The boxloom is a very convenient tool for making tabletwoven bands, and with little or no alteration, will work well for narrow bands woven with a rigid heddle. The model I designed, for instance, has an interior width of eight inches, more than enough room for even the widest trims we are likely to need to re-create.
The problem is that this type of loom is seldom described in books on the period, and is almost never pictured. Before I decided to just design my own box loom, for instance, the best picture I had found was an artist's rendition in the Museum of London's book, Textiles and Clothing, not an extant loom or even a reconstruction (p. 25). But since I had plotted out several twelfth century trim patterns and was eager to try my hand at turning them into real tabletwoven bands, I needed a real loom to make them on, preferably one that is durable, portable, and able to protect the fine threads I prefer using. Since the "tabletweaving loom that's actually two huge posts held apart with crossbars" (MoL calls it a "band loom") would not be particularly portable or protective , that wouldn't be an appropriate choice. I liked the idea of a box loom like the one in the Museum of London book, but I didn't trust it because it was just an artist's rendition, so I decided I'd have to design a boxloom myself. It might not be documentably historical, but at least it would work, and it would look more medieval than an inkle loom, which look rather cumbersome at best, anyway.
Now, I've made and used my boxloom, and I love it. It's not perfect, and the metal braces I had to use to hold the top of the back on after my husband accidentally pulled it down on top of himself (and our tile floor) do detract a bit from the medieval look, but the pattern is sound. If you'd like to make one for yourself, here's what you need:
Drill two holes using drill bits of the narrowest gage you have, through each of the two roller bars, about one-third of the way from the ends, being careful to keep them along the same line (you probably need to clamp the bars in place for this, and may find it easier to drill the holes before cutting the pieces out). The string holding the tie bars in place will go through here, doubled up, with the small loop on one side wrapping the tie bar, and the two ends at the other side of the hole getting wrapped around and tied together securely. [The tie bars are what the warp ends get tied to, one per end, and need to be held in place so they don't just slide around the roller bars.] If this sounds too hard, two finish nails in the same locations as the holes will do the same job, you just can't remove the roller bars afterwards without first removing the two nails. In that case, place the tie bar "behind" the nails, with tension from the warp pulling "forward".
Cut out gears and gear stops, along with two squarish blocks about 1 1/2" on a side (I prefer to make mine square, with the corners cut off at 45 degrees) to be caps for the two roller bars at the non-gear ends. Nail or screw the guide bar in place (a template would be handy when pre-drilling the guide bar), to get all the holes in the right location.
Use wood fill to cover nailheads and any other imperfections. Sand anything that still needs sanding. Stain the piece, and finish as desired. Do this before putting the roller bars in so you don't have to work around the gears when you sand, stain, and finish.
Attach the gears to the roller bars with two or three screws or nails each, and insert them in the loom, making sure the gears are pointing the right direction (the rear one can go either way, but the front really has to turn as shown). Attach an end cap to the other end of each roller bar to hold it in place, using one or more screws instead of nails so you can remove it if you ever need to take out the roller bars. Attach gear stops to the side with the gears, using one screw each and washers between the stop and the side brace to minimize rubbing.
Now, all you need to do is attach the tie bars, warp up, and get going!
2) Round over the interior top edge of the front crossbrace to maximize room for the finished work, and to prevent the work from rubbing on a sharp edge. You may want to do this to the rear crossbrace as well.
3) When cutting out the gears, you want the last cut you must make to be the one releasing the gear from the board, since the board end is the only good place to clamp the piece in place. Cut the waste from the near end first, then make all but the one last cut (including any prep cuts necessary to get around points) from the clamped end. Prepare for this cut, so there will be no finish work after you remove the gear from the board. Only then are you ready to make the last cut.
4) While I can't complain about how the gears hold while I work on a project, the teeth don't hold well against a force applied in the other direction, like when I'm warping it up. While tooth-shaped gears should hold against this as well, they're even more troublesome to make than the starburst ones (above). Instead, I solved this problem in a very low-tech way. I warp from the back, with the threads in paper packets hanging down from the loom. As I slide the cards down the warp, I roll the warp that's above the cards around the rear roller bar, then lock it in place with the gear stop. To keep the gear stop in place while I work the warp, I take a flat cord or shoelace, thread one end under the rear gear stop and the other end around that end of the rear roller bar, inside the loom. Then I just tie the two ends tightly together at the rear corner. This cord is untied and loosened whenever I need to wind more warp onto the roller bar, and simply re-tied when I need it again. This fix works like a charm, and is easily removed when I'm done warping. I have two chopsticks holding the pack of cards together as I move them down the warp, one through each of the two sets of holes at the "top" of the cards. The more accessible chopstick has a ribbon wrapped around the two ends and tied, to keep the pack from spreading out too much, and if I have a tangle I need to work out (or any other reason to want to keep the pack from sliding down), I loop the gear cord through this ribbon before tying it.
Fox, Sally. "The Medieval Woman: an Illuminated Calendar, 1999". New York: Workman Publishing, 1998.
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Email me if you have any questions or comments about the box loom or this handout.
