I have this idea for a chop cup that I'd like to run by you guys, namely a chop nut. I'm thinking a half coconut shell and a (or rather two) hazelnut. I have experimented with the hazelnuts and splitting them and glue them together again with crazy glue is no problem. A little polish and the seam is impossible to see unless you know it's there. And getting a handyman to gimmick the coconut shell should also be possible. A little paint inside should hide where the gimmick is 'implanted'.

I think it would look good and also be a little different. Any thoughts?

Tina

I like the idea. I have a coconut sitting on my table now that I bought for a hat load, and was thinking shell game shells. Do you have any thoughts on a final load for your routine?

It sounds like a creative idea that I think would work great. You might try putting a thin layer of wood putty over the gimmick in the coconut shell and sanding it smooth after it dries. If you then paint the inside of the coconut shell with a dark color as you said, you wouldn't be able to see even an outline where the m****t is. The toughest part of constructing this would be to get the gimmick in the coconut shell and the gimmick in the hazelnut shell to be the right strength. The pieces should adhere tightly enough so as to not fall apart accidentally, yet not too tight so that it's difficult to release them when you want to.

There are a lot of unique patter possibilities. For a serious or bizarre effect, this effect could be a ritual taught to you by a witch doctor or voodoo witch. The final load could be a creepy shrunken head or something. For a comedy approach, you could say that you first saw this in a rather seedy part of the jungle being done by a group of gorillas who were trying to sucker you out of your money using a sort of 3 shell game. Sounds like fun...

Very creative thinking on this one!

When I was trying to gimmick craft store oranges for a Chop routine, my problem was not with hiding gimmicks nor the gimmick's strength; rather, it was with the noise created when the hard surfaces clanked together (as when the hidden item dislodged). I couldn't muffle this talking and abandoned the idea.

Yeah, talking could be a problem I guess, didn't think about that. Maybe line the inside of the coconut with black felt or something instead of paint would work. Would need to experiment a bit. I always do my chop cup routine on a mat anyway so the hazelnuts hitting the table is no worry.

As for the final load I haven't really thought about it yet... A bunch of hazelnuts comes to mind but again talking would be a problem.

Tina

Felt lining should work good. Fitting to a concave surface requires a bit of playing. I used felt to line the "cubbies" of a billiard ball stand I built. The felt had to be pre-stretched first, and it fit nicely, even in the small, tight curves of my project. Also, I used sticky back felt, rather than a separately applied adhesive.

~michael

*lol* I love it! That could be hilarious.

Well, time to get a couple of coconuts and start experimenting

Tina

Does anyone know how long a coconut can be saved if it is not opened? Shelf-life??

Dunno. But I had a thought on felt covers for the inside: Flocking, like the stuff used for lining jewellery boxes &c. I use these coloured fibres that get "puffed" onto a glued surface, making a nice, velvet-like layer; there's a kit available at Rockler woodworking.

Next question: How to clean coconut goo from one's bandsaw after cutting open the nuts...

Personally, I like the idea of roughly painting the insides of the coconut shells rather than to glue in flocking or felt. It probably doesn't make much difference either way, but I think it would look a little more natural and less like props that way.

Leland,
As far as cleaning the band saw blade I recommend drilling a small hole in the coconut before you cut it, allowing it to drain the coconut goo. Then allow the nut to dry out a couple of days before cutting it with the bandsaw. I can't say I've ever tried this, but I think it might work.

In the event that the coconut still dirties the saw blade, you might try calling the cat. Maybe he'll think it's milk and lick the blade and table area clean (you probably want to unplug the saw first, though).

One of the guys in the local magic club uses clear latex caulk to muffle the sound of loading cue balls into his cups, for cups and balls. I would think that it would work for nuts.

How about a final load of shredded coconut?