Rug Hooking Frame

My wife is a hooker. My mother in law, she’s a hooker too. That is to say they hook rugs from wool. They are both amazingly talented and have made many gorgeous rugs. These are truly pieces of art.

There seems to be a lack of reasonably priced hooking frames around, so I am trying to fill that gap.

The base is made from not quite 3/4 (metric) birch ply, and the arms and frame are made from oak. I just use whatever hardwood I have around or is cost effective, any will do. You could make a frame like this from softwood IF you leave it stationary, but with the articulating parts its best to use a hardwood so it holds up over many years of hooking. I put the frame through a roundover bit. To hold on the “gripper strips” I used 23 guage 3/8th upholstery staples in my paslode staple gun. I have to say this gun is a dream, Im very pleased with it. I chamfered most if it with a 45 to prevent splinters. Whole thing has 2 coats of danish oil. The whole ting also breaks down for travel, to hooking conventions of course!

All in all these things are fairly fun to make, pay me well and still save my local hookers about 100 bucks off what they would pay anywhere else.

Any and all feedback is welcome.

-- "despite you best efforts and your confidence that your smarter and faster than a saw blade at 10k rpm…. your not …." - Charles Neil