Schacht Floor Loom Bench

The Schacht Floor Loom Bench is made for Schacht shaft looms. Seat height adjusts from 19 to 24 inches, the proportions match a continuous shuttle pass and a full treadle stroke, and the bench is built from the same maple or cherry hardwood as the looms, with the same hand-rubbed Danish oil finish. Made in Boulder, Colorado.

What a weaving bench does that a chair can't

Three things separate a weaving bench from a chair, a piano bench, or a stool.

Height that matches your loom. Hips slightly above knees, foot pressing the treadle to the floor with your leg bent around 90 degrees. On a regular Wolf Pup LT (29.5 inch breast beam), that's a 22 to 24 inch seat. On a Standard Floor Loom 45 inch (31.5 inch breast beam), it's 23 to 24 inches. An 18 inch dining chair sits too low for any of these looms, which forces you to reach up and round your back to work.

A seat that fits the work. The Schacht seat is 30 inches wide and 10 inches deep at the top, 14 inches at the base. Wide enough to shift weight side to side as you throw the shuttle, shallow enough at the front edge that the back of your knees isn't taking the load. Most dining and office chairs are too deep at the front for sustained weaving.

A frame that gets out of the way. A continuous shuttle pass needs full lateral reach. Chair arms restrict that. A chair back either gets in the way of the working posture or invites a slouch that ruins it. The Schacht bench has neither.

Specifications

• Seat height: adjustable from 19 to 24 inches
• Seat: 30 inches wide, 10 inches deep at the top, 14 inches deep at the base
• Seat installation: assembles flat or slanted (your choice; reversible later)
• Storage: open bin built into the base for shuttles, bobbins, scissors, a current draft
• Construction: solid hardwood, hand-rubbed Danish oil finish
• Wood options: maple (lighter tone, the standard choice) or cherry (warmer tone, deepens to a richer red over years)
• Made in Boulder, Colorado

Flat or slanted seat

The seat installs in two orientations, and you choose during assembly. Flat sits horizontal, the default for most weavers. Slanted tips forward a few degrees, which some weavers prefer because it opens the hip angle and relieves lower back pressure on long sessions. The choice isn't locked in. The seat hardware comes apart and reinstalls in the opposite orientation if you change your mind later.

What it fits

The Schacht Floor Loom Bench fits every current Schacht shaft loom:

• Wolf Pup LT (regular and Height Extender)
• Wolf Pup 8.10 (regular and Height Extender)
• Baby Wolf 4 shaft, 8 shaft, and 4-Now-4-Later (regular and Height Extender)
• Mighty Wolf 8 shaft and 4-Now-4-Later (regular and Height Extender)
• Standard Floor Loom 36 inch and 45 inch, all shaft configurations

It also works for the discontinued original Wolf Pup if you're still weaving on one.

Practical notes

The top of the height range is 24 inches. Weavers around 6 foot 2 and taller, particularly on a Height Extender loom, sometimes want another inch or two beyond that.

The bench is built to stay in the studio. It doesn't fold and it's solid enough to need two hands to reposition. The footprint stays around 30 inches by 14 inches whether the under-seat bin is loaded or empty.

The bench bag

The matching Cordura bench bag attaches to the bench's end bars and adds soft pockets for shuttles, scissors, bobbins, a phone, and the small tools you reach for mid-project. Maple or cherry hardwood end bars to match your bench. You can order it with the bench, or by itself as an add-on for a bench you already own.

The bench's under-seat bin handles the basics. The bag earns its place when you start running two or three shuttles on overshot or summer and winter, when fine threading work calls for several tools at once, or when you weave away from home and digging through a separate toolbox gets old.

If you're adding the bag to an existing bench, choose end bars in the wood your bench is made of.