Tufting guns — AK-III and AK-I

Two tufting guns for rugs, wall hangings and more: a pneumatic AK-III and an electric AK-I Cut Pile.

AK-III (pneumatic)	AK-I Cut Pile (electric)
AK-III	AK-I

Every 30 minutes while tufting

• Brush away lint

• Blow the gun clean

• Oil with sewing machine oil

1. Stretch the backing cloth

Even tension is what matters most — much easier with two people. Getting it straight and tight in the corners is the hard part.

1. Frame flat on the table, lay the cloth roughly straight.

2. Fix the middle of one side, pull out to each corner.

3. Turn 90°, repeat.

4. Then diagonally towards the edges.

5. Pull hard on the side opposite the first.

6. Use the lines in the cloth to keep it straight. Tighter is better.

Re-tension after a while — vibration loosens it.

2. Draw the design

Draw outlines with a Sharpie. Leave a little extra gap between colours for crisp lines.

3. Fix the frame

Clamp the frame to the table as tight as you can.

Frame clamped to the table

4. Prepare the gun

• Yarn feed: from behind, into the back of the gun.

• Pile length (AK-III): set by the tube and feed wheel — always fit a matching pair.

• Loop or cut: loop gives loops on the front, cut gives tufts. Video · Tuftipedia guide

• Thread without holding the gun. You can run several strands (e.g. 3) for better coverage.

5. Tuft

1. Outlines first, then fill.

2. Gun straight against the cloth — don't angle it.

3. Pull the trigger and let it advance at its own pace. Up and down is easier than side to side for even density.

How it works: the gun opens the cloth → the tube goes through → the knife cuts → next stitch.

6. Glue the back

• While still on the frame (easier to cut out).

• Clean off loose yarn first.

• Roll the glue on very lightly over a large area first, then press harder.

• Dry overnight.

7. Cut out

Cut 3–5 mm outside the design, fold the edge in and glue with a hot glue gun. Don't cut a shape out of a square piece — it will unravel.

Materials

Yarn: long fibres, tightly spun, even (uneven yarn jams electric guns). Wool is best — lanolin holds it together; cotton doesn't, acrylic wears hard. Greasy yarn cuts more easily. ~1.2–1.5 kg per 80 × 80 cm.

Glue:

Backing cloth: white (some cotton — what the frames were first bought with); grey 100 % synthetic from Hitex. Hessian (US) has too big a mesh.

Setup tips

• Hanging the gun: a balancer (buy a good one) or a curtain rail. With a balancer, right-to-left is easier; freehand, bottom-to-top.

• Building a frame: double rows of tack strips for electric guns; angle brackets in the corners; thicker frame for bigger sizes; a lip for clamping to the table.

Background

Rya is knotted; tufting is shot. Punch needle (loop pile) came first; electric guns carry the yarn with small scissors (cut pile); pneumatic guns use a feed wheel and air. Tim Eads in Philadelphia is a tufting pioneer (about). Artists: Anja Fredell, Jonathan "Ollio" Josephsson (SVT).

Links

• AK-III manual · AK-III videos

• Shops: Hitex (Blekinge, yarn ~1 kg) · Tuftingshop (NL, where ours came from) · Tufting Europe (NL) · Tufting Love (CH)

Wanted: a table for holding yarn.