Make Stuff with Your Kid

You can do this without a wood shop or a lot of tools

You can get the lumber for this loom in the trim section of your hardware store. For any of these pieces, close counts. If you cannot find a piece exactly the dimensions I list, go one size larger and you will be fine.

You will need two pieces that are one inch by three quarters of an inch and twenty inches long. (1”X3/4”X20”).

You also need two pieces that are 1” X 3/4 X 12”.

At the top of the picture, you can see I also have one thinner piece that is 1” X 1/4” X 20” You could also use a wooden ruler for this piece if it does not have any sharp edges to cut your yarn.

You will need a piece of wooden dowel. I used a piece that was 3/8” and about 14” long.

At Home Depot, you can usually cut this wood by yourself. They often have a hand saw and plastic miter box that they leave in the trim area and you are allowed to buy the trim by the foot. (Don’t cut the dowel though – they are not generally priced by the foot)

These pieces do not need to be perfectly accurate. I have seen looms like this made from branches of a tree with the bark still on. Just cut them as close as you can easily do.

Other materials you will need

You will also need wood glue, sandpaper (100 and 150 grits), and nails or screws. I used 1 inch brass nails called ‘Escutcheon Pins’ on the loom in these photos.

Tools

You will need a saw to cut the wood with, a drill to drill some small holes, a tape measure, and a small hammer. A coping saw like we used to make the paddle boat will be handy for the last bit.

Start By Sanding Everything Smooth

We are putting yarn on this, so sand all the square or sharp edges away. In this type of loom, the yarn is going to rub directly on the two shorter pieces. If they have any sharp edges, it could cut your weaving.  I started sanding by hand with 100 grit sandpaper then went back over the edges with 150 grit sandpaper. If you don’t know what those numbers mean, ask at the store when you are getting your wood and they will be able to help you. These are common materials.

Let’s Assemble the loom

We need to drill eight holes, two in each corner of the short pieces (1” X 3/4” X 12”). These holes should be small. I used a 1/16” drill bit.

Drilling the holes diagonally like the picture shows will help your loom be stronger. We will be nailing the two shorter pieces on top of the two longer to make a square. (Click on any of the pictures to see them larger)

There is an order you need to follow

Place your four main loom pieces on a flat surface like the picture above.

Add a little glue under each of the four corners.

Then, line up the corners as best you can and nail in only the inner nail of each corner like this:

Having only the first four nails in places gives us a minute to square up the frame.

Take your tape measure and measure diagonally across the frame one way, then the other.

If one diagonal is longer than the other, press it together a little. Repeat this until the two diagonal measurements match and put in all eight nails.

When the diagonal measurements are exactly the same, the frame is perfectly square.

Now we will attend to the last piece of lumber. Take the thin piece and draw a circle on the ends. We need this tool to be very smooth. It will be passing through the yarn over and over again while you are weaving.

I used a washer to draw a good round shape on the end and I cut the stick with a coping saw. Sand every rough edge off of this piece. It is crucial that this one is the smoothest of all. Working on this will give the glue on the loom frame time to dry anyway.

Believe it or not, you are ready to weave!

Here is the finished loom with a bookmark started on it.

After initially starting this weaving, I did end up making one more wood piece. On the left, there is a shuttle. It is the one with the yellow yarn wrapped around it. I had a little extra bit of the 1/4” thick wood left and I reversed what I did with the washer on the long stick. I cut in a semi-circle on each end and sanded it for all I was worth. When you are weaving, you will wrap the yarn around the shuttle and pass it back and forth through your weaving. I tried using a small ball of yarn but that did not work well for me. The shuttle makes things much easier.

Here is a video to show you how to load and use the loom. Note that in the video, the red yarn (called the warp) is far too far apart but just to make it easier to see how things are working.

Let me know how yours works out.

-Jim

I like this book. You can tell that the author, Bob Gilsdorf, really likes these toys. He is definitely excited about making things and we like that here!  There are patterns to copy, enlarge, and print. This will be nice for folks not used to laying out woodworking projects. At the end of the book, there is even a section of woodworking tips.

I do have two complaints. First, some of the designs seem likely to break quickly. For example, there is a great motorcycle on  a stick design but the fork legs are made of tongue depressors.

Secondly, there are several of the toys that I would never give to my child. Many have some form of tiny projectile. They are either for older children, teens, or maybe office workers in their cubicles?

My favorite project is an airplane on a stick (It is a little Goose, Maverick, and Ice Man in the the training room).

All told, I am glad that I bought the book and I am building several of the projects. Just be thoughtful about the age appropriateness of the toys you build from it.

-Jim

Will it be his rosebud?  I decided that the boy needed a great sled.  I looked for a Flexible Flyer and they are not the same as the one I had when I was little. So, per usual, I headed into the shop.  Here are the results:

You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

The deck and ski’s are ash, the rails are cherry, and the supports are walnut.  I added a aluminum rub rail on the bottom of the skis.

If you have made a sled or you would like to make this one, I would love to hear about it.

Leave a comment on the post or email me at jim@makestuffwithyourkid.com.

Happy sledding!

UPDATE

One of our readers (Cullen) built a great looking sled from drawings I sent him. Here is a photo:

Thanks for the update Cullen.