# Loom



## woodtickgreg (Jan 16, 2022)

I give me Betty old clothes and she repurposes the material for quilts or other sewing and fabric crafts. I gave her some old t shirts today and she said she would use them for weaving rugs. I told her I was in between projects at the moment and she asked me to make her a rug loom. So here we go.
I started by milling up some ash stock. It earned up just under an inch.



Here's the stock after jointing and planing.



New miter saw leaves a nice cut even with the stock blade it came with.



I did some layout for half lap joints.





I set up the table saw with a dado blade stack. And I also have a stop block set so all the cuts would be the same.



Once you push the stock past the stop block there is no chance for a bind up situation.



Half laps all cut.



Test fit is good.

Reactions: Like 5 | Way Cool 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 16, 2022)

The frame for the loom is not going to be glued together. This way when she isn't using it it can be broken down for storage.
I made a drilling guide for drilling the holes for carriage bolts and wing nuts. 



Then I did layout for pre drilling holes for finish nails for the pins.



It's going to take a minute to drill all these holes, lol.

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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jan 16, 2022)




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## ripjack13 (Jan 16, 2022)




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## Tony (Jan 16, 2022)




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## Lou Currier (Jan 17, 2022)




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## Wildthings (Jan 17, 2022)

WAIT I wanna know more about repurposing the clothes. Would like to do something with my wife's clothes for my granddaughters and daughters

Reactions: Like 1 | Sincere 2


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## JerseyHighlander (Jan 17, 2022)

Is that rigid conuit or EMT you're using on those pipe clamps? Didn't think anything but black pipe would fit right, but those aren't my old Jorgensens either.


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 18, 2022)

Wildthings said:


> WAIT I wanna know more about repurposing the clothes. Would like to do something with my wife's clothes for my granddaughters and daughters


When I get it done I'll post pics of what she will be using it for.


JerseyHighlander said:


> Is that rigid conuit or EMT you're using on those pipe clamps? Didn't think anything but black pipe would fit right, but those aren't my old Jorgensens either.


It's just1/2" galvanized pipe.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 18, 2022)

JerseyHighlander said:


> Is that rigid conuit or EMT you're using on those pipe clamps? Didn't think anything but black pipe would fit right, but those aren't my old Jorgensens either.


Galvi works better in humid shops and has less rust risk.


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## JerseyHighlander (Jan 18, 2022)

Have never seen galvinized iron pipe so smooth & shiny. 

Very interesting project, looking forward to seeing the results from both you & the Mrs'.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Gdurfey (Jan 19, 2022)

Wildthings said:


> WAIT I wanna know more about repurposing the clothes. Would like to do something with my wife's clothes for my granddaughters and daughters


I haven’t finished the thread yet, but saw this. My wife had a friend do pillows for the couch out of some of her dad’s shirts. Really cool!!! Great memories for her, especially all the jokes about flannel and him spending his last years in Florida.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Gdurfey (Jan 19, 2022)

Very cool Greg. A few of the small towns or the artist walks have the woven wall hangings; I can picture, I think what Betty is going to do. They amaze me; very creative and every one is unique creation.


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 19, 2022)

I've been working to much to get into the shop this week, too damn tired. I got 36 hours in already in 3 days. Today was a short day, only 11 hours. Workin for a livin sucks! I plan to work on it this weekend. I did go buy some hardware I needed for it.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Sincere 3


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## Wildthings (Jan 19, 2022)

Gdurfey said:


> I haven’t finished the thread yet, but saw this. My wife had a friend do pillows for the couch out of some of her dad’s shirts. Really cool!!! Great memories for her, especially all the jokes about flannel and him spending his last years in Florida.


My daughter mentioned making quilts or throws out of Nana's clothing for the grandkids, so this caught my attention. Also, Greg's writeups are almost as good as @Kenbo but on a bigger scale

Reactions: Like 3 | Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 22, 2022)

I worked a half day today and then I got some shop time.
Last week I picked up some hardware from home depot so I could continue on the loom.
So first thing I did today was countersink the holes I drilled on the bottom side for the flathead screws.



And this is how the frame goes together with wingnuts. This way it can be taken apart for storage.



Now i need to drill a bunch of 3/32 holes for the finish nails. I set the depth stop so i dont drill through.



Holes are drilled every 1/2"



Thats a lot of holes, lol. But predrilling them makes it easy to get the nails into the ash and wont split the wood. The ash is so hard that the drill bit would deflect while drilling and follow the grain of the board.



Then i gave everything a sand with some 150 grit and broke all the edges by hand.



I rounded all the corners on the disc sander and then hit them with the ros.



8d galvanized finish nails. 2 1/2" long. Actually they are a little long but i wasnt going to take the time to cut them all down.



Tap tap tap tap, voila!

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## woodtickgreg (Jan 22, 2022)

The end hole is used for an eye screw. This is for a 3/16" rod on both ends.



The rod will slide through the eye screw and then can bee pulled out when the weave is done.
theres 2 lines marked, one for the cut length and one is a bend mark.



This is how the rod goes in.



Cutting the rod to length. I cut one on the wrong mark, damn! Now i gotta go get another rod, lol. Yes I'm human and make mistakes too.



The milti tool comes in very handy, used it to sand a chamfer on the rod and knock of the burrs.



Heres how it fits with the bend in the rod. The bend acts as a stop and also a handle to pullit out.



If you set the wingnut right it will act as a stop and keep the rod from sliding out if you put it on the other side of the wing nut.



So it's almost done. I need to get another rod to fix my screw up and I think a can of spray poly for some finish.

Reactions: Like 3 | Way Cool 1


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## Nature Man (Jan 22, 2022)

Really coming together! Very tedious to drill that many holes! I don’t know anything about looms, so hope you will follow through with an explanation of how it is used! Chuck

Reactions: Agree 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 22, 2022)

Nature Man said:


> Really coming together! Very tedious to drill that many holes! I don’t know anything about looms, so hope you will follow through with an explanation of how it is used! Chuck


It's a weaving loom, I'll get pics of it in use when Betty uses it.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Jan 22, 2022)

Weld your mix up back together lol


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## DLJeffs (Jan 22, 2022)

> Actually they are a little long but i wasnt going to take the time to cut them all down.


Slacker

Reactions: Agree 2


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 22, 2022)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> Weld your mix up back together lol


If I had a tig. Not really worth the hassle for a 3 dollar rod.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mr. Peet (Jan 22, 2022)

woodtickgreg said:


> I worked a half day today and then I got some shop time.
> Last week I picked up some hardware from home depot so I could continue on the loom.
> So first thing I did today was countersink the holes I drilled on the bottom side for the flathead screws.
> View attachment 221204
> ...


I love calico and olive ash....does it smell good?


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Jan 22, 2022)

You'd use it after retirement if you had it. Go buy one.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 23, 2022)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> You'd use it after retirement if you had it. Go buy one.


Funny, I've been thinking about it......

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 23, 2022)

Mr. Peet said:


> I love calico and olive ash....does it smell good?


Not really much smell or distinct, very dry, I've had it for at least 10 years. I dont have much left of it though since I salvage this when the emerald ash borer came and wiped out the trees here. Now it's all gone.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 24, 2022)

Well I took a vacation day at work as I'm waiting for a ups delivery. So I started spraying some wbp, trying the varathane brand out.

Reactions: Like 5


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## Nature Man (Jan 24, 2022)

Looking good, but want your conclusive assessment of the Varathane brand. Chuck


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 24, 2022)

Well 2 coats on each side is enough to seal it. The varathane seems to be about the same as the minwax polycrylic brand. Smells about the same, dries really fast as most wbp does. I'm ok with it, I wouldn't say one is better than the other, but some projects a spray finish is just easier than brushing on. I'll say it's a good product, easy to use, and dries fast.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## DLJeffs (Jan 24, 2022)

How much did it change the color of the wood? I found the wipe on poly caused the least color change on those curly maple thins Mike sold me.


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 24, 2022)

DLJeffs said:


> How much did it change the color of the wood? I found the wipe on poly caused the least color change on those curly maple thins Mike sold me.


Very little, wbp really doesn't change the cor of the wood and sometimes that's a good thing. What I really like about it is in the winter in an indoor shop there is no odor and no flammable fumes. And it dries really quick, like 30 to 60 minutes between coats.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## JerseyHighlander (Jan 24, 2022)

woodtickgreg said:


> Funny, I've been thinking about it......











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Once you go TIG you'll never go back. But you can always keep both.

Reactions: Like 1


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## JonathanH (Oct 11, 2022)

woodtickgreg said:


> It's a weaving loom, I'll get pics of it in use when Betty uses it.


This is a cool project Greg. Did you ever get any action shots?


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 12, 2022)

No, not yet...........but when I can catch her using it I will.

Reactions: Like 3


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## ripjack13 (Oct 14, 2022)

Finshed pictures of it man! The wife wants to see it....

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## ripjack13 (Oct 14, 2022)

And I do too....but that's a given.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

Well here is the finished loom. I can't believe I forgot to post pics of the finished project. But once it was done my new ebike came and I instantly switched gears and worked on that project.
So this is a rug loom for making rugs out of old t shirts or other fabrics.



The rods on the ends are made to pull out to remove the finished rug from the loom.



Heres the detail of the rods and also the wing nuts if you ever want to take the loom apart for more compact storage.



So this is what you need for the weaving, balls of t shirt material.



Here Betty is cutting the shirt into 1" wide strips, stopping just short of the end so everything stays connected. The strips will be cut at a diagnol so it stays as one long continuous strip. But short pieces can be tied together as well.



What it looks like after cutting the 1" strips.



So lets start with a new shirt victom, lol



Betty cuts of the arms and neck portion, that will get used as well.



This leaves her with a large portion of the shirt.



Again cutting 1" strips stopping about an inch short.

Reactions: Way Cool 2


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## Nature Man (Oct 16, 2022)

Progress pics are terrific! Any finished products? Chuck


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

This is what it looks like after cutting the strips.



And this is the portion thats left after cutting. This small section will be cut at an angle so the one long continuous strip remains.



Cutting the waistband.



Cutting at an angle.



Once the strips are cut you pull on them and that makes the flat material round. T shirts are excellent for this. Then you start by wrapping the material around the nails.

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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

Nature Man said:


> Progress pics are terrific! Any finished products? Chuck


It will be coming. Patience grasshopper.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Funny 2


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

After all I just started this project in January

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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

Now the weaving begins. It doesn't all have to be the same color, you can mix it up, just happened to have enough black for the starter course. I think that is called a weft?

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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

You start by weaving with a long strip of material horizontally and it criss crosses the vertical black strips.

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## woodtickgreg (Oct 16, 2022)

Here's the detail of how it wraps around the removable rods.

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## Wildthings (Oct 16, 2022)

Post #43 what's the left side of the grey strip look like. Two tag ends or is it continuous like the vertical run?

edited: or is post #44 the left side


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 17, 2022)

Wildthings said:


> Post #43 what's the left side of the grey strip look like. Two tag ends or is it continuous like the vertical run?
> 
> edited: or is post #44 the left side


2 tag ends.

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## woodtickgreg (Oct 17, 2022)

Betty redid the weave, she had the pattern wrong. It looks much better now.

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## woodtickgreg (Oct 30, 2022)

So far this is what she's got. She works on it a little bit every morning before we go to work if she has time.
Right now she is working on the lock stitch for the top and bottom. She pulls the material through the loops with a large crochet hook.



Pretty cool for a bunch of old t shirts. She did learn that the strips are better cut wider like
1 1/2" She has some shelf liner that will get sewn onto the back so that it's non slip. I'll show you that when she gets to it.
She calls it the woodtick rug because it's made from woodticks shirts, lol.

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## Mr. Peet (Oct 30, 2022)

woodtickgreg said:


> So far this is what she's got. She works on it a little bit every morning before we go to work if she has time.
> Right now she is working on the lock stitch for the top and bottom. She pulls the material through the loops with a large crochet hook.
> View attachment 233039
> Pretty cool for a bunch of old t shirts. She did learn that the strips are better cut wider like
> ...


That is cool Greg. My wife takes my old and heavily worn shirts and hides them. I think she dresses up some of our nastier looking firewood and cremates them when I'm not around. Found some Levi's rivets in the ash last spring when cleaning out the stove, so I might be onto something...

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## DLJeffs (Nov 8, 2022)

Very cool project and rug. One question: when she removes the finished rug from the loom, and pulls the metal rods out from the ends of the rug, does she have to stitch that to prevent it from unravelling? Or does the weave she uses somehow lock those ends in place?


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 8, 2022)

Yeah she weaves the ends after pulling the rods. Right now she is sewing a non slip backing on it. I'll show pics when she's done.

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