New inkle loom

I made a new inkle loom that can make longer bands. The design is based on a picture from an Estonian band weaving book that I saw on a blog post by Durham Weaver. I used poplar 1×2 boards and 3/4” dowels, predrilled wood pipe, carriage bolt and knob, small screws, 1/8” birch plywood which I laser cut for the side, a 3/4” Forstner bit to drill the holes, gimlet to make a starting hole, coping saw to cut the channel, and sand paper. The toughest part was cutting the channel for the tension rod, my coping saw skills are rusty, and sawing along the grain is difficult.

Photo description: channel cut in a 1×2” board to accommodate a carriage bolt holding a drilled dowel

I laser cut the removable side panel first, then missed my angles during assembly by 1 degree, so had to recut the panel. To get everything to dry in the right position, I glued in the dowels, then wiggled them into place in the side panel.

Photo description: side panel friction fit onto the glued-in dowels to hold them in place while they dried, dragonfly hole shapes added for decoration
Photo description: assembled inkle loom with scrap cotton yarn tracing the warp path

Next step is to apply a finish coat to protect the wood from finger oils.