News for spring of 2026:
A new run of shuttles for 2026 was finished in April. There is one double boat shuttle available plus a number of other boat and quill shuttles. There are also two recently completed weighted tapestry forks. Wing nut tools are always available.
Shuttles are mostly constructed of Hawaiian koa and mango, walnut featherwood, tiger and bird’s eye maple, curly cherry with occasional use of figured red& white oak, ash burl, and spalted maple. The ash burl wood turned out to be stunning – it was found by a fellow woodworker in southern Minnesota who was sawing up some fallen ash trees in his bandsaw mill. Some of the most ornate shuttles are combinations of different types of maples – light and dark bird’s eye maple, tiger maple, highly figured curly maple, and maple burl. As usual, figured Hawaiian koa is one of the most beautiful with it’s strong iridescence and banding which constantly changes as you look at the wood from different angles. I picked up strongly figured Hawaiian mango and koa boards a couple of years ago at a lumber yard in Kona, HI. Mango grain and coloration is unique in Hawaii because it picks up colors from the volcanic soils. A couple of newer woods that will be in use for future runs: Mesquite, which I picked up in Arizona, and a small amount of ZiriCote which I discovered in Belize, C.A. a few years ago.
All of the stainless steel rods in boat shuttles are now 4mm diameter. Quill shuttles use 3.5mm rods, and both 3.5mm and 4mm diameters will hold quills if needed. I use stainless steel alloy #316 (marine grade) for best corrosion resistance.
A further note about 4″ bobbins (personal opinion): I have samples of most commercially available 4″ bobbins, and have found the Ashford nylon bobbins to be the best quality of the lot, and they also hold more yarn. They are about 1/2″ longer than the other brands (4 7/16″ total length), and have narrower shafts and central holes. I have no affiliation with Ashford – I just like this bobbin. I have increased the length of the cavities of my 4″ shuttles a little to better accommodate them as of late 2015. The bobbins, because of the narrower shafts, also allow a little less shuttle height without the bobbin rims rubbing on the bottom of the shuttle cavity.
For Canopus 6″ boat shuttles, there is an issue with commercial (Schacht and LeClerc) 6″ bobbins due to their very large rim diameters. These bobbins won’t work with my low-profile shuttles as the rims will rub or catch on the shuttle cavity bottoms. So your options with my 6″ shuttles are: 1. Use 6″ length paper or cardboard quills 2. Use Ashford 6″ nylon bobbins. These have narrow rims and smaller central shaft holes like the 4″ Ashford bobbins, but note that you will need to use a Swedish quill winder which fits the smaller shaft hole. 3. Let me know that you need a higher-profile 6″ shuttle (about 1 1/4″ height) that will work with the wide-rimmed commercial bobbins.Brocade shuttles and rug shuttles are sold out and have been discontinued as requests for them are rare.
Happy 2026!
Jon
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Weaving tools are made up of 3, 5 (most common), or 7 layers of the following figured woods: curly maple (including bird’s eye maple and tiger maple), maple burl, curly cherry, cherry burl, quartersawn oak, curly white oak, black walnut, quartersawn sycamore, buckthorn, and birch. Wood layering is always symmetrical so that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd layers (from the top or bottom) are always the same species. Ten layers of finish are applied to all shuttle types (and tapestry forks) inside and out, consisting of blonde shellac, oil-based urethane, and carnauba wax after the shuttles and tapestry forks are final sanded to 2000 grit. Shuttle rods are corrosion-resistant stainless steel (usually #316 alloy). Rods for the boat and quill shuttles operate up& down with the use of a wire spring mechanism which holds the rod in the up or down position.