I am one of those nerdy board gamers. I saw Tom Vasel (see dice tower videos on youtube) do a review of the Crokinole Board that Mayday Games is now producing.
First, I had never even heard of Crokinole before I saw the review.
Second, the Mayday board only got mediocre reviews.
Third, after visiting the Hilinski Brother’s website I realized that I more than have the technology to build these myself.
Foruth, the game just looked fun… and after having built and then played this board it is a lot of fun.
Please check them out. I owe much of the techinic to their step by step “how we build” page
http://www.hilinski.net/woodgames/index.html
So I did…
Main Board.
1/2” baltic birch plywood covered with left over figured Sepele veneer from the dresser project. I decided on the radial layout as it lent itself to the game board line pattern and actual gameplay. The lines are cut using a v-groove bit in my palm router attached to a circle cutting jig then later filled with contrasting wood putty or in this case just filled with the clear coat as I was applying it.
The board has 10 coats of glossy polyurethane cured for 1 month then rubbed out to 4000 grit Abralon then waxed. The discs (see my next project post for the matching disc holder) slide across this thing like butter on hot corn-on-th-cob.
The base, or ditch as they call it in the Crokinole world
1/2” baltic birch plywood with black acrylic paint which I later cleared with a few coats of glossy polyurethane.
The rail
1/8” oak strips laminated around the 30” diameter base board vertically. Per HIlinski’s instructions the first layer was actually tacked down to the base board with small nails every 2” for added mechanical hold down. Even dry 1/8” strips still have a fairly high spring load around this diameter. For added decoration I sandwiched some of that sepele veneer between layers of oak to give the top of the rail a pinstripe appearance.
The posts
decorative brass screws (#6) that have a piece of 1/4” OD, 1/8” ID rubber tubing around them above the board. (this adds bounce to the discs that I think add something to the gameplay, even though some would argue that the traditional wooden posts/pegs stay true to the origins of the game). I actually bought a kit from workshop supply for the posts which came with the brass screws and properly cut sections of the correct size tubing.
For stability I added 3 thick felt pads to the bottom. This also protects the dining table.
I finished the board by adding picture frame wire to the underside to hang on the wall. It doesnt look too bad as an art piece just hanging there.
Please check out the hilinski brother’s website. I owe much of the techinic to their step by step “how we build” page
http://www.hilinski.net/woodgames/index.html
See part 2 for the matching disc box.
http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/414551-196x130.jpg
