Anyone ever build a weaver's floor loom?

[Dan Mitchell]

My wife is taking some classes in weaving, & is considering getting a loom. When I saw what these basic wooden machines (which look a bit like glorified deck chairs) sell for, I almost passed out. Minimum I've seen for a new 8 shaft, 24" floor loom is about $1800. Ones capable of wider pieces, of course, sell for more, up to around 6 grand. A lot of dough for something with no motor :D Even table ones are the price of a nice 14" band saw! Used might be an option, but I'm thinking I can build one. There are plans available, online & elsewhere, but I'm wondering if anyone here has ever build one of these, and if they have any insights to share.

TIA

Dan

[Perry Holbrook]

My wife took some classes several years ago and wanted a loom. I also thought about building one and even got some plans. Instead, I found her a used one which served the purpose for around $600. It looks like it would be a pretty easy build, probably less than $300 in material plus the metal thing you thread the yarn thru (can't remember what you call it) and I would guess at least 40 hours of shop time.

Perry

[Jamie Buxton]

Like Perry, I looked at building one. They're non-trivial machines. There's a lot about them that you can't just approximate -- you have to do it right. I finally decided that if I bought the loom-specific hardware, and bought the lumber to make the loom, I'd be close to the purchase price of the loom. So the project wasn't looking very viable. The weaver eventually heard through her weaver network of a used loom, and she bought that for substantially less than I could have built it.

Perry's suggestion of looking for a used loom is a good one. A fifty-year-old name-brand loom is exactly the same machine as is sold new -- or perhaps even better. It is also very basic construction, so you have zero chance of getting stuck with a machine you can't maintain. Look on craigslist. Look for weavers' guilds. Ask at stores selling weaving yarn. Ask the instructor for leads -- friends who might have heard of a loom for sale.

[Dan Mitchell]

My wife became interested in weaving when we visited Santa Fe, which has a large number of local artisans of all kinds, including weavers. One large shop we visited, which had hundreds of very well done rugs of all sizes and similar items on sale, had 4 or 5 floor looms which appeared to have been made almost entirely of pine framing lumber. I asked one of the weavers if he had made them, he replied no, that they were made by a local carpenter. Honestly, I just don't think these things are that complex, certainly not in terms of the joinery required, or the precision needed in the final machine. The class my wife is taking loans each student a ~30" table loom with 4 levers. There can't be more than a few board feet of wood in the whole thing. The most complex single bits are 2 wooden ratchet wheels, which I'm sure can be knocked out on a band saw. The only real difference between this and a floor example is the latter is larger & has peddles on the bottom rather then the levers on the top. Seems like an ideal project to me, especially given the price of a commercially made one.

Thanks for the replies.

Dan

[Nathan Conner]

This sounds like an ideal candidate for a winter project. A couple of jigs, and if you do a nice job, you can start making...wait for it..."heirlooms". Ouch.

I've been meaning to build one of these, just for the sake of it. It looks like fun - not quite fine furniture, but a nice break from the standard projects. Maybe this could take the place of the "Adirondack chair" that so many woodworkers start out with, but that I passed on?

Even a small model could be fun to play with. Let me know, Dan, if you decide to build one. I'd happily join in just for the experience. And I have a friend in town with an entire mill setup for dealing with Alpaca wool. I'm sure he'd be helpful and interested in the final project.

[Dave Bender]

I too found that after costing out parts and wood that there wouldn't be much in the way of cost savings. Having said that, we did find a table top loom ($75) that was mostly in good shape, all except for a frame that was warped. I rebuilt that and the loom is in good operational shape. I've also made combs, varies sticks, shuttles, etc. that are used in weaving. I find that I can make them out of left over hardwoods from furniture projects. I've also built some simple looms that my wife and daughter like to learn with (Inkle loom) and for making belts and straps. My daughter has taken up trapestry weaving and I did make a couple of tapetstry looms (frames if you will) for her. You do need to make sure the frame is strong and that you orient the grain of the wood used properly.