Is my product actually in stock?
Most items listed on the website are in stock, unless listed as a "pre-order" or any custom listing.
Why do you use hardwoods?
We choose hardwoods because of both their durability and their innate beauty. We want your loom to last a lifetime, without any accidental dings marring the surface.
Whoa...shipping seems awfully high! What gives?
We have a bit of a double whammy when it comes to shipping. Most wood is, well, HEAVY (and some species are a lot heavier than others - I'm looking at you, purpleheart). But shipping costs are also related to size as well. Shipping carriers start adding extra fees when items hit that 22"+ mark. The shipping calculator does the best it can, and sometimes it overshoots. In the event that this happens, we will pop a gift card into your box for the difference in shipping costs.
Why don't my pegs fit neatly in the holes?
This is a long answer. First off, we work diligently to make sure that the pegs will fit nicely into the holes on each and every loom, performing spot checks on each loom. That being said...wood is an organic material that, while no longer planted in the ground, is still a living object that breathes and changes based on environmental factors. Wood swells and contracts. Using wood as the base AND wood as the pegs leads to two different woods breathing and changing independently of each other. Secondly, the dowels we purchase (from a US company, using US forests to manufacture the dowels) have a tolerance of +/-0.015"...meaning the peg may not be exactly the right size. We have spent countless hours trying to pin down the exact right drill bits to make the holes the right size - tight, but not too tight (because weaving with pegs that are too loose doesn't work very well). As of Jan 2025, we are in the process of moving to machinists bits, as standard wood bits aren't cutting it (no pun intended) - hopefully we will see some better results in narrowing down the hole sizing. All that being said....we do provide some sanding paper to use as needed. And frankly, our looms are hand crafted, not made to be carbon copies of each other - which is probably why you're here on our site, because you want something crafted with heart, not something mass produced.
Where does your wood come from?
As often as possible, we salvage wood from old barns and graineries in our region because we think it is important that the story of these buildings carries on into the future. Other times, we may spot something special that doesn't have that history, but it sure is pretty. We pick those up from time to time, and you'll find those in our Specialty Wood Types section. We also get special requests for specific wood types, and are happy to fill those as well.
My loom has a ding/dent/hole. Is it damaged?
We love reclaimed wood, y'all. We love the character that these stories bring to our looms. Sometimes that is in the form of a crazy knot that we drilled through to place a peg, sometimes it is a nail hole that once attached this piece of wood to another, sometimes it is a spot where a creature once burrowed a home. We do get boards that have few to none of these character traits. If that is your specific desire in a board, let us know in the notes section on your order and we will accommodate; otherwise, know that your board may come with some character that makes it truly unique and one of a kind. We do use some carpenter tricks to secure cracks and knots as needed, and do not ship out any board that has integral issues.
Do you make all the looms?
Yes, we do! All looms are crafted by hand in our woodshop by Case and Traci, including hand drilling and sanding all of the pegs - over 15,000 pegs in 2024!
What do the numbers on my loom mean?
Each loom is branded with the year it was made and its spot in the production line. So, a board that reads 24-106 was the 106th loom made in 2024.
What do the words/letters on the bottom of my loom mean?
By popular request, we have begun to mark the boards with the wood species. Sometimes those species get written out completely, sometimes they are abbreviated. Generally, we carry red oak (roak/RO), white oak (woak/WO/oak), walnut (wal/W), Black locust (blocust/BL), tiger oak (tiger/TO), spalted maple (spalted/spal/smap), ambrosia maple (ammap/AM/amb), etc. If you're not sure, or your loom doesn't have this, shoot us a message and we can tell you based off your serial number.
How do I care for my loom?
The last step in our process is to coat the loom in mineral oil to bring out all of the beautiful grain and patterning. Feel free to add on another layer at any point. Linseed oil is a good substitute.
I lost some pegs. Can I get more?
Yes! We offer a small pack or a full set. You can find them here.
How much fiber do I need to make a rug on my peg loom?
The actual amount you need will depend on how densely you pack the fiber, but we find that 2 pounds of washed wool (either locks or roving) will make a 2'x3' rug - cushy though not 'dig-your-toes-in' squishy. For that, you'll need 4 pounds!
How do I know how much warp to use?
We recommend a simple formula: (Desired length of your project x 2) + 8". So a 3' rug would mean your warp would be (3'x2)+8" = 6'8" (80"). Feel free to add more than 8" if you would like - it takes more warp to tie those strings than you think it will, or if you want a longer fringe on your project.
What should I use for warp?
We really like cotton twine for wool projects, since it allows the wool to slide easily down the warp. We have some here.
