My Novelty!

 I've been making square pegs made from pieces of fronds. At first I was using regular wood, but it dawned on me that I had plenty of pieces of fronds lying around, and eventually realized that they are way easier to work with. The first peg I made fit perfectly into the groove I made at the end of a frond. I inserted the other end of the peg into another frond, that also had a groove at the end of it. Once I inserted the peg, both fronds were attached together to my surprised and delight. 

In the process of experimenting with the technique, I did discover a few things that enabled me to get better at making the grooves and pegs. I found that cutting the pegs a certain length and width, allowed them to neatly connect two fronds together. I went through a lot of trial and errors as I was  learning how to join the pieces of fronds as close to the way the Ancient Egyptians used to  build their boats.

Building the hull this way, eliminates the need to use glue, nails and screws. If you do find that you need to use them, you won't have to use so much. In my case I've wasted so much  glue while building The Auset Fronds. It wound up going places where I didn't intend it to go, like for instance on the ground. Then every time it rained a lot of the glue got washed off when the boat was left in the elements. Using pegs works so well because the peg will expand, which will cause it to be wedged in the groove.even tighter.

In the process of working with fronds instead of regular fabricated wood, I had to learn the best way to work with the fronds in order to be able to successfully build with them.
In the beginning I attempted to carve the grooves using carving tools, which was a very hard and slow process to say the least. I stabbed my fingers on a few occasions because I wasn't wearing gloves. After getting stabbed a 3rd or 4th time, I started wearing gloves regularly. I also started using my power drill make the grooves, and not only was it easier, but it was also way faster to make them.
The novelty is seeing an idea take shape while battling the doubts about a goal you're trying to accomplish that's not presently being done. Not to leave out being African American and a female. I started building the Auset Fronds because I wanted to see an idea I had for a very long time finally materialize.