It dates from around 1850--maybe even earlier.
The wood is hand-hewn yellow pine and probably came from the southern areas of the east coast.
I found it in Missouri in the late 1960's. It had been in an old mill before that.
I wove many a rag rug on this beautiful thing. And made a few tapestries as well.
You can see why it is called a Rocker/Beater loom. The beater bar swings on this rocking chair type arm. The bottom is attached to the frame of the loom by way of a thin-cut flexible piece of wood which is attached to the frame on one end and to the rocker at the other end.
The dog is all hand-cut from wood and works well.
The only metal on this loom is a late-applied ring someone added at a later date to stabilize another dog.
All the heddles were hand-tied cotton string. There are small holes on the large side pieces where nail can be inserted as a guide to tiring new heddles. There are no heddles on the loom at the present, but they are easy to make and attach.
Also, the pegging on the warp beam has been removed in order to change the loom back to it's original design.
This loom is for sale. If you are interested in buying it, please contact me via the comments section of this blog.
For a detailed story of how I found the loom, go to the index at the side of the blog and select "Looms".
I live in western Washington state in the U.S. Shipping would have to be arranged and paid for by the buyer.
For more information about historic looms, go to http://www.ohio.edu/people/deanr/rockerbeater/loomalbum.html.
If you or any of your friends are interested in the loom, please contact me via the comments section.
