Camp Craft

[Pandabean]

I have been reading alot of Greaves books lately and I was wondering if anyone has any examples of camp craft they have made or are willing to share how they are made. Such as camp tables/chairs.

One in particular that is confusing me is how the camp loom works. Has anyone tried this?

 

[beenn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHBJeUQOkP4&feature=related

The chair at the end looks good and saves alot of wood and is also reusable

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks Been, cant watch it at work though Would it be by anychance the older Welsh guy thats using cable ties (for quickness) and he makes a couple of chairs?

This is the camp loom I found in the book. Cant see it working in my mind.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismolloy/5208073242/

 

[v-ness]

Would a Peg loom not be simpler for Camp Craft?

Cant quite see how the pictured one would work either

Cheers
Ness

 

[charleslockerbie]

I can picture that, how it would work. Want to give it a try at the meet if we have time?

 

[Pandabean]

After thinking about it, the only way I can see it working is if you have someone shuttle some thread back and forth as you move the main strands up and down.

Thanks Chaz, that would be a good idea. Craig and I have talked about trying to make a chair either as the picture above or as a simple sack chair.

 

[stuart f]

Hi PB, i think the loom in question is not for weaving clothing as such,but more for making rush/grass mats. It would take two people to work it though,one to work the loom,the other to insert grass bundles.
If you can get this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wildwood-Wi...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302650528&sr=1-1 it has a bit more about it.Its a great book with loads of stuff in it.
And another link http://books.google.com/books?id=jE...&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

I hope this helps.
Cheers Stuart.

 

[Toddy]

It's the scale of that illustration that makes it look too unwieldy. It's better with two people, one to push in bundles between the warps and one to keep the moving warp tight, but it can be done alone, especially if you only rig it up to door mat size.
If you want to try it out, crunch up sheets of newspaper right across their length into soft paper 'logs' and see how you get on using twine and garden canes on the washing green. It's a good way of using otherwise not so easily made into structures stuff like bracken, dockens, birch brash and assorted long grasses.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

I saw one used at a festival once - about 30' long with about 40 stoned hippies weaving a grass mat as if their lives depended on it!
I have no idea what they used the resulting mat for though.....

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks Stuart, that book looks really interesting.

Just found this after your idea:
http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/skills/seton/loom.htm

So would the handle be lifted up and down or would you alternate which poles you place it between, eg up and one to left, up and one to the right?
I would think it can be operated by one person as well, but alot more time consuming, for example if you place 2 taller poles behind the main posts and they have a hook so you can put the handle on that while you feed in the grass.

Makes more sense now. Chaz, if your still interested we can still give it a go.



Anyone else got examples of camp craft that they may have done?

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks for the idea Mary, I will see if I can give that a go.

If this loom is for making grass mats, is there a way to modify to make cloth. Paracord blankets anyone?

 

[v-ness]

Wonder if the loom could be modified so it became the frame of a chair and the woven mat the seat and back? You would just leave the mat in place.

Camp Lounger anyone, lol

Ness

 

[charleslockerbie]

Still up for it, if we can make something big enough we could use it as a bed for the natural shelter?

or if your one for taking risks, make it into a hammock??

 

[Toddy]

I'm going to be really basic in this explanation of weaving, but I think it'll make things a little clearer.

Weaving is simply, over under over under over under, right across the stretched out cords, those are the warps.
The alternate row, under over under over under over, weaving the weft through back to the start.

All a loom does is lift all the overs up so that they are seperated from the unders to create a 'shed' space for the weft.
Then, the most important bit, it creates the opposite so that the unders become the overs and creates the alternative shed.

That loom in the illustration does this by having one set of fixed warps and the second set that can either be lifted above those to create the first shed, or dropped below them to create the second shed.
The shed is the triangular space created at the weaving edge where the warp threads or cords pass each other.

That bushloom makes for simple mats, pads and hangings, but since it's edges aren't selvedged (think weft woven back and forwards) they will always be too easily slipped to make something very flexible unless the warps are very, very tight.

Have a play with twine and paper and you'll see it all come together easily.

I found the best mats I made from it were ones that I used twisted grass rope as the weft and rush cordage as the warps.
If you use plastic bags for both it makes good waterproof bootmats for tent doorways. Practical recycling

cheers,
M