Hi Guys,
I hope you don’t mind me trudging in here from the Tavern over at Breaktime… I cleaned my boots off before I came in.
Here’s the deal…
I have a client that wants me to build a custom scrabble board for his wife. It will be a board atop a box with a drawer and the enitre assemble will rotate on its base.
So far we have hammered out a nice plan to put this together but he wants one thing that I am at a loss for an idea on how to best provide/implement. On his home scrabble board, the play surface has a grid incorporated into it to keep the tiles in their place if the game board should be moved. He wants something like that in this project as well. Problem is that I don;t have any great ideas oh how to provide it.
the play area will be a flat surface with hand-painted grid lines and stamped lettering in the play squares reading “double-word score” and the likes. The idea of trying to affix fine strips to the surface to provide the grid seems unrealistic and potentially ugly.
I’ve also thought about the idea of adding pins to the reverse of each tile and holes in the board but that seems like it could be just as ugly.
We did once think that perhaps I would compose the gameboard of many individual tiles of differing species of wood… maybe that concept can be revived in a manner that helps me solve this dilemna. For those of you not completely familiar with a scrabble board, the game area is composed of 225 squares.. which, in this case, would require 225 separate squares be assembled to complete the play area…. which also means there are 16 lines across and another 16 lines up/down for the grid.
Anyhow, your thoughts on this matter will be greatly appreciated.
Replies
Pete
Thinking about it, I suspect you might find it a workable option to use the same approach as you would when making a chess board, which would allow you to glue a fine cock-bead between the sections. I imagine that it wouldn't be too much trouble if the beads were first glued to one side of the strip stock before cutting the tiles (in much the same way that you might lay up inlays). The chess board approach to construction would also allow you to use different colored timbers, which could look great.
Have you thought of using a number punch to mark each square with the score? I imagine that they would stand out ok when filled with polish, but could be made to look even better if they were filled with a colored epoxy to contrast the timber used and then covered with a clear finish to smooth it all out and give some depth to it.
Another approach to the board construction might be to lay up the board using the chess board approach (to get the different colored timbers happening), then use a template (either an an egg-crate style of structure or something in a strip of 1/2" mdf would do nicely) and collet mounted in a plunge router to form your basic squares. You could then rout consistent depressions in the main board to form up the tile retaining edges. A 1/8 plunge bit would give you some nice rounded corners that could accommodate tiles finished with a 1/8 radius round-over bit. Come to think of it, that could be the better and easier approach.
Good luck with it Pete. Maybe you could post back the method you settle on and a pic of the result?
Regards,
AussiePete
Retirement is a lifelong opportunity.
My first thought was to inlay 1/16" or 1/32" contrasting wood in a grid pattern and leave them proud of the surface. Then I wondered about those thin fragile edges sticking up and could imagine some of them breaking off over time. So what about inlaying something that's not wood? Like maybe brass?If you build it he will come.
Brass might be nice but the look of wood is nice too. I don't think I would have the wood showing proud more than 1/16"... likely even less. Just enough to give some hold to the pieces so they don't slide around.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Brass would be good, as would pewter or even silver, but for mine either ebony or something in the rosewood family, say cocobolo would look stunning and they would be tough enough to last a good long while. Imagine a lovely red cocobolo contrasting the lighter timbers.
If you decided to opt for a method of trenching the main board and then inlaying the borders you might want to consider using an egg crate approachto get a perfect fit. I bought a Wood Rat machine several months ago (great machine by the way) and in the manual they give a really reliable method of achieving really good fit in small scale work. Page 39 of their manual, which you can downlaod from the Woodrat site http://www.woodrat.com/manuals.html it is all pretty easy with the WoodRat, but I suspect you can achieve good results with what you have following the same principles.
Good luck.
Regards,
AussiePete
Retirement is a life long opportunity.
I think I had better go and smell some sawdust now.
I've thought about the idea to plunge rout each square but I fear that one error happening somewhere between divot number one and two-hundred-twenty-five is going to send me back to starting over. I can certainly guarantee the error will occur around divot 223. Although, it would have a nice look to it, especially with round-cornered tiles.
I won't entirely rule it out.... especially if I can find something to use as a template for the layout and router guide as you suggested.
the tile places on the board say something specific and I'll probably have rubber stamps made that I can dip in paint and stamp. it will not have a factory look that way and that's what we want. it will hopefully be imperfect enough to resemble handwork.
I'll definitely be posting pics.
the customer is offering a substantial amount for the project so I will have something nice upon completion.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Allow me to jump in here,
I second the use of number stamps to place the markings on the board.
From my patternmaking days, we would stamp the wood, and then rub a "paint stick" over the stamping filling it with a thick paint, and wipe off the excess. This left a clear marking on the piece. If you are using an open pored wood, put a coat of shellac on first to keep the paint out of the pores.
So, go to your local industrial supply and ask for a paint stick or two in various colors, we used black, white, and yellow, and have at it.
Today I work in Quality and still see the stamps on patterns and fixtures filled with this paint, so I am sure it is still available.
I had several in my box, so have a lifetime supply. And yes, after twenty years they are still good, although the dry "skin" is this thicker now.
Pete,
I have actually been working out in my head a very similar project to make for my wife for Xmas. I wanted to make a Scrabble gaming table (we play frequently) that we could use when we have friends over, and make the board itself removable for times when just my wife and I are playing while sitting on the couch. I too want the grid that will hold the pieces in place. I haven't tried this yet, and probably haven't worked all the details, but here is what I was thinking about trying. Maybe somebody else can chime in and help the both of us out...
I am planning on making the board out of 3/4" maple ply and making the grid divider pieces out of some thin strips of straight grain cherry, with solid cherry edge banding around the exterior of the board making up the outside edge of the grid. The strips are going to be notched out so that they fit together in a kind of lattice work, and that will sit into grooves I cut in the maple ply. It sounds like a pain to do accurately, but think I came up with a solution that makes it "automatic".
First I'm going to mill up some straight grain cherry to 3/8" thickness. Next rip off strips equal to the thickness of your table saw blade. If you have a scrap of plywood with a shallow saw kerf cut into it you can test fit the strips into the kerf and mess with the fence until the strips fit into the kerf without too much pressure. Remember, glue will expand the strips quickly, so a little looser might be better than too tight. Cut a bunch of extra strips in case you break some. You are dealing with thin strips of wood here, so be sure to use a tight fitting plate around your saw blade so they don't get sucked in between and use a push stick or follower block to push the strip all the way past the blade.
Next I will use a "boat" that I have for my tablesaw to cut the grooves in the plywood game board and to notch the cherry strips so they interlock with each other. The boat is just a panel of MDF that has a strip screwed and glued to the bottom that rides in the miter slot. Actually I use two strips that ride in the two miter slots on my table, one on either side of the blade. The "boat" has a fence attached to the front and back sides that is about 4 inches high.
For this project I add a temporary fence to the boat with a registration pin built into it. The temporary fence is going to be 3/4" MDF, 2" high, about 30" long. About in the middle of the fence on one edge I am going to cut a notch equal to the saw blade thickness in width and height. If I can find the right size square rod stock (steel) I will make my reference pin out of that, but will most likely just use some hard maple. Cut a piece about 1/8" x 1/8" x 1" (assuming 1/8" saw kerf). Glue it into the slot on the edge of the MDF so that it is flush on one side and sticks out 1/4" on the other.
I place this temporary fence against the rear fence of my boat and position the reference pin so that the distance between the edge of the pin and the blade is slightly larger than the size of the scrabble tile. Clamp the temporary fence securely to the boat.
For the board I start with an oversized piece of 3/4" maple plywood (see note below). Set the blade height so that it is a little less than 3/8" above the top of the boat surface. Set the plywood face down into the boat and slide it up gently against the reference pin. Make a cut all the way across the face of the ply. For the next cut, lay the plywood face down so that the groove you just cut sits on top of the reference pin, then make your next cut. Continue all the way across the board, then rotate it 90 degrees and repeat for the other direction. You should be able to avoid tearout issues if the slot in your boat is very close to the blade and you make sure you hold your plywood down tight against the boat surface (just not right over the blade please).
I suggested starting with an oversized plywood piece, because it is difficult to calculate the final size of the board because it will be a multiple of whatever spacing you used for your reference pin (including the pin size). By leaving it oversized and making one additional cut at the end of the panel, you can size the panel afterward by ripping it so that it just removes that extra groove. In my case, this also means making the whole board first, then calculating the dimensions for the rest of the table around it.
For the lattice work lower the blade height so that it 3/16" above the boat surface. Take each strip of cherry and place it on edge against the fence, sliding it up again to the reference pin. Repeat the process used above, cut, slide it over so the previous cut straddles the reference pin. PLEASE BE CAREFUL HERE. You are dealing with very small pieces of wood, so use a push block or whatever you need to hold things in place and keep your fingers away from the blade.
You will want to do the work with the reference pin (board and strips) all at once. It will be next to impossible to accurately reposition the reference pin later.
Now you can test fit and then start gluing in the cherry strips into the board. First lay in all the strips in one direction with notches up, then work in the other direction with notches down. Finish the board up by attaching some 1/8" cherry banding aroung the outside edge of the board, slightly thicker than your plywood to give you the same additional height as the rest of the grid.
Like I said, I haven't done this yet, so not sure it will all work exactly as planned, but it seemed like a possible way to "automate" the process and hopefully end up with a decent looking piece.
Let me know what everyone thinks...
Dwayne
Edited 11/11/2006 5:19 pm ET by dbailey
How odd that someone else would be planning the same type project. Who'd think such an item would be so popular.
We are on the same page mentally as I also thought about kerf & inlaid grid... but... I had it stuck in my pea-brain that I'd need to cut long strips and short strips for the alternating direction. Thanks for pointing out the idea of notching as it would make for a lot nicer final product.
My only concern is that the kerf would be too wide and might look odd but then again, it may be the best way.
I guess I could use a steel plywood blade for kerfs instead of a carbide tipped to get thinner... maybe I could even modify the blade thickness.
This game board will be more than just the board.... I will attach a profile pic that I drew up merely as a concept to send to the client. It gives a bit better idea what direction I am heading with this.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Sorry to post twice but I wanted to tahnk you for the detailed and lengthy post. Also the idea of a sled/jig for the slot placement and consistency is key. The more I think about it, the more I think this may be the way to go.
I might go out to the workshop (aka garage) and tinker with the idea in a mock up fashion.
Thanks again.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Sorry for the multiple posts but my brain is whirring along with ideas now.
I have a concern too as I am building this in my head now. I am going to have problems with gluing the strips into the grooves if any of the glue gets onto the face of the wood. I suppose I can get it off with a chisel and some care but I can see a potential problem with a lot of labor because the grid is proud of the surface and therefor will make it tough to clean the board surface... or am I just failing to see the light once more?
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Edited 11/11/2006 10:10 pm ET by PeteDraganic
No Pete, I don't think you are missing anything...I think you have a valid concern there. It's probably not something I would have thought about until I went to start cleaning out 225 very small squares...make that 900 small corners.
I guess I would just suggest that you use one of those glue bottles with the needle point tip on them. Then be very careful about how much glue you lay down in the bottom of the grooves. It'll probably be a bit of trial and error to figure how much you can put in before it starts squeezing out the edges, but the good news is you'll have lots of chances to get it just right ;-)
Another good thing is that it shouldn't take a ton of glue to hold the strips in place, you could probably get away without almost no glue, or even just spot gluing it. As a matter of fact, whatever you put on for a finish would probably seep in and do a pretty good job of holding it by itself, but still think I'd put in at least a little glue in the bottom. I'll probably rip the cherry strips a bit tighter than I was planning on originally with all this in mind. Still don't want to have to put a lot of pressure on them to get them in the groove, but definitely no slop either.
I like the idea of using a thinner blade. I think I have an 8" blade that is just a hair under 1/16" kicking around here somewhere. Though this does make the reference pin a bit tricky. The pin will be pretty thin so if you make it out of hardwood it'll probably break on you. Maybe you could make it out of metal by taking one or two pieces of bandsaw blade and grind/file them down and lay in the temp fence.
Good luck, Dwayne
Edited 11/11/2006 10:34 pm ET by dbailey
Edited 11/11/2006 10:47 pm ET by dbailey
Here's another couple of thoughts. Pre-finish the board then cover the entire thing with the widest blue painters tape you can find. Then route or saw through it to make the kerfs. After gluing the inlay into the board, wait until the squeezeout is skinning over some (dont let it dry and glue the tape to the board) and start peeling the tape out of the squares with an exacto or razor blade to get a corner lifted up.
And if you want to get REAL thin lines, you could use one of these
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Saws/Custom_Table_Saw_Fret_Slotting_Blade.htmlIf you build it he will come.
I've also thought about making a Scrabble board. You could use bloodwood for the triple word score, but the pink and two blues might have to be dyed.
I most like the idea of cutting a kerf and laying a piece of wood in that sits proud. The kerf and corresponding piece will be much larger than the printed divider lines on a regular board. Something to consider is to make the squares larger than on the original game board. It would require you making larger pieces for play, but you could make them out of a complimentary hardwood.
Instead of having long and short strips I was planning to keft the board one way, glue in the strips and then kerf it the other way and lay in full length strips. That way you never have to deal with installing tiny pieces.
jeremy
I made a jig last night and this morning I played around with some srap wood making the kerfs and then the insets.
It is really working great.
I cut kerfs in both directions in a piece of poplar
then I cut kerfs only one way in a strip of scrap mahogany flooring.
I then took the mahogany and cut it into thin strips so that each one will now have the kerfs running through them at regular intervals... flip on upside down and they all lock together so I can arrange them and insert them into my board.
So far I am finding out that not making them too snug is a good idea because once you get to fitting and adjusting 32 grid pieces, it gets a bit tough if they are snug.
if you laid them into the board kerfs only one way first, I'd worry about breaking one off or chipping it when trying to cut the perpendicular kerfs.
I'm pretty jazzed up over this project... I'm having fun with it already and thanks to those that have given me advice so far... I will post pics when I am done.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
I got the check yesterday and started this little project today after an extended visit to Rockler (they're always extended visits when I go there).
I laid out, cut and assembled the game face with the inlaid strips to hold the tiles in place as i described earlier. It went rather well and after only about 3 hours or so, all was together. Tomorrow I'll trim the excess board off and sand the tops of the raised strips to make sure it all blends perfectly.
I'm excited so far. I'll take pictures later.
The face of the game board is birch with inlaid mahogany strips. I will band the face with a mahogany border that has an inlay of bird's eye maple, which is the wood I am using for the carcass beneath. It should be a nice contrast. I found the most beautiful piece of Bird's eye at the store today.. a lot of great detail/figuring (or whatever other term is appropriate).
http://www.petedraganic.com/
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