Material used in this 4 dent reed:

#21 tarred twine, covered with 10.5 mil gaffer's tape when finished

5/8" hard maple dowel with 1/8" wide by 1/4" deep groove cut with table saw

4-1/2" long 1/8" ø SS rod, friction fit into dowel slot.

copper pipe ends, slotted with 1/2" wide aluminum strip to clamp/bind the ends.

Progressing along on this 60" reed, I have another 20" to complete. Slow work. ;)

 

 

This reed should also double as a 8 dent reed with 2 ply wool doubled in the dents.

Comments

Sat, 02/25/2012 - 22:22

SallyE (not verified)

Ok, now you have truly crossed the Rubicon!  Making reeds is too much for me!

It's looking good.

Sat, 02/25/2012 - 22:38

ReedGuy

:D Hahaha!!!

I'm no Caesar, but you need the patience of Job for some of this kind of stuff. Not that it's all that hard, but it's slow. Don't ever complain about how much reeds cost. I won't give you any sympathy. :)

Sun, 02/26/2012 - 00:47

r1mein54 (not verified)

Ok, I have to ask - most wood dowels I see available for retail purchase are a maximum of 48 inches long,,,how do you manage to have dowels that are 60 inches?
Sun, 02/26/2012 - 03:14

ReedGuy

Veritas master dowel maker set. I make my own. ;)

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,180,42288&p=42331

And I see dowels at one building centre here that are 8 feet long, pricy to.

A little video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bepcx-ioLUU

cheers

 

Sun, 02/26/2012 - 17:51

francorios (not verified)

Bravo! Well done!

Have a joyful day!

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 14:02

newtome

I think that you have skills for sure. I am "trying" to make one just like it. I dont have a table saw!!! Any advice??

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 14:17

kerstinfroberg

Traditionally the dowels were split, so you had 4 pieces to handle while tying. (Not that it would be easier to split a long dowel that to make a groove, but...)

Here is an article on old (Swedish) wooden reeds.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 16:06

Cheryl M White

Now I see that your name is well deserved.  Your reeds look really great!

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 20:11

ReedGuy

You could possibly set up a router jig. A grooved dowel is much easier to handle than a split dowel when making the reed.

Sat, 09/22/2012 - 14:37

Penn (not verified)

I'm constantly amazed by Reed Guy's skills.  I've fantasized about making reeds, but the logistics of the task always seemed daunting.  I'm reassured by his statement on the price of manufactured reeds, though, and will leave that task to others.  Whew.

To Kerstin, I read your fascinating article on Swedish reeds, and was intrigued by much of it--the threads, numbering, etc.--but this caught my eye near the end: 'Grenander-Nyberg even writes that (it was said, in Dalarna, that) one should use a reed "just slightly wider than the weaving width" - different lenght reeds for the fabric for sleeves than for fabric for the shirt body.'  Do you have any idea why that practice would be endorsed?  Assuming one is using the same loom for two different-width components of the same intended piece (like a jacket), switching out reeds seems an awful lot of trouble to go to unless it's justified by the results.  Or does this presume the weaver is using more than one loom, do you think?

I'm sure that there are other practices and professions in which the tendency to issue unequivocal rules without including the "why" is just as common and just as confounding, but weaving has to be up there, IMHO.  I'm trying to train myself to be less Pavlovian in response to the "thou shalts/shalt nots" I so often come across in weaving literature, and stop taking them as commands, but it bucks a lot of history. Meh.

Sat, 09/22/2012 - 17:39

ReedGuy

Penn, the biggest pain in the but is to find the wire or strip fine and strong enough with the edges rounded. Most places I checked are only interested in pallets and truckloads, not small quantities. Unless you have connections, which I don't, and your making more than 2 or 3, you might as well buy it from one of the loom distributors here. You really won't save yourself anything in the end going it on your own.

Sat, 09/22/2012 - 17:48

kerstinfroberg

Penn, most modern weavers haven't even *heard* about that "rule" (G-N's book is not very well known)! (Note: she writes "it was said...") We have discussed it in the guild, but can't even begin to understand the why of it... unless, perhaps, the outer dents (tines?) can be stressed and bow, making an extra wide reed mark in the wider fabric.

Most modern reeds can take that stress, in my experience :-)

This is a different kind of "reed mark"

(old wooden rug reed - obviously well used. But for what?)

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 18:49

Gnu weaver

I'm awestruck by your work and mad (good) skills! Where did you get your 10.5 ml gaffer tape? I need to re-tape my reed. Thanks
Thu, 12/06/2012 - 22:54

debmcclintock

In SE Asia different size reeds are common for skirt width, skirt band width and shoulder shawl width. This is due to the way patterns are stored in a pattern storage device. the reed, shafts and pattern device are rolled up and another set dropped into place, the new warp tied on and pulled thru. Different patterns are on the different cloth function widths, hence the reed width is not one size fits all as we think of our reeds. Different weaving cultures..example, In Laos the girls learn to weave their skirt border for their school uniform and graduate in their weaving skills to skirt panels that have way more complex patterns and techniques. Hope this helps Deb Mc