Summary

Rod Loom manufactured circa 1900-1930. This loom was used by visually impaired workers in the matmaking workshop of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind to make floor mats. This loom is the last of many originally used, workshop supervisor Malcolm Fraser believes that at one time there were as many as 80 looms in the workshop.

Knives, hammers, tins and rods were used with looms. It would have been originally bolted to the floor to prevent vibration since the hammers were heavy. Factory worker Monty James, believes that the leather straps used to hold the gears were made by a deaf man who came to work at the factory in the 1930s. Most of the working parts would have been regularly renewed.

Physical Description

Currently disassembled. Most working parts are metal with loom itself supported on blue wooden frame. Loom is disassembled into approx. 2m lengths of blue wooden beams (one green); metal and wire threading frames with leather hanging straps; metal hammering bar; metal pulley; metal cog; bobbin beam; peddle board; box of large screws for assembly. When constructed, loom forms a large rectangular block with loom itself supported on blue wooden beams.

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