คราด (khrat) — a Hardwood Beam, 10-15 Pointed Teeth and Bamboo Shafts, Raking Ploughed Soil Fine

"The teeth are shaved into spikes about 30 centimetres long, thick at the base and tapering to a point where they scrape the soil; the base of each tooth is driven into a hole drilled in the beam; the holes are dressed square with a chisel, and the base of each tooth is hewn square too." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author สนม ครุฑเมือง (Sanom Khrutmueang), CC BY 4.0)

Use a hardwood board such as mai daeng, pradu or teng and plane it smooth. Bore 10-15 holes through to the top, well spaced, and square them with a chisel. Bore two more holes for the handle posts and two for the shafts.

Shave wood into spikes about 30 cm long, thick at the base and tapering to a point. Hew the base square and drive it into a hole of the beam; if it is loose, drive in a wedge.

Tenon two posts into a handle almost as long as the beam, and round the handle. Put the base ends of two bamboos 3-5 metres long into their holes in the beam, wedge them tight, and join their tips together in a pennant shape.

Real photos of a คราด (khrat) (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author สนม ครุฑเมือง (Sanom Khrutmueang), CC BY 4.0)

Tie a rawhide rope (nang hua khrat) or a thick rope to the tip of the shafts and lash it to the middle of the yoke of an ox or buffalo. Let the teeth scrape the ploughed soil loose and crumbly. To scrape deeper, press down on the handle or stand on the beam. The khrat can also level the ground.

A khrat for one ox or buffalo is small with few teeth; for two it is longer with more teeth. In some places iron is used for the teeth instead of wood. Today iron harrows and walking tractors are used instead. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "คราด" (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source gives neither the spacing of the teeth nor the size of the handle.