If you are using a belt sander, use the flat of the sander to smooth all flat surfaces, and then use the round at the end to define the curves (photo 8). When you are sanding the two faces on the inside curve of the banana try to sand the joint between them so that they partially blend together. Bananas have only five sides and your wooden one has six. This will help with the shape. (Photo 9). Finish the sanding by hand and then apply one coat of sanding sealer to keep the wood clean.

Photo 8 Click for an enlarged view	Photo 9 Click for an enlarged view

Now comes the interesting part. With a pyrography pen, blacken both ends of your banana (photo10) and make some marks on the main body to try and make your banana more life-like (Photo 11). Again, no two pieces will be the same and you can apply a coat or two of paste wax on the finished article. Try putting a real banana beside a couple of your wooden ones and see if any of your family or friends notice the difference.