Having posted a seven-strand braid, I thought I'd post an eight-strand weave I learned at the same time.
This one is a bit tougher on the loom, so it really needs a wooden loom, instead of card.
This one is a bit tougher on the loom, so it really needs a wooden loom, instead of card.
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Signing UpStep 1: Making the loom.
The loom is a simple wooden disc, cut with sixteen slots. I used 1/4 inch plywood, left over from making boomerangs.
I used a hole-saw to cut the disc, and re-learned an important lesson - you get what you pay for.
The hole-saw cost a whole British pound (less that two dollars). The centre-bit didn't drill through the ply, it burned it's way through, because the bit was already blunt when it came out of the packet. As soon as the saw-blade reached the wood, the whole thing locked, spinning the ply out of my hand. When I clamped the ply, and tried again, it spun the drill out of my hand!
Going slowly, I eventually wore through the ply. If you look at the photos, you can see that the edge of the hole has a 45o chamfer on it, because the blade vibrated so wildly.
Anyhoo, I eventually produced a ragged-edged disc, and threw the hole-saw in the bin (recycling bin, though, so it's not a total waste...)
Using my rotary tool, I cut sixteen equally-spaced slots around the edge, measured with a paper protractor (see the next step), and smoothed off the edges and central hole to make it more comfortable to hold, and to prevent the yarn snagging.
I then used a coat of sanding sealer to keep out skin-grease, and to show up the plywood's various grains. If you use sealer or varnish on yours, run a scrap of paper along each slot to stop stray drops drying in the wrong place and blocking the slots.
I used a hole-saw to cut the disc, and re-learned an important lesson - you get what you pay for.
The hole-saw cost a whole British pound (less that two dollars). The centre-bit didn't drill through the ply, it burned it's way through, because the bit was already blunt when it came out of the packet. As soon as the saw-blade reached the wood, the whole thing locked, spinning the ply out of my hand. When I clamped the ply, and tried again, it spun the drill out of my hand!
Going slowly, I eventually wore through the ply. If you look at the photos, you can see that the edge of the hole has a 45o chamfer on it, because the blade vibrated so wildly.
Anyhoo, I eventually produced a ragged-edged disc, and threw the hole-saw in the bin (recycling bin, though, so it's not a total waste...)
Using my rotary tool, I cut sixteen equally-spaced slots around the edge, measured with a paper protractor (see the next step), and smoothed off the edges and central hole to make it more comfortable to hold, and to prevent the yarn snagging.
I then used a coat of sanding sealer to keep out skin-grease, and to show up the plywood's various grains. If you use sealer or varnish on yours, run a scrap of paper along each slot to stop stray drops drying in the wrong place and blocking the slots.
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If you have a rotary tool (read: dremel, which you should) you can make a jig to spin the dremel around an axis (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAeah6fRBHI), or you could just use a piece of string or wire tied to the guard of the dremel; as long as you keep constant pressure on the string, and use a good tight knot, it won't get caught in the bit. You can also easily make jigs that attach to a band, coping, or jig saw.
If you have a drill press, you can just buy a rotary tool cutting bit and put it the drill press. Drill a hole in the center of your board, loosely screw it in to a sacrificial backing board, clamp the backing board to the drill press table, lower the press until it's through your good board and barely cutting the sacrificial board, lock the drill at this depth using the adjustment on the crank, then spin the good board until you have a completed circle. If using a drill press, just go slow, as the chucks aren't really designed for lateral forces, like a mill spindle.
Mark a cross from the points and drill at the center.
Make marks on each side at 1/3 intervals... (two marks on each side)
Cut from the outermost mark on each side to the closest one on ajacent sides.
You will end up with an 8 sided piece. Close enough to even not to matter.
Make 2 notches on each side... 16 notches.
Bevel, file or sand to smooth work, and coat as instructed above.
Voila! No hole saw needed!
If you're only planning on making a few, though, a circle of card will do the job perfectly well.
I had a blunt bit of a hard-to-find size (super-tiny) that wasn't even drilling into hard plastic, but after some careful grinding (on a sharpening stone), it was going through the plastic and INTO the hardwood block underneath(!). In a pinch, it even works for salvaging broken bits.
If you do regular drilling, it's worth learning to sharpen your bits, because this helps keep them drilling like a dream.
Thanks for the great instructable!
>K<
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Oh, I almost forgot - welcome to Instructables!
I think its Knot not Know- I dont want to sound mean i just wanted to let ya know. :-)