Sewing Board Knot Instructional Boards

Introduction

Webelos and Arrow of Light Cub Scouts are required to learn 4 knots as part of activities to earn their rank/award: Square Knot, Two Half-Hitches, Taut-Line Hitch, and Bowline.  There are many knot board designs that for scouts with normal fine-motor skills and neurotypical development they can observe a demo or hear instructions and follow along. These boards have been developed to support scouts that need to work at their own pace and/or cannot manipulate the rope appropriately while learning.  It is believed that these boards would be of use for all scouts, just that scouts that are neurotypical or have developed fine motor skills will move on to tying the knots without support faster.

Each board uses the EDGE method to teach the knot

• Explain - Instructions are provided
• Demonstrate - A fully dressed knot and an example of how to lace the rope is provided
• Guide - A set of numbered clips and slots are provided to lead the scout through forming the topology of each knot
• Enable - The scout can use the provided rope to practice without using the numbered steps and clips.

Additionally, a left handed version of each knot has been provided.

Materials

• Hardboard (Both 1/8" and 3/16" thick are suitable)
• Red 550 Paracord (100' was enough to create 3 right handed versions of each board and one left handed square knot board)
• Blue 550 Paracord (100' was more than enough to create 1 left handed version of each board and 3 right handed square knot boards)
• PETG filament (used orange Prusament PETG, could use PLA but am assuming these boards will need to stand up to abuse and forces as observed during user testing)
• Modpodge (used about 1 cup for 16 boards)
• CA adhesive (recommend many small tubes with fine applicator tip)
• Hot melt glue
• Letter sized printer paper (apologies to our metric paper friends)

Tools

• 2" Paintbrush (used a chip brush throughout, a sponge brush would also be appropriate)
• 7/32" drill bit
• Power drill
• Scroll saw (could use oscillating tool, but cuts were not nearly as clean.  A jig saw with a small blade could also work.)
• Wet/dry vacuum
• Deburring tool
• Hole reamer
• Box cutter/Razor knife
• Butane torch
• Cutting mat/board with measuring marks
• Measuring Tape
• Circular Saw, Table Saw, Miter Saw, Jig Saw
• Hot melt glue gun

Manufacturing

Preparation for board fabrication:

1. Print full trays of the v7 rope clip to support the number of desired boards.
   • Square knot Board - 4 clips
   • Two Half Hitch Board - 6 clips
   • Taut-Line Hitch Board - 16 clips
   • Bowline Board - 8 clips
2. Cut hardboard to 8.5"x11" for each desired board
3. Print sheets of knot instructions for each desired board

Board Assembly

For each desired board:

1. Apply a thin layer of Modpodge to the smooth side of hardboard.  Brush first in one direction and then in the perpendicular direction (applicable for hardboard with two different surface finishes).
2. Carefully align printed knot sheet to board and roll the page to the board from one side, pressing with a knuckle as it lays down. If you have wrinkles, the layer of Modpodge was too thick.
3. Apply a second thin layer of Modpodge on top of the printed knot sheet.
4. Allow boards to completely dry per the container's instructions.
5. Use 7/32" drill bit and power drill with a spoil board underneath to drill all holes marked by a circle with cross inside. Use Wet/Dry Vacuum to remove dust as needed.
6. Where two holes are connected by straight lines, use the scroll saw or other cutting method to cut between the holes along the lines forming a slot.
7. Use the deburring tool to clean all holes and slots, on both sides.
8. Use the reamer to add a mild 45 degree counter sink to all holes on the printed side.  This will serve as a lead-in feature to insert the clips.
9. Remove all dust and loose material from all surfaces using the vacuum and razor knife if necessary.
10. Press fit a clip into every hole marked with a rectangle.  The rectangle shows the final orientation of the clip's base. Best results were achieved by pressing a corner of the clip into the hole at an angle and rotating the clip.  Significant force is required.
11. Clean boards of dust or debris with a damp paper towel as needed.

Application of Example Knots

Batch up each type of knot you're making boards for.  For each knot

1. Thread the matching color paracord through the first hole and pull through enough slack to trace the steps.
2. Trace the steps of the knot using the pulled through cord.
3. Hold the end of the cord at the last step and slowly work the slack out of the line using the printed cord as a guide.
4. Pinch the cord on the back of the feed hole and remove the cord from the board.
5. Cut the cord at your pinch point and use the butane torch to fuse both ends, pinch both while hot to keep from bulging.
6. Measure the cut length and cut an additional cord for each board of that knot type in the matching color. Set the practice cords aside.
7. Add three inches to the measured length and cut and fuse a cord for each board of that knot for practicing. Set the practice cords aside.  If you're doing a large number of boards or of different types it would be helpful to label them or I tied each set in the example knot to keep them together.
8. For each board tie a dressed knot of the appropriate color for each board.  With the exception of the square knot, it's easiest to tie the knot and dress to fit in the box, then cut the connected end and fuse both. Set these dressed knots aside.
9. For each practice cord of a given type, start from the feed in hole and tack the cord to the printed line and clips using CA adhesive. About every inch is sufficient except where the cord is turning tightly.
10. Wick CA adhesive into the joint on both sides of the clips on the practice section of the board.
11. Place the dressed knot that matches the board in type and color in the appropriate box and tack with CA adhesive.
12. Repeat steps 9-12 for each board

Seal the Example and Dressed Knot to the Board

1. Apply a thin layer of Modpodge over every board.
2. Carefully make sure each cord and dressed knot is saturated and has glue along the length of the cord on both sides.
3. Remove any excess from the cord, board, and clips. A shop towel and disposable chopstick are helpful with this step.
4. Allow boards to completely dry per the container's instructions.

Attach Practice Cord to Boards

1. Preheat hot melt glue gun
2. For each practice cord, tie a tight overhand knot in one end of the cord as close to the end as possible. Pull very tight.
3. Thread each practice cord through the back of the appropriate board being careful to match the correct knot type and cord color.
4. For each board
   1.  Pull cord to side of feed hole on the front side of board with the overhand knot firmly against the back of the board.
   2. Press tip of hot melt gun into hole and carefully fill, but not over fill with hot melt glue
   3. Remove the tip and clean any “threads” or excess glue.

Finished Knot Boards

Square Knot

Two Half Hitches

Taut-Line Hitch

Bowline

Optional storage

16 + a few spares fit in landscape orientation in a 72 qt tub.  The boards are held by a ¾" thick piece of plywood with ¾" wide pieces of ¾" plywood glued and bradded with ¼" spaces. I Gorilla glued the holder to the bin.

This project was part of a Wood Badge Ticket Goal item.