Metal weaving shuttles

I have been working for the last two days on a few new shuttles and a few new ideas. I know what you are thinking what now. Well not to worry I am not going to show you just yet. Just let you know that some new things are afoot Just a hint it it is bigger than anything you have seen before and it is going to be most wonderfull.

Heart Shuttle

I was pleased to get a order for a shuttle the other day and it turned out to be a wonderful work.

I call it a Heart shuttle.

More Weaving shuttles

This is one of my great creations the "Dianne Shuttle" made for a wonderfull woman down in Texas it is a 5 1/2 brass shuttle. Built on request from Dianne.

Weaving shuttle start

I was asked by a friend of mine what got me started in Shuttle making? Well My soon to be wife is a weaver and so is her mom and one day last year. I was asked if it would be something I would be interested in. I first I thought no way this is crazy but after a few seconds of doubt I said sure why not never one to back down from a challenge. A case of the art finding the artist. I got the brass for my first shuttle from some reclaimed brass (bad idea to start with) however swords into plowshares and all I borrowed my soon to be fiance's jewelers saw and went to work on the material and I tell you it was work it took the better part of 3 months to make the shuttle and if you ask Noreen Crone-Findlay over at http://www.hankeringforyarn.com/ to show it to you she just might I think she has posted it a few times from Christmas on. Back to the story well I finally cut the brass and it was rounded cylinder from its former life which it was well suited to its new life as a shuttle if you know anything about structural integrity a dome is a hard thing to flatten. So I got out my blow torch and well heated and cooled and clamped and heated and cooled and clamped hit it with a hammer and gave it allot of yule time love or frustration (I was making it for a Christmas gift) something you should always start early. After a good day or two of that I got it somewhat flattened which is to say good enough for what I was doing to it. As this was a new thing to me I took lots of breaks as I was doing this as a labour of love. If you met Noreen or her family you would know why. I was given a template of one of Noreen's favorite shuttles so I copied it onto the brass using a somewhat transparent sheet of plastic and taped then after that did not work glued onto the brass and started to saw again now if you have never used a jewelers saw well as I have talked about before the inventor of it was a southpaw and never thought to make a right handed version of it. Lets just say the blades come in 12 to a pack and you need all 12 to cut your project. I went through the set I bought and a few of my wonderful soon to be wife's to boot. I now buy them in bulk a dozen dozen at a time. Well I cut and cut and cut some more but the more I cut the more the material spoke to me and I kind of liked it so I kept cutting making brass dust is fun if not tedious so I finally got through the shape it was a standard shuttle about 6 inches long by about 2.5 high give or take Next came the shaping and smoothing it was the easy part as I had cut it to rough and now was making the shapes I wanted to making sure that there are no sharp edges. Finally I got to the polishing part that is fun as it is something I know allot about a few years in the army and you would to. It was finished looking back it was not one of my most beautiful pieces but one I am most proud of as it is my first weaving shuttle and it was a labour of love and there were many tears of joy that Christmas. I later found some good thick brass at a local metal dealer and made one for my love it took the better part of a weekend something about knowing your material.

More from the workbench

I have created with some guidance a few different shuttles some of them very plain others more elaborate but I figured I should let every one know about the weaving shuttle itself. A tool that has been used by humans since we first started to make clothing out of well anything (leather not included) Most weaving shuttles are made of wood and or bone with some even made from shell. Modern shuttles that I have seen have been made of plastic and or aluminum and yes wood and shell.

So what do you look for in a shuttle?
1. Does it feel good in your hand ?
2. Is it right for your loom?
3. Is it right for your project?
4.Load capacity how much weft can it hold?
5. as all ways personal preference do I like it?

Feeling good in your hand is one of the most important things to look for in a shuttle as if you like the feel it is not work it is a joy.

Right for your loom if you are using a small band loom you do not want to use a boat shuttle although it meets the feel good and capacity it is not right for your loom.

Right for your project if the shuttle does not fit you should not use it.

Load capacity there are some shuttles out there that look fantastic but carry a yard or two of weft so you are constantly having to refill it. Think of it like using a wheelbarrow for a dirt move job if you had a pickup it would take 1 trip to the 5 or 10 by wheelbarrow.

Personal preference I like it my dad liked it his mom liked it so I am going to use it.

This is what I think from my workbench.

Shuttles I have made

This is my collection of 4.5 inch shuttles the metal is copper and they have a nice satin finnish

Start of a Project

I was asked to start a Blog by a dear friend.
What is a shuttle well it as a device used to move weft between the gate of a loom.
I make weaving shuttles.

I recently made a cottage business selling shuttles Durusuo Custom Weaving Shuttles.
Exit plans are cool.
Why ?
Because I can and I like to make something that is of real value. Both historical and practical
I have been making shuttles for about 6 months
My Soon to be wife is a fiber artist and Puppateer her Mom is a well a very skilled Artist.
I only work with hand tools and only the finishing is done by machine.
Metal is my medium as wood has already been done and it is just not got the feel I find.
I have done allot of personal soul searching in my quest to build a good shuttle and I hope I can share some of it with you.
Noreen Crone-Findlay at http://www.hankeringforyarn.com/ is my soon to be Mother in law she has given me allot of guidance in the building of this little project.
Tools;
My primary tool is a Jewelers saw if you do not know what one is then you are lucky as I am a right handed it is built for a lefty someones idea of a sick joke if you ask me. (no they do not make any for regular folks),
a ruler,
and a really cool bead punch I picked up on eBay,
as well as a large assortment of files of all shapes and sizes from standard to just about toothpick size.