Mini Wooden (Ash) Snowshoes

I made these a while back, and just found them again. Easy, inexpensive and fun to make , as a gift or a Christmas Tree Ornament..

 Get some wood, I have ash, pine, cedar, hickory, maple , oak, on my property. I chose the traditional snowshoe wood ASH. Now split or cut a thin strip about 12 inches long by 3/8" wide by 3/16" thick.

Take a strip of wood (ash shown here) and place over a pot of hot boiling water. It will slowly soften and you can carefully start to bend it to shape. Go slowly, have patients or it will snap and splinter at the bend. Maybe 20 min. to really soften. Depending on its thickness. When it is bent, shape it over a round pipe, or jar, or anything round, clamp it or tie it on and let it cool! The shape it dries in will be your snowshoe shape. 

Mark your holes on the outside to drill holes for the sinew, string, yarn or what you choose to use to support the mesh (onion bag or fruit bag from produce store). Cut the two small cross braces  from scraps of a strip,  being careful to allow for the tapered tabs on each end. Also mark and drill these as shown in the pictures.   Now, see the cross brace notches marked on the insides? Notch these out just deep enough so the cross braces pop in. You can glue them later if you like. 

My Dremel Drill, I would be lost without it!

Place  your two wooden cross braces into the inside notches, clamp the shaped wood snowshoe strip together at the tail end, cut 3 pieces of mesh to size (see pictures) and sew in your mesh .

Many bags in various colors and mesh sizes are available when you buy onions, avocados, cherry tomatoes, limes, to name a few!

Your ready for a wintry walkabout. Enjoy mate.

Cute but rascally!