This is a ‘shaft’ or frame from my wife’s loom, we need 4 more. I could make it myself but it’d be by hand and possibly not end up very square or neat. The manufacturer would probably do one but since it’s an old loom it would have to be made specially and cost a fair bit.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/qqez8R]Untitled[/url] by molgrips, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pKFpRG] [/url] by molgrips, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/qGFoLr] [/url] by molgrips, on Flickr

It’s 24″ wide or thereabouts. It doesn’t have to be particuarly precise, within a few mm would be ok. Ignore the wire things (heddles) they are availabe separately.

Any decent sheet metal fabricators should be able to sort you something out. Either with a drawing, or using the original as a template.

Is it just mild steel?

I could recommend a place, but don’t think it would be much good as you are nowhere nearby (Paxton Sheet metal in St Neots – great guys).

Look for metal fabricators in your local area and give them a call.

EDIT – as for how much. Hard to say. I’d estimate £50ea….but could be a way off.

Seems to be just mild steel yes. £50 is enough to make me want to try it myself tbh.

that’s the kind of thing Id do myself.

Get the material from a steel stockholder, make up a jig out of wood and prat about with some molgrips* and a vice.

*arf

I’d get some steel strip and do it myself.

You have a template and all the bends/twists are simple ones.

for the slots I’d just drill multiple holes and file it flat.

molgrips – Member

Seems to be just mild steel yes. £50 is enough to make me want to try it myself tbh.

Probably worth ringing round a few places and enquiring. My estimate could be way off….
Although might be rewarding to give it a go yourself.

The steel strip itself is fairly standard, other than it won’t be available to you pre-galvanised, but instead with a black mill-scale finish. So how clean and how smooth the material needs to be when used on your loom is a consideration as raw milled strip can be a bit rough and snaggy for using with fabric. Stuff like in your picture has been pickled to remove the scale before being galvanised making the surface smoother and slicker than material that you’d be able to buy yourself.

An issue – depending on how amenable your local stockholder is, is that sort of stock typically comes in 6m to 7.6m lengths. If you’re lucky and can get everything out of one length, ace, if not you’re likely to end up with a lot of spare and nobody is likely to sell you part-lengths. Not all stockholders are mad-keen to cut stuff up for you, and some won’t be very patient or accommodating about you cutting stuff down yourself either- they’ll make you take it out into the street to cut it yourself as they won’t allow you to work on their premises.

Would ali strip do the job? Has a better finish in its raw / anodised state, and is easier to work/twist/drill etc. Depends how much load its going to see in use? People like aluminium warehouse are reasonable for what’s likely to be relatively small quantities.

You’re Cardiff area AFAIK? There was (probably 6 or 7 years ago now) a place out Rumney way that sold metal in smaller quantities (for cash naturally!) and would cut and fold simple shapes. I think it was Rycon steel from a quick Google map search, but I can remember for certain.

Relatively straight forward to make but you would struggle with all those twists and tight corners with cold bending unless you have the right kit. You could hot bend using a MAP gas blowtorch but it would take a while to do 16 bends and 16 twists. Getting it galved is also not a problem but would cost you ca. £50 if you approached a company as a stand alone order, whereas an engineering company making it for you would stick it in with a big job for a few pounds.
It is the kind of job nobody wants to be fair. Fiddly to make and hard to make a profit on.

Could you not make it out of wood for ye olde worlde authenticity? 🙂

Thinking about it, I’d have to make my own jig and tools for the job. Some kind of bars to clamp the strip and bend it with some leverage. Then some kind of form to beat the strip around the curve.. Could be tricky to make it all in one piece though. Two would be much easier but would not affect the end result.