fibrenut

Hi All, and thank you to everyone for your suggestions and comments!

I've begun planning my metal loom project with the help of some very detailed plans from David Bryants "Wheels and Looms". I have borrowed Eric Broudy's "The Book of Looms" from the local library as well and this book has proven invaluable in my undersanding of how looms work. I also have another book on the construction of looms on reserve and can't wait to pick it up.

Due to my two week time constraint on this project I will not be able to do the entire loom out of metal. Especially since I am leaning towards constructing a functioning 4-shaft table loom. At first I was going to construct a wood/steel hybrid. I would be able to construct and laquer the wooden pieces on my own time and have them ready for assembly when need be. However, I have been given a few sheets of 1/4 thick white and clear acrylic to work with! I can very easily form, laminate, and fabricate the parts I need out of the acrylic. The end result I have envisioned is a loom that is lighter than an entirely steel or steel/wood hybrid would be and is stronger. If I take care with my work I will also be able to design and create a loom that is artistically appealing as well.

What do you think?

These are all excellent ideas & thoughts! WeaverDave, your PVC loom may give me a good starting point to work from.

mrdubyah, that is certainly my intent, or at least I plan on keeping things as simple as functional looms can be. I've looked at the design plans for small tabby looms. Because of their size that might be a good loom for me to make.

Slipstream, your idea of using saw blades as ratchets is brilliant, and much more time and cost efficient than machinging ratchets myself! Thanks for passing the idea on.