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TonyCan
377 posts
and
19 followers
in almost 10 years
in almost 10 years
Jenga
Has anyone tried their hand at a giant jenga? I was recently asked if i could make one i said sure, why not. Well it was a B!! I was not happy, i told the lady to take it try it and if she was not happy to return it, i was not happy with it. I was having trouble with some of the pieces. They would not slide easily. Here is my process, maybe some input and feedback would help.
I started with 2×4, and cut 54 10.5" pieces, i then sanded with my orbital sander, stacked, not happy, sanded some more with my bench sander, stacked, still not happy, ran each piece thru planer, flipped, ran other side thru planer, still not happy, sanded with orbital sander, still not happy. Gave up, called lady told her how i felt, asked if she still wanted, she picked up and has not returned them, i sent her a message asking how the set was, still no reply.
17 Replies
What is a Jenga?
Mike, an American living in Norway
woodworking classes, custom furniture maker
Make it out of Hard maple. Do all the steps of squaring up & sanding. The give it a few coats of laquare.
Jeff Vandenberg aka "Woodsconsin"
Thanks Jim. Do woodworkers have to play with a handicap? I think these should be made out of balsa to make sure the cat or dog doesn’t get killed.
Mike, an American living in Norway
Mike if they were balsa then they would have big bites out of them,that would make the game even more challenging :)
woodworking classes, custom furniture maker
SPF lumber from the local big box store would be difficult to keep straight and square the larger the piece. Most of the wood has a fairly high moisture content to start with and I imagine moves quite a bit over time. Small Jenga pieces wouldn’t matter too much but the larger the piece the proportionally larger the movement. Would be fun to make this out of well dryed maple with a good wax coat on it.
Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Thanks guys, but with the better wood the price would be too high. I only charged her $38. I spent about $16 on material.
How about MDF super light with a coat of wax and should be very precise in dimension .
Can you get MDF in 1.5" thickness?
Looks like up to two inch .
Here is a spec sheet link.
http://www.flakeboard.com/specs/Flakeboard_Premier_MDF_Specs.pdf
Tony no but just glue it up. However, if that mdf gets moisture its going to swell and throw the pieces off. You know the actual game is made of hard maple. Just make the large one out of the cheapest hard wood like ash.
Jeff Vandenberg aka "Woodsconsin"
My wife says you just need to drink a lot and then the game be played by drunk people because they’ll say its an awesome game. Lol…
I really think if you spray laquare the pieces they’ll slide better.
Jeff Vandenberg aka "Woodsconsin"
Great ideas but for the price I could possibly get for them, the options don’t seem cost effective.
I can see what you’re saying.
Jeff Vandenberg aka "Woodsconsin"
If it was personal use yeah the better wood would be the way to go, but keeping it under $40 just not possible.
None the less, it’s a pretty cool game!
Sounds like your pretty hard on your
talents.
I have been that way as well, I have finally
let go of that, and try to enjoy my builds.
there is rarely that perfect build, but as I progress, I am thankful that More of them are turning out unpefect, but really nice.
there’s an old axiom, an artist never knows when to quit…..
Steve Tow
Yeah Steve, i do like to strive for perfection. It does not happen but the drive keeps me in the vicinity. LOL.
