On the previous page, I tried to make a French Knitting Loom out of a coconut shell, but failed when part of it broke off during trimming.
So I thought I'd have another go, but this time, with a slightly simpler object...
I started by sawing out one third of the shell - cutting along the natural shell joints.
It's quite easy for the thing to slip here, or for the saw to skip out and cut you - so extra care should be taken to clamp the nut (securely, but not so tight as to crack it) and to keep fingers out of the way.
Next, I took some coarse abrasive paper and sanded off most of the bristles from the outside surface of the shell - not to finish it, just to provide a surface that could be marked with a pencil.
Using an electric jigsaw (scrollsaw) with a fine blade, I cut nine equally-spaced notches along each long side, then squared off the ends and cut three notches in each end.
I cut a letterbox-shaped slot in the middle - by drilling two holes and connecting them with the electric saw
I sanded the shell to a smooth finish
Success
All went completely according to plan - I finished the sanded surface with coconut oil - by just rubbing a piece of the raw coconut flesh all over it, waiting for a while, then buffing with a soft cloth.
OK, But What Is It?
It's a braiding board - the bigger, more interesting sibling of the braiding disc - for more information on how to use a braiding board like this one, take a look here.
