I’ve been itching to make more stools. The idea of combining two disciplines — wood working and weaving — has been keeping me up at night, and I needed to do something about it.

I wanted to expand on the idea from the first stool I made.

After thinking about ways I could try out as many weave patterns as I could, I decided to make a series of simple looms with timber and nails. It was also an opportunity to work on perfecting my nailing skills.

I managed to yield 11 looms with minimal waste. (My word, I love a sesh at the drop saw. It is the perfect vehicle for cutting multiples accurately, and it is ridiculously satisfying.)

I made myself a quick jig to use with an awl to mark the position of each nail perfectly on every piece.

With a dab of glue, I nailed and then clamped each loom.

My friend, can I tell you the difference it made once I used the right tool for the job?

I used a small Japanese bronze hammer, and at 225g, it was beautifully balanced in my hand. I could strike accurately sans marking the timber. I also wasn’t going to wake the neighbours with loud clanging, considering I was working in the darkness of the morning.

I did muck around a little with both a nail set and a nail punch, but my results aren’t satisfactory yet. This hammer made them feel a little obsolete (for this task, anyway), but I’ll persevere.

I used bright bullet head nails, more to test than anything else. I am planning a bookcase using these nails, so I thought it the perfect low-risk opportunity. (Spoiler: they are perfect for use.)

Naturally, I have more than 11 designs I want to test, but at least I’ve enough to get started.

Amanda

Materials:

• Japanese bronze-finish hammer, 225g

• DAR pine timber, 18mm x 18mm

• Bullet head nails, bright, 1.6mm x 40mm

• Bradawl

• Drill bit for the pilot holes, 1/16” (1.59mm)

• Wood glue

• One handed clamps