Lithium Battery Tufting Gun
The limited edition AK Cordless Tufting Machine
There have been various models of tufting machine that have tried to answer the call for a quality cordless tufting machine. I have personally been pestering engineers for years to come up with a lightweight cordless alternative.
Tufting for long sessions can take a toll physically over time so solving this issue in a relatively cost effective way has been crucial for me. To be honest, I get really excited about cordless alternatives to anything.
Now… If we are going portable, lithium batteries are our best option and I have seen and tested a handful of relatively successful tools based on battery powered drills.
The biggest issue facing engineers to date has been the weight. In order to supply enough power for optimal tufts required for professional rug production, guns have had to be quite heavy and they are a real burden on the user.
Utilising a counterweight system has always been a good method of dealing with weight problems but that completely goes against my motivation for having a cordless tufting gun in the first place.
Fortunately we are in an age where technology is advancing faster than we get a chance to even notice and lithium batteries have become smaller and able to produce more power quite effectively. At the time of writing this, this tufting machine is the best option the market has to offer.
As an artist who enjoys tufting immensely, I have devoted the past 5 years to tufting and working with engineers to further improve tufting tools. We helped initially develop the now commonplace rosewood carving tool based initially on a vintage shearing blade I discovered at an antique centre. We have helped develop safety guards for our guns, developed premium tufting yarn and even worked together with suppliers to find safe alternatives to latex gluing.
The one issue I encounter messing up my creative workflow is portability and this gun resolves it quite effectively. It is powerful enough to successfully tuft with while remaining as light as a regular AK1 but it is completely portable. It has become a secret weapon for me. I have a very limited release of test guns on hand and offer a rare glimpse into my toolkit.
They come with two batteries and a charger. They are lithium guns so ensure you charge them in accordance with the rules of battery storage to ensure greater life. This means never leave them to sit for too long fully charged.