Folk crafts, a funnel and a grater

A grater scrapes products into fine pieces. It can be made from a drink container of moderately hard aluminium or tin; a very soft container will not do. The flat usable part of the container is cut out by the master or teacher without sharp edges, and all its edges are folded over and smoothed. On this part, equally spaced parallel lines are drawn with a marker, then lines perpendicular to them; the points where the lines cross are drilled. The number of points equals the number of rows times the number of columns. The master or teacher drills the holes with a hand drill, with the piece clamped to a wooden board. Rough burrs are smoothed with abrasive paper and metal bits are rinsed off with water. Then the edge of every hole is bent to one side at the same angle with the back of the bit, forming a sharp tooth. If the angles are unequal, the food passing through will not come out equal in size. This is a risky job: metal edges cut skin, so cut-resistant gloves are worn, work is supervised by an adult, and the finished grater is kept for study purposes. Such a home-made grater is a study model and is not used for food: the can’s inner coating and tiny metal bits could get into the food.