Hi, I feel like a bit of a prat.. this is nowhere near the complexity of some of the masterpieces shown in this group. ... but I did build it myself.
My wife was interested in me building her a Navajo loom. She found some plans on line, but nothing we were satisfied with. After many inspiring hours of looking, I started merging some of the plans and pictures into a hybrid.
What I came up with is a whopping 6' x 8' floor loom. It has the rope tensioning mechanism at the top with a fixed bottom board. One change is that I only took the legs 6" out the back so it could sit closer to the wall. I also put 6" legs at the top corners so the whole thing can be tipped over and laid down to allow the warp to be put straight on it without a seperate warping frame.
It was quickly (on the 1st rug) fitted with a pole for heddle strings, currently supported with clamps, but I'm already planning rows of dowels the length of the uprights for the final design.
Any input would be appreciated, especially concerning the heddle bar.. don't really want to make it rigid, but stringing the warp pairs has been a hassle.
oh, yeah... does anyone know where to get 6'+ dowels and swords/shuttles?