Being retired and living on a fixed income well I'm extremely poor and I'm always looking for ways that I can save a few bucks and this is a definite win right here thanks so much for taking the time and effort showing how to make these grass mats and how you explained how and why you were doing it...well done Sir.
That’s an awesome idea. I would recommend revamping the top as to make it possible to rotate all 4 twisting points at once from shoulder high. Just a suggestion.
Great DIY, Very well done thorough and informative. Not short cut like some. Nice to see someone my age with workable ideas. Now if I knew where to get grass. Thanks
Just a suggestion, when you roll the mat up to the second level and then the strings start to get loose, if you roll the mat another inch or two it will put some weight hack on the lines and tighten them up, that way you could keep going. Also if you used slip nots at the top and had a few extra feet of twine in each line, you could keep rolling and make the mat variable lengths, 6-8-10 feet long if desired. Great vid. I used PVC and screwed them into a board I mounted in the garage ceiling, hung diving weights from the bottom of the strings... works amazing and it only took about 5 minutes to set up. And when I'm not using it, the only thing you see is the board with the PVC, and nothing is in the way...
Thanks a bunch, Dick. I'm a DIY guy and hate spending $ on something I know I can do myself. I experimented with a few different methods, but this one is a SLAM DUNK!! I had scrap wood, so didn't have to buy too much, but priced it out (using 3x2s) at around $50 (not counting screws and whatnots) if a guy/gal had to start from scratch. The one modification I made was using 1" dowels at the brace and base joints so I could fold it up for storage. That worked great and didn't compromise the stability. The big lesson I learned is that vegetation collection is the most time consuming part of the job. The frame can be built in under an hour and a full mat can be woven in about the same.
Very nice video! I just got into duck and goose hunting this year and This is exactly what I was looking for. I built a loom and made my first mat. I think I made each bundle a little to big so it used a lot of grass. I'm thinking if I make the bundles smaller it will use less grass and be lighter.
Nice video. I can really appreciate how you have simplified making one of these mats. They sell for over $50 at a retail store but I can definitely make these at home. Thanks again. Way more natural looking than store bought. My friends always give me crap for doing things the hard way but this time it pays off.
Great video. One improvement was that I stuck the piece of rebar into a 3/4 inch pvc that was a little wider than my frame. Then I duct taped the ends so the rebar would stay inside. This is much easier to slide out than the rebar was.
Thaks for sharing ur genius idea. One option to make theses mats totally free is if u have an elivated deck. Mine is 10 feet high so i plan to build my mats off of that.
This video is great, churned out one of these things out in the garage last night. and will be making more soon.love how the spinning pieces of wood make it easy to weave. looks great! Thanks Dick!
Nice video. I plan on making a loom like yours to make some mats to cover my blind next year. But I'm not following why you start with the rubber bands in the beginning? And how about laying the loom flat on the ground or a table/sawhorses? Wouldn't that eliminate the need to roll up the end and make it easier to create long mats without needing to reach high overhead?
I use fast grass and it is nowhere as natural looking. Fast grass is great, but you still have to use natural vegetation otherwise you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb.
This gives you the ability to use natural vegetation to its full potential. In our area, we use sugar cane. We lay 8 ft canes, make the mat, and break the leafy top half over in front of the panel once attached to the blind to double up on cover. Work super good. Way better than fast grass.
