Cribbage Board MKII

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With the prototyping of my first version, I knew enough to avoid that for now and try something a bit easier and more process oriented.

It all begins with a search for ideas, and I found a folding version that offered some more manageable requirements of materials and time.

The "travel" folding cribbage board.

Only needs 3/4" stock to make and still holds the game pegs and a deck of cards.

Same general process as the first, make a prototype.
Learned a lot from that build, so this should be easy. Create the pattern for the laser and split the game over two sections.
Tape, etch and fill with mica filled resin.


Through the drum sander to remove the bulk of the excess, then the ROS to flush it up.

This being a prototype, part of my copious stash of red oak was called up.


Top done, now to drill the nearly 400 holes.
The pegs are spec'd for a 1/8" hole, about 1/4" deep. The laser etched pits are a 1/16" hole for help aligning the small bit in the drill press.
Any wood with strong grain will tend to deflect small bits so I used a lathe counterbore bit. Has a stubby business end and a bonus countersink capability. Perfect!
Run at about 3000 RPM to get the cleanest cut.

I did need to deepen the holes a tad more so another pass with a regular bit. Went really fast with these pilot holes already drilled.

On to the storage

Needs to hold a deck of cards and a bag o' game pegs. Also needs a mortise for the hinge, holes for magnets (used to keep it folded up), and holes to accommodate some feet so it can sit on a table for use without the hinge barrel scratching anything up.

The laser was called upon to create a template. I have some thin MDF from the back of a junky shelf unit which cuts quickly with the laser, Call this a "pre-template" or master template since the thinness wouldn't work well with router pattern bits.

Double sided tape to attach to a piece of 1/2" BB plywood which becomes the working template.
A "bowl" type bit was used to clear out the pockets. 3/8" deep on each side.
You can see the larger diameter holes for the magnets and the smaller holes for the feet. The hinge is sitting in its mortise.




Here you can see the magnet centered in the game peg pouch recess. The metal pegs in the bag keep it all in place.
The feet are gum drop shaped and are epoxied into recess holes 1/2 the depth of the foot height. The opposing holes are the same depth and lets the game fold up without the feet keeping it partly open.



Magnets epoxied in and it all works well enough!

Time to make a few more "production" versions.

I learned a few things from the prototype.

  1. the feet fall off
  2. if the cards are not in the box. they could slip out.

For #1, I found that some glass table top "bumpers" are a perfect solution. No gluing, and a simple hole on one half and the relief on the other.


For #2, I plan on ditching the router bowl bit and just making the recess sides straight. I'll then add walls that mesh into the top when closed (like the lip on a humidor). This will trap loose cards inside.
Didn't make that fix for this production run.

New pair of templates made and having a pair means I can route and drill the games top and bottom without swapping out templates and changing bit setups.


Three additional games made.

Walnut



Cherry

(messed up keeping the grain continuous from each half)



And lastly some heavily fumed QS white oak.



Thanks for looking!

33 Comments

Sooooo many details!  Your work always amazes me.  
Yes exquisite details making a very nice board.

Ron

 
 
This picture shows some extra(?) holes near the feet. What are those for?

"Duck and Bob would be out doin some farming with funny hats on." chrisstef

Thanks everyone!

Duck, since the feet sit proud of the surface, they need somewhere to go so the board will fold up flat.
You can see this alignment best by looking at the feet positions next to the hinge.
(side view)
Beautiful, precise work, Splint! Those numbers were a great find.
Looks good to me, well done!!

You can have my girl but don't touch my hat! Lyle Lovett

That is a well thought out project. Nice job!
Thanks an excellent design, with the cards & counters inside !
I have so many fond memories of playing Cribbage with my grandfather as a teenager...

Life’s Good, Enjoy Each New Day’s Blessings

Like Steve said, well thought out and detailed design work. Great looking cribbage board. 
Very nice!   Great Job...

Mike


Another great job Splinter...  made me break out in a sweat just reading what had to be done... 400 drill holes... twice... sheesh!
Like your "hide me" recesses for the feet.  While I probably will never play a game of cribbage those bumper pads (with the necks), will at least be something I will take with me... those "normal" stick on suck... actually not enough (sucktion).

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD

I don't even play Cribbage, but I want me a travel board. :-)

Now the offset holes to house the feets, did you think of that before? Or was it an Ahhhh Man kinda moment? 
Thanks guys!
These came out better than expected, but not being a player means I can move them out and not have to make any more if they don't sell. Still a lot of labor, but $$$ on places like etsy for similar so will see!

Yes George, amazing enough I had some idea that I'd need to figure it out. I had the plan to epoxy them into the holes (versus just applying to the surface where they'd fall off). Turns out they still managed to turn and run.
The new versions are going nowhere. For the proto I just filled the hole flush with epoxy and drilled the hole for new buggers. #9 drill and the hole still went into wood some so very solid. Don't really like the opposite hole for clearance (looks odd), but since it doesn't show when closed or in use, meh!

 SplinterGroup
.... Don't really like the opposite hole for clearance (looks odd), but since it doesn't show when closed or in use, meh!

Flock it!... literally, and extend it to the cavities for MK III... that way it won't look as much "out of place"... I still like them, but like SWMBO, no one gives a shit about my opinion.

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD

Flocking would be great, but, I wanted the hinge to be hidden as much as possible so that means the barrel sits 1/2 of its diameter below the surface against the table so it will clamshell closed flat.
If I went with SOSS style hinges poking out the back, then maybe flocking would make for a nice surfacing.

We ALL appreciate your insight LBD! (except for maybe your dress code, but to each his own! 🤠)
Nice boards, Splint!

May you have the day you deserve!

Nicely done! Great detail. 

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Great idea...may I borrow your design sometime??? Using both halves for storage makes for a thinner board which I what I'm trying to get!!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Dave, Ryan, thanks!

Hi Jim, go for it. I copied the basic design from others with the same goal you are after 😬
Couldn't see using nice 6/4+ wood for something that has only one surface that gets looked at.
Awesome that you "saw" the need for holes, or something to hide the feet into. Pretty sure it would have been an Ahhh Man moment for me. But even from the get go, you were thinking, and I agree why use more expensive stock on something that didn't really need it. Well planned, and executed. Still too many holes to drill for me though. Screams do me on a CNC. 

Duck, that's not true... We all hang on every word you say. Hehehehe