A few weeks back... actually August, we were on vacation. On the way out to Missouri we stopped at Rockhome Gardens. There was a vender inside that had a triangle loom in action and she had some completed projects as well. Being a crafty person, I was intrigued. I started some research and my engineering husband started calculating.
After we got home, progress lagged or really never even started. That's when I take matters into my own hands!!! Hubby was gone on business so I headed out to the garage to see what I could see. Hubby has been building some cabinets, so there was some nice "scraps". OK...maybe 2 eight foot pieces of red oak 3/4" by 2" is a bit more than a scrap, but after I grabbed and cut, well...
I took one of the 8' pieces and cut it in half. I then cut a lap joint - by hand - so the 90 degree joint would be stable. I clamped those and then laid the other 8' piece across the top to make my hypotenuse. I marked the overlaps with pencil and again made lap joints by hand. Now if you check out the web, standard sizes seem to be 6' and 8'. Mine is not exactly standard, but I wanted to build the biggest I could with what I had!
I started marking the nails and then messed up and the kids demanded food, so I had to stop.
Once the hubby returned the next day, progress resumed. I erased my bad markings and started all over. This time I got it right. I spaced the pins on the hypotenuse 1/2" apart. I used a square to mark the pins along the side. If you do a bunch of web searches, it's a little confusing, but the pins/nails along the side are closer together than on the hypotenuse. When you're done, you should have the same number of pins on all three sides.
Then hubby helped set up the drill press and I drilled holes. A LOT off holes I must add!
After nice neat uniform depth holes, hubby put a socket extension in the drill press upside down. It then worked to uniformly press each nail in to the exact same depth.
I will admit hubby assisted but anyone, with a little persistence, may commandeer the work shop and build their own as well!
After the loom was glued, screwed and dried I rummaged in my stash and found a couple of homespuns. Talk about dumb luck, I was just barely able to finish. No fringe, but I have ideas...
I have since invested in one of the few triangle loom manuals out there and found a few things I did wrong. We also purchased some nice maple to make a full 8' triangle loom. As I've had the maple for at least a week or two, I guess I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands again!
I would suggest a book available on Lulu.com by Barbara Herdman called Tri Loom Weaving. It shows the basics of weaving and has a real nice chart on how much yarn to plan on for the size of the loom.
After we got home, progress lagged or really never even started. That's when I take matters into my own hands!!! Hubby was gone on business so I headed out to the garage to see what I could see. Hubby has been building some cabinets, so there was some nice "scraps". OK...maybe 2 eight foot pieces of red oak 3/4" by 2" is a bit more than a scrap, but after I grabbed and cut, well...
I took one of the 8' pieces and cut it in half. I then cut a lap joint - by hand - so the 90 degree joint would be stable. I clamped those and then laid the other 8' piece across the top to make my hypotenuse. I marked the overlaps with pencil and again made lap joints by hand. Now if you check out the web, standard sizes seem to be 6' and 8'. Mine is not exactly standard, but I wanted to build the biggest I could with what I had!
I started marking the nails and then messed up and the kids demanded food, so I had to stop.
Once the hubby returned the next day, progress resumed. I erased my bad markings and started all over. This time I got it right. I spaced the pins on the hypotenuse 1/2" apart. I used a square to mark the pins along the side. If you do a bunch of web searches, it's a little confusing, but the pins/nails along the side are closer together than on the hypotenuse. When you're done, you should have the same number of pins on all three sides.
Then hubby helped set up the drill press and I drilled holes. A LOT off holes I must add!
After nice neat uniform depth holes, hubby put a socket extension in the drill press upside down. It then worked to uniformly press each nail in to the exact same depth.
I will admit hubby assisted but anyone, with a little persistence, may commandeer the work shop and build their own as well!
After the loom was glued, screwed and dried I rummaged in my stash and found a couple of homespuns. Talk about dumb luck, I was just barely able to finish. No fringe, but I have ideas...
I have since invested in one of the few triangle loom manuals out there and found a few things I did wrong. We also purchased some nice maple to make a full 8' triangle loom. As I've had the maple for at least a week or two, I guess I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands again!
I would suggest a book available on Lulu.com by Barbara Herdman called Tri Loom Weaving. It shows the basics of weaving and has a real nice chart on how much yarn to plan on for the size of the loom.
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