Second warp.

We took much more care with warping this time, re-tying several times to get all strands even tension. So far the table runner is progressing well, though one strand mysteriously loosened and had to be adjusted. The stand is very convenient and folds flat for storage.

First warp

Warped with cottonlin from Helen
http://www.myfineweavingyarn.co.uk/
The loom worked very well, the only change we made was to round off the top of the reed holders to stop them catching the yarn. Initially the shed in the down position was quite small but this improved with use (possibly due to using a new reed which was slightly impeding the double strand of cottonlin). Also the tension wasn't very even so some warp strands were too loose. Next step is to make a stand. Total cost <£50 for wood, reed, cogs and warping sticks.

Finished

The loom is finished, and will be warped with cottonlin from http://www.myfineweavingyarn.co.uk/ to make a teatowel (using 12.5 dpi reed).

More uses for a lathe

Using a nostepinner is a very easy quick way of producing a centre pull ball of wool, available from
http://handspinner.co.uk/catalogue_winding_skeins_balls.html#winder

Others uses for a lathe

Whilst we are waiting for the plastic parts for the loom, the lathe has been used to make this, it's beautifully balanced and spins very well as the whorl is wider at the outside which improves momentum without adding too much weight

Progress update

The loom is now nearly finished, awaiting arrival of cogs and ties (delivery went astray)

Finishing the sides

Front and back rollers

Cutting and sanding the side pieces

Preparing the sides

Reed support box grooves

Cutting the grooves and sanding with a rotary sander

Making the reed support box

Using a marking guide and drilling the holes

Preparing the wood with a jointer

Using a jointer to give 90 degree angles

Preparing the wood with a thicknesser

Using a thicknesser to clean up the wood and give two parallel sides, photos are before and after

Beginnings

We bought the Ashford 32" rigid heddle, which is wonderful for making rugs but quite large for scarves and table mats. My husband was keen to try making one, so having bought a reed for the 16" loom here's how we did it.


We bought the wood from Boddy's

http://www.john-boddys-fwts.co.uk/

£24 for enough ash to build loom and stand - plus petrol for 3 hour round trip!! We chose ash because the colour matches the reed (Ashford 16"), bought from Shiela, who encouraged us to write this blog

http://handspinner.co.uk/index.html

The plastic parts (cogs plus ties) were bought from Frank Herring

http://www.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/?
frank-herring---sons-13793142.html