Here's another deck loader that's relatively easy to make.

Let's start with what we'll need.

Skills Required:

Using a utility knife.

Using a drill or hand auger.

*A note for younger folks: If you decide to make this, please ask an adult for help.

Materials:

Black craft board, "Chinese" A4 size, which comes out to about 20x30 cm (instead of the standard 21x29.7 cm).

3mm round elastic cord.

A good, large utility knife.

Cordless drill and a 4mm wood drill bit.

As an alternative, a 4mm wood auger would also work and be safer for younger folks.

Fine-grit sandpaper.

File and wood gouge.

Metal binder clips.

Safety pins (preferably black).

Permanent marker.

Let's start by cutting the board.

The board (which I bought at the dollar store) measures 20x30cm.

Therefore, 20 divided by 3 equals 6.667cm.

Make the divisions with a ruler and pencil, then with a lot of patience run the utility knife over the lines again and again, about 20 to 30 times (it's better to take your time and not press too hard).

Little by little, it will cut perfectly.

You'll end up with strips measuring 30x6.667cm.

Take those long 30cm strips and divide them every 10cm, repeating the previous cutting process.

Ultimately, you'll have pieces that are 10x6.667cm.

Using fine-grit sandpaper, sand all the edges until they're perfectly smooth.

Now, make some marks, roughly as shown in the picture.

If you look closely, I've lined up the board with the grid on the cutting mat to give you a measurement reference.

Using an awl, mark the four spots where we'll drill holes, then secure the board.

4mm wood drill bit.

Drill the holes.

Be careful not to drill too fast to avoid splitting the wood on the exit side.

It can also be fixed with a permanent marker.

Now, use sandpaper to start the grooves.

Wood sandpaper is better but in my case I didn't have such fine wood sandpaper, so I used metal sandpaper.

Then, use a gouge to complete the groove.

Now, using the permanent marker...

Grab the elastic.

And start threading.

Make a knot at the end. Tighten it well.

Then pull it taught so it acts as a stopper.

Measure it, more or less as shown in the picture, and then cut off the excess elastic.

You'll need to experiment a bit to get the tension you prefer.

Knowing the distance the knot needs to be at (where there isn't one right now, that's where you need to make it), pull the elastic to make it easier to tie the knot.

Once the knot is made, pull the elastic taut to where it should go.

Trim any excess from the knots, then tension the elastic as shown in the pictures.

Now we'll just need a safety pin and a binder clip to finish up.

I assure you that clip holds the deck's weight and handles tugs perfectly without coming undone.

At least for me, it works pretty well and doesn't come undone (sometimes it shifts a bit and I have to adjust it).

But to prevent it from moving or coming loose under pressure (if you yank on the deck like crazy 😅), you can secure it with polyurethane glue or cyanoacrylate (super glue).

And you're done!

It should be easy to understand.

However, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

All the best and happy magic!!!