddles, raised either by treadles or by a clean hand lever;
— a beater with a reed of changeable dent spacing, at least two reeds of different setts;
— a shuttle, several bobbins and a simple winder;
— smooth motion with no play in the moving parts, and quiet running — I weave in the evening;
— a folding frame, or at least a stable stance on the table;
— a stand or wedge that tilts the loom to a comfortable angle towards me;
— sanding and an oil finish on every surface.
Please reply with a quote broken down into timber, hardware and labour, and a realistic schedule — I am counting on about two weeks.
What worries me most is tension. A warp under tension pulls on the frame with real force, and if the uprights are thin or the corners are held by a single screw, the whole frame twists. Once that happens the shed stops opening evenly, the selvedges wander and the cloth comes off the loom crooked. So I want honest joinery — mortise and tenon or through bolts with proper shoulders — and I would like the finished loom tested under a real tensioned warp before it is handed over. The loom will be clamped to an ordinary writing desk, so the clamps need soft pads or wooden cauls: the desktop must not be marked, dented or scratched.
The second thing is surface finish. A single burr on a beam, on a heddle bar or on the reed cheeks will shred the warp thread, and instead of weaving I will be tying knots all evening. Everything a thread can touch must be sanded smooth, including the inside of slots and holes, and finished with oil rather than a sticky varnish.
What the build should include:
— two beams, warp and cloth, each with a ratchet and a reliable pawl that holds tension by itself;
— two shafts with string heddles, raised either by treadles or by a clean hand lever;
— a beater with a reed of changeable dent spacing, at least two reeds of different setts;
— a shuttle, several bobbins and a simple winder;
— smooth motion with no play in the moving parts, and quiet running — I weave in the evening;
— a folding frame, or at least a stable stance on the table;
— a stand or wedge that tilts the loom to a comfortable angle towards me;
— sanding and an oil finish on every surface.
Please reply with a quote broken down into timber, hardware and labour, and a realistic schedule — I am counting on about two weeks.
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