For this fall, I recently finished a batch of hand-crafted boat and quill shuttles. Boat shuttles are for use with 4” bobbins, and quill shuttles hold 6” cardboard quills. The shuttles are constructed of 3 or 5 layers of native woods including black walnut, curly maple (including bird’s eye, tiger, and big leaf), curly cherry, quarter-sawn oak, curly white oak, buckthorn, ash burl, honey locust, and Hawaiian koa and mango. The black walnut is plantation raised from a family farm in Minnesota.
The shuttles are highly contoured, shaped, and finished for ease of use. Because they are handmade, no two shuttles are alike. The fine finish is achieved through a lengthy finishing process using multiple grades of sandpaper through 2000 grit. They are then finished with multiple coats of sealant shellac, oil-based urethane, and carnauba wax for durability and to bring out the best of the wood grain and natural color.
The shuttle shape is a classic design from the book “Weaving With Foot-Powered Looms” by Edward Worst, published in 1918. The polished bobbin rod is made from high-grade 4mm diameter stainless steel, and works by an internal wire spring action to stay in the open or closed position. The internal spring is professionally made by a spring manufacturing company. Rods in the quill shuttles are 3.5mm diameter.
All shuttles are made low-profile for narrow sheds. Boat shuttles are 1” to 1 1/8” height, and quill shuttles are 13/16” height or less.
See: https://www.canopuswoodandweave.com/ for current listings under the weaving tools tab
Boat and quill shuttle photos have top and bottom views. Most shuttles are $115 each (plus shipping).
The photo captions describe specific wood layering used, weight, length, and height dimensions. Since each shuttle is unique, the dimensions / weights will vary, so you can check these against the shuttles you have for best fit. The logo image below is a sample shuttle in the present batch. You can email for additional details / photos at: [email protected]. Please PM me through Weavolution if you have an aol email address - I've had to block the aol.com domain due to a large amount of spam.