DIY Laser Cut Rigid Heddle Loom - Part 1: Building the Loom

by TheInterlaceProject

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Intro: DIY Laser Cut Rigid Heddle Loom - Part 1: Building the Loom

Welcome to The Interlace Project!

Our mission is to make weaving more accessible by designing open-source weaving looms

Rigid Heddle Looms are a great introduction to weaving and the skills you learn are all transferable to other types of looms. Easy to set up and use, this loom comes with a 5dpi* rigid heddle but has been designed to work with Ashford SampleIt Loom Reed (10"/25cm) for additional flexibility.

*dpi = Dents Per Inch - number of spaces (dents) per inch in a reed or rigid heddle.

What is Weaving? Weaving is a method of creating cloth from two sets of yarns or threads interlaced at right angles. The lengthwise threads are called the warp and the sideways threads are called the weft . Cloth is usually woven on a loom , a device that holds the warp threads taut and in parallel to each other while weft threads are woven through them. The warp threads are passed through the eyes of the heddles and these are used to move the warp threads up and down The weft threads are wound or wrapped onto a shuttle which is passed back and forth through the shed - the gap created between the warp threads when they are raised or lowered. The beater is used to push the weft yarn into place. In Rigid Heddle weaving the beater and heddles are combined into a single tool. The warp threads pass alternately through the eye of a heddle and through a space between the heddles, so that raising the shaft will raise half the threads (those passing through the heddles), and lowering the shaft will lower the same threads—the threads passing through the spaces between the heddles remain in place.

STEP 1: Parts of the Rigid Heddle Loom

STEP 2: Materials and Tools

Materials
  • 6mm MDF - 600mm x 400mm
  • 3mm perspex or MDF - 300mm x 150mm
  • 1mm MDF or thick card - 50mm x 170mm
  • 4 x 25mm Dowling cut into 300mm lengths
  • 2 x 9mm Dowling - cut to 280mm lengths
  • 8 x Machine Thread to Wood Thread Dowel Screws - M8 x 75mm
  • 4 x M8 Wingnuts
  • 4 x M8 Hex Nuts
  • 8 x M8 Washers
  • 4 x 40mm M6 Bolts
  • 4 x M6 Hex nuts
  • 4 x 20mm M4 Bots
  • 4 x M4 Nuts
  • 2mm Nylon cord
  • 6 x flat head drawing pins or thumbtacks
Tools
  • Laser Cutter (we have a 600mm x 400mm bed and cutting files are laid out to fit this - Please adjust the files for different sized beds.)
  • Drill
  • 25mm flat wood drill bit
  • 8mm mm wood drill bit
  • Pillar Drill (optional)
  • Small adjustable wrench

STEP 3: Laser Cutting Files

The main laser cut parts of the loom can be cut from a single sheet of 600mm x 400mm (23x15”) 6mm MDF.

The rigid heddle reed and the shuttles are cut from a piece of 300mm x 150mm (12x6”) 3mm perspex or MDF

The reed/heddle hook can be cut from a piece of 50mm x 170mm (2x7”) 1mm MDF, perspex or thick card. Note - the hooks may wear out depending on the material you cut them from so you may want to make several in advance.

STEP 4: Preparing the Beams

The body of the loom is constructed around the 4 beams (Front, Back, Warp and Cloth - see photo above). These are made from 4 pieces of 25mm thick dowel cut into 300mm lengths with a dowel screw in each end.

In order to position the dowel screws in the centre of the the dowel, make a jig from a scrap of wood - Use a 25mm flat wood drill bit and drill a hole about 10mm deep. Next drill a 8mm hole for the drill bit centered in the hole (this is much easier if you have access to a pillar drill)

STEP 5: Preparing the Beams

Clamp the dowel in a table vice - wrap a cloth around the dowel to prevent dents in the wood.

STEP 6: Preparing the Beams

Place the jig on the end of the dowel.

STEP 7: Preparing the Beams

Drill a pilot hole in the end of the dowel using the jig as a guide - you may want to drill a smaller pilot hole first depending on the hardness of the wood.

STEP 8: Preparing the Beams

Mark the depth of the dowel screw on the drill bit using a marker pen.
Carefully drill out the hole in the end of the dowel using the mark on the drill bit as a depth guide.

STEP 9: Preparing the Beams

Add a hex nut to the bolt end of the dowel screw to act as an end stop and add two more hex nuts to act as a grip point for an adjustable wrench.

STEP 10: Preparing the Beams

Screw the dowel screw into the drilled hole. You should be able to make the first few turns by hand in order to make sure the screw is straight, then use the wrench to insert the screw using the top 2 hex bolts as a grip point.

Repeat the process at each end for all of the beams.

STEP 11: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Place the heddle block on the inside of the loom frame - make sure the ‘neutral’ position

(the long vertical slot in heddle block) is towards the back of the loom.

STEP 12: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Slot the base into the frame, making sure to keep the screw holes of the frame and the heddle block lined up.

STEP 13: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Insert an 40mm M6 bolt through the holes of the frame, heddle block and the slot of the base.

STEP 14: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Place a M6 hex (or square) nut into the slot of the base and screw in the bolt.

Repeat for the other hole and tighten up the bolts to secure the joint.

STEP 15: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Insert one of the beams into the bottom front hole, add a washer and secure with a M8 wingnut - this is the Cloth Beam.

STEP 16: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Insert one of the beams into the top front hole, add a washer and secure with a M8 hex nut - this is the Front Beam.

STEP 17: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Insert one of the beams into the bottom back hole, add a washer and secure with a M8 wingnut - this is the Warp Beam.

STEP 18: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Insert the final beam into the top back hole, add a washer and secure with a M8 hex nut - this is the Back Beam.

STEP 19: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Make sure all the bolts are secure but not too tight as you will need to wiggle the base and beams into the corresponding holes on the opposite side of the loom frame.
Add the other side of the loom frame, lining up the beam holes and base slots.

STEP 20: Assembling the Rigid Heddle Loom

Slot the other heddle block into position between the loom frame and the base, making sure to line up the bolt holes.
Secure the base to the loom frame and heddle block using the remaining two 40mm M6 bolts.

Add M8 washers, hex nuts (Front and Back Beams) and wingnuts (Cloth and Warp Beams) to the corresponding beam bolts and tighten up all the bolts - use a wrench if needed.

STEP 21: Apron Rods

Apron rods are used to connect the warp ends (the individual or bundles of warp threads) to the warp beam and the cloth beam.

Set up two g-clamps 30cm apart.

STEP 22: Apron Rods

Pull the nylon cord around one of the g-clamps and up to the other so that you have a double length.

Give yourself an additional 10-15cm on each end of the cord and cut.

Tie the ends together using a double knot - be sure to keep the loop you have created around the g-clamps taut.

STEP 23: Apron Rods

Use a flame to melt the ends of the cord together and seal the knot - BE VERY VERY CAREFUL! Nylon is highly flammable and melts quickly - you should only need to apply the flame for a second.

STEP 24: Apron Rods

Mark the placement of one of the g-clamps so you can put it back in the same position and then loosen it to remove the nylon cord loop.

Repeat 21-23 until you have 6 nylon cord loops of equal length.

STEP 25: Apron Rods

Attach the first cord to the middle of the Cloth beam using a Larks Head knot (also known as Cow Hitch or a Lanyard Hitch)

STEP 26: Apron Rods

Create a second Larks Head knot around your fingers and slide one of the 9mm dowling rods into the loop - this is the front apron rod.

STEP 27: Apron Rods

Tie two more cord loops at either end of the Cloth Beam and secure the ends of the front apron rod. Repeat the process for the back apron rod on the Warp Beam.

STEP 28: Apron Rods

To prevent the cords from slipping on the beams during weaving, you can use flat head drawing pins to secure the knots - make sure the pins are placed exactly in line and at equal distance along the beam or there will be problems with even tension when you begin to weave.

STEP 29: Rigid Heddle

In rigid heddle weaving, the beater is combined with the heddles so it must be strong enough to beat the weft threads securely into place without snagging the warp threads as it is moved. This loom comes with a 5dpi heddle - the reed is ideal for cutting in perspex and is mounted in the crossbars by 4 small 20mm M4 bolts.

15 Comments

sonparo 5 months ago

Hello! This project looks great but I'm not sure about the sizes of the final loom.
I have downloaded the .dxf files but the size doesn't look right... It says it should fit in a 600x400mm MDF sheet but when I measure in autocad the elements look way bigger. Could somebody give me some measurments as reference to scale the objects to the right size? Thank you in advance!

gmgarc22 1 year ago

Currently planning to make this project, I've been wanting to learn how to weave tapestries so I scaled up the build to about 4 feet (~50 inches). I kept the length (the loom frame) the same, but scaled the heddle and beams up. Luckily I have a 37 x 47-inch laser cutter at my school, so I was able to squeeze in the big cut diagonally. I'll update when I cut tomorrow!

Tabiroone 2 years ago

Hi is it possible to make this larger? I wanted a wider loom. What would need to change size wise? Thank you so much for making this I've wanted a heddle loom for years (since I was 12) but there so darn expensive to just buy!

dawn_coffee 1 year ago

the heddle would need to be extended, keeping the spacing and pattern of the holes in. The heddle supports (long thin with a hole at either end and '5 dpi' on half) would need to be lengthened the same distance. The base support piece (with the notches for the bolt arm and nut to fit against, blue piece on the left of the Loom file) would need to be lengthened by the same amount as the heddle. The same amount of distance would need to be added to all of the dowel pieces.

dawn_coffee 1 year ago

Traded some sewing lessons to someone with a laser cutter to get the frame cut out.

As someone who's never done anything with bolts, screws, and the like before, the formatting of the list of materials was very hard to parse, even more so because I'm over in america and the majority of the hardware store is imperial-measure stuff. Adding the nearest-measure in inches would be extremely helpful, and using parenthetical (4x) to visually seperate the amount from the sizing numbers would also be very helpful.

I'm off to the store with about half the laser cut pieces of the loom tomorrow, so I can just...match the bolt sizes to the cut holes. Hopefully I'll have a picture to post of an assembled loom by sunday.

update: as someone with zero skill and experience with woodworking or drilling, and no ability to make a jig, I have to say that drilling a straight borehole in the flat end of a dowel is effectively impossible. I wrecked a whole loom worth of dowels trying. Adding a pair of gears and stops, and calling for dowels to fit in the holes themselves, would make this much easier to build for someone without power-tool know-how. (the fabfiber mini loom opts for this design)

I may pick up some acrylic dowels in the right diameter to put through the holes made for the bolts, and see how that works.

bronxcarter99 2 years ago

Hello from 2021 I built this loom using this pattern, NO I didn’t have a laser cutter however cardboard foam board x-acto knife and box cuter worked! I tweaked my printer size also used wood poles from hobby lobby’s do screws from Lowe’s and brass fasteners made a shuttle from foam board I’m still tweaking some thing (the reed) but overall….Thank you instructables and its awesome!!

KristineS37 3 years ago

I made this and it turned out great! I had to fiddle a bit because I’m in the US and couldn’t find the correct width material to lasercut. But a little sanding on the notches on the base fixed that up.

Thanks for a high quality plan and set of instructions. My son loves having his own loom, and I appreciate that my (purchased) loom stays available for my projects!

torchtam100 5 years ago

Is it possible to make this without the laser cutter? Are there plans to cut out pieces with a jigsaw perhaps?

TheInterlaceProject 4 years ago

Hello! Yes you certainly can. If you download the SVG file you can print it off and use it as a template.

AshleyW158 5 years ago

This is not compatible with the Ashford 10 in. sampleit loom Reed. The assembled loom is a good inch to narrow. The spaces in the heddle blocks are also to narrow for this Reed.

JonathanW218 5 years ago

Is it possible to buy this rigid heddle loom already fully constructed? Along with the threads already in place preferably?

ddj0195 5 years ago

How nice to find this instructable. I'd like to make this project. I do have a problem or two. The cutting files are individual and when I attempt to download them, my browser opens the file instead. On my tablet, there is no option available to downlad them if they open up first. A zip file containing the cutting files would be a lovely help. I'm a tad concerned about the length of the screws ont he outside. Is there an alternative size screw that might not stick out so far on the outside of the frame? Thank you. I am looking forward to building this loom.

TheInterlaceProject 5 years ago

Hello!

I'll look at getting a zip file up ASAP. I assume you are referring to the Machine Thread to Wood Thread Dowel Screws? These only come in one length from my local hardware shop but if you can find a shorter length then by all means use them!