I've made a boat shuttle!
And it is beautiful!
I'd contemplated making one when I first got my big loom, when I saw that they were outside of my mental comfortable spending zone.
There weren't any resources online I could find about making a shuttle, which honestly kind of surprised me? The best I could find was this website (link below), which looked into how shuttles had been made based off of some examples.
It was really helpful! But I was discouraged by the prospect of finding a good hardwood that would last, and while I knew that I could get my parents (and their tools) to help with the actual carving, I was kind of bleh about actually doing so, which on top of the wood issue made me even more wary.
And then I found a boat shuttle for a good price and the thought was forgotten.
Then my neighbors decided to cut down their oak tree, and I was like hmmm, because oak's a nice hardwood right? So my mom grabbed me a branch while they were cutting it down.
And I peeled off all the bark with my pocketknife, but my pocket knife really wasn't meant for wood carving so my thumb hurt and I got a blister and didn't finish, and the peeled wood just sat around for a bit.
I had a sudden burst of motivation today though, partially because I'd gotten help with the paintstick shuttles, and so I got my parents to help and we (mostly) did it!
The website was helpful in giving my an idea of what to do. After getting the general boat shape, we used a one inch bit to get our series of circles, and you can see the holes through the bottom from the bit, just like the website shows!
We then used a chisel to straighten the edges of the cavity! I then used a dremel to sand it, but that wasn't really working for the bottom and we couldn't find our sanding blocks, so . . . oh well.
It also still needs holes for the yard to come out and to mount the bobin on, but I'm so happy and proud! I did it!
