I'm taking a break about halfway through coating the loom in tung oil (and yeah, I really didn't set out to actually refinish her but that's how its turning out anyway) and thanks to my Mom's awesome research skills I have some more info on her.
Based on the size and this ad:
It would seem I have their 30" "mini-loom" and the wood is birch (this agrees with what the guy at Woodcraft told me so I'm pretty confident of that now).
Interestingly another ad suggests that the loom is intended to be threaded in the folded position. Also the sectional beam on mine was likely an add-on as its available without.
Of related interest the University of Arizona has an archive of the newsletter "Looming Arts" which seems to have been put out by Mary Pendleton. Her husband is the one that made the looms.
4 comments:
So glad there was some good info in there! Pretty neat!
So glad you went to Woodcraft to get the tung oil. Couldn't remember if I mentioned that the tung oil at Home Depot isn't 100% tung oil but rather a mixture of oil and other stuff. Not as good. She's looking good! Looks like you're doing a great job bringing her back to life!
I am refurbishing a Mary Pendleton 30" loom as well. Interesting info. Have you founf someone who carries heddles and reed that will fit? Mine need replacing.
It takes the 9.5" heddles - same as most of the Schacht looms. I had some luck cleaning the old ones with a vinegar soak and a wipe down with fine steel wool as well.
I was able to order a custom reed from Gowdy Reed (http://www.gowdeyreed.com/) to replace the old one. There are a handful of 30" reeds available for other looms but it was actually cheaper to get one made to size.
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