Two years ago, there was a Craigslist ad for a free loom. I'm not one to pass up such a thing, so I emailed the lady and trotted on over. She took me to the back yard, and showed me a rather dilapidated pile of wood on a tarp. Well, it was free. I took it home, and piled it in the garage until I had the time and space to do something about it. It did get put up on shelves, but well...I kind of forgot about it until we were cleaning out the garage over the past week or so. Then I decided it was time to see if I had a pile of kindling, or something that might be salvageable.
The teenagers have abandoned the living room in favor of playing video games in their own rooms, so I had some floor space available. The guys brought the pieces in, and laid them out on the floor, like this:
And then, I got some crescent wrenches, needle nose pliers, and a rubber mallet, and had at it. It took about four hours (and a bit of swearing), but when I was done I had this!
It is indeed a very sturdy two harness loom. The neat thing about it is that there are no foot peddles. The harnesses change when you beat the reed twice, by way of an ingenious set of gears at the bottom of the loom.
Given this clue, and a bit of paint I found reading "Reed", I tracked down some information on this old loom. It is a "Weaver's Friend" loom, made by Reed Loom Company. Reed started making looms in the late 1800's, and continued up until around 1970. Given that some of the nails on the loom have square heads, I'd say this is one of the older looms. http://www.weaversfriend.com/page1/page4/page4.html
My husband is taking the heddles with him to work tomorrow, since he has access to a way to remove rust. I gave the loom a first drink of oil, and will oil it again and rub it down tomorrow when I get home from work. The change in the wood is already apparent though.
It is in surprisingly good shape, given the neglect it has seen over the years. All the pieces seem in good working order. There are a few splits in the wood, but nothing that seems to threaten the structural integrity. All in all, I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to get this old man up and weaving again!
EDIT: Digging further, I found a picture of the same make of loom here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2163699690/ . The picture was taken between 1910 and 1915! This baby is about 100 years old.
I'm reading through some of the blogs I follow this morning. I always love stopping by your place. Wow - what a find! Wish I could find a free spinning wheel.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awsome old loom!
ReplyDeleteIvan
Wow, you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteI'm having such fun with this loom!
ReplyDeleteI just emailed our local Pioneer Living History museum, to see if they want to give it a home. Otherwise, I'll press it back into service making rugs again. :)
That is so amazing!
ReplyDeleteWow, I love this post. I just got a Reed Loom Company Weaver's Friend loom off of craiglist as well this week! For only $150 I couldn't pass it up. It needs a bit of love and some new heddles but she's sturdy as all heck and functions pretty well. If you end up keeping yours I'd love to see what you do with it!
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie! I haven't heard back from the museum, so it looks like I am keeping it. I'm thinking rag rugs to start with. What do you plan to make?
ReplyDeleteThe same to start with. I did a little weaving demo once but other than that have never woven anything. This is actually my first loom. I know it's kind of a big one to start with but it was SUCH an amazing deal I couldn't pass it up. The full story is over on my blog. :) Anyway, I figure I might as well start off with making something sturdy and simple and go from there. Also, tonight is the monthly meeting of the local spinners and weavers guild so I'm going to go and check it out (I'm a spinner too so bonus!). What better way to get started than to learn from the experts right? :)
ReplyDeleteThat last post was actually by me, Leslie. For some reason it wouldn't post under my name. Weird.
ReplyDeleteI started weaving because I found a floor loom at a garage sale, so I understand. :) I taught myself out of the book "Learning to Weave" by Debbie Chandler, which I highly recommend. Looks like yours is in great shape! I'm following your blog now, so I can see what you are up to. It will be nice to have someone else with the same loom to work along with.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to have found someone with the same loom as me, with them being so old. I'm really looking forward to see some of your work on it. Being a complete novice it'll be nice to see what I may eventually be able to accomplish with mine as I'm sure you're going to have some fun stuff on yours. :) I'm definitely planning on getting Debbie Chandler's book too, it seems to be recommended quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteJust thought of this if you might be up for it, perhaps after the holidays and I get some weaving under my belt, but maybe we can have a vintage Reed loom-a-long! Might be a fun project to clear away the winter doldrums. :)
I have a loom just like this also, it was my late Grandmother's. It's been disassembled for years, I don't have anywhere to use it. She taught me how to weave when I was a kid. I had to finish the rug on it after she died........
DeleteI have a loom just like this also, it was my late Grandmother's. It's been disassembled for years, I don't have anywhere to use it. She taught me how to weave when I was a kid. I had to finish the rug on it after she died........
DeleteSounds like a blast! But I'll probably have to wait until after mid-February. I'm part of a historical reinactment group, and our big yearly event is over President's Day weekend. (http://estrellawar.org/) Most of my creative juices will be going to sewing and cooking and otherwise prepping for this gala. Imagine 6000 people camped out for a week, all dressed in medieval clothes the entire time, recreating the arts, shopping, and sports of that time period...
ReplyDeleteI think I've found myself a kindred spirit in you! lol I can completely imagine it actually! Over on my side of the country it's called Pennsic and it's in the late summer. :-D I've never been able to attend but have wanted to for a VERY long time. I've been to several SCA events and know a lot of SCA-dians but unfortunately can't really commit much time to it due to being my grandmother's primary caregiver and the breadwinner of the household. Someday though I'll get to Pennsic, and I just know it'll be an absolute blast. In the meantime I just have to be satisfied with being a bit of a Rennie.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Pennsic! And yes, it was a blast. I was only able to go for 4 days, which wasn't nearly long enough! But I had fun dancing in the Barn every night, and shopping, and visiting with neat folks from all over the world. You'll have a great time, when you finally get there. :)
ReplyDeleteEstrella is about half the size of Pennsic, and lasts for only a week. Pennsic was great...but Estrella is home.
And now I need to go pack my garb and toss some fire wood into the truck, because I'm headed out for a smaller event this weekend. Our local group is holding competitions for their Champions for the year. I'm taking the drum carder, because a friend has a couple of alpaca fleeces that she wants help processing while we watch the tournaments. Sounds like a lovely way to spend an afternoon!