PROJECT: Tabletop Shuffleboard Game

[Keith Starosta]

About a month ago, my 11 year old son and I were flipping through a couple of catalogs I had received that day. At one point, I got to a page that had a couple of "games" on it, and Nick flipped! He saw the following picture...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2131/2036218862_8464cbb37f_o.jpg

It's a tabletop shuffleboard game. He really like it, as did I. What I didn't like was the price, which was over $100. Later that night, I studied the picture some more, and told myself, "...you can do that!"

So, that's what I'm doing. :D

The overall dimensions for the game are 48"L x 18"W. I liked the way the darker wood looked as trim and accents, so I decided to use some of the walnut I had on hand. For the shuffleboard itself, I started with a 48"x18" piece of birch ply. I laid out dimensions for a groove down the middle of the board for the center bumper, and for the "gutter" at the end of the scoring area. At that point, I slapped a straight bit in the router, and went to work. Here is the result of that bit of work...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2036218930_7fe36df92e.jpg

Now that the initial routering was done, I started looking at the trim details. I figured that I'd go with a 3/4" wide trim piece around the perimeter of the board, as well as the center bumper. A couple of much thinner pieces of walnut are going to be used at the far end of board, and the facing of the gutter. Here is the collective molding and trim, all ready for final sanding...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2411/2036219246_0fb71a3bd0.jpg

So at that point, I had all of the major components of this shuffleboard table ready to go. Here is a picture of the dry-fit. Ultimately, I'm going to use a piece of green felt in the gutter. I didn't like the way the straight bit left the rough gutter, feeling that you would see the humps and bumps after the felt was applied. So I'm going to use a piece of 1/4" hardboard as a substrate for the felt. Even though it raises the gutter 1/4", it should look pretty good...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/2035423213_284809990c.jpg

Here are a few other pictures, showing some of the details of the board. Keep in mind...at this point, I've done no sanding, so you still see the saw marks where I nibbled away at the walnut trim...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2398/2036219076_c3bc980812.jpg

Another...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2340/2036219030_b677d80e75.jpg

...and finally...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2413/2035423051_18e1027905.jpg

The pucks for this game are actually what almost stopped me from tackling this project. I had no idea what I was going to use, or where I was going to get them. The problem was solved with the very first stop I made on the 'net. I found these at everybody's favorite online auction site...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2232/2036787721_83aeabae88.jpg

They are 3/4" wide, and 1/2" high. They're perfect for this application, and at $5.99/set, a decent deal. I bought two sets, because what are the chances an 11 year old and his buddies aren't going to lose a puck or two? :rolleyes:

I will definitely keep this up to date as I progress. I've got a bunch of finishing questions to ask, but will save them until I am ready. At this point, I am most likely going to make another of these boards for my nephew. He'll love it....

Thanks!!

Keith

[Rennie Heuer]

Very cool project! Can't wait to see it finished.

[Ned Bulken]

so you get duluth traders too huh?

very nice execution, especially finding the game pieces!

[Jeff Bower]

My uncle had a shuffleboard game in his basement and I loved to play with him and my brother. This looks really cool, what catalog was it in?

[Keith Starosta]

My uncle had a shuffleboard game in his basement and I loved to play with him and my brother. This looks really cool, what catalog was it in?

As Ned indicated, we saw it in Duluth Trading. I'm pretty sure it was the holiday edition.

[Keith Starosta]

Update: Saturday, November 17

---------------------

Before I talk about what I did today, I want to talk about a decision I made early this morning regarding the angle of deflection at the end of the board. I laid out this angle at what turned out to be 110 degrees. This was a result of what I thought "looked good", and not necessarily any thought toward a puck coming off the rubber band correctly. There was a question as to whether that angle was going to be too much, giving an undesirable bounce. Well, this morning, I grabbed a scrap piece of ply and laid out a 90 degree angle. After looking at this scrap on the board, comparing it the "inspiration picture", and imagining how the puck would come off at that angle, I made the executive decision to keep my original 110 degrees. Hopefully that won't bite me in the butt later. :eek:

So today, I decided that I was going to try and tackle something new to me, that being inlaying. I've watched a bunch of online videos and read a lot more threads on this subject, and since these were only going to be straight lines, figured that I could do it. I needed to layout and cut a total of five grooves; one for a "Foul" line, and four scoring cells. I was kinda fired-up to put into use a far underused tool, which was my Dremel. I cranked down a spiral straight bit, clamped down a straight edge, and went to town...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/2040854267_1c031a3c20.jpg

It went really smoothly at first. Then my concentration slipped for only a second, and I let the Dremel come away from the edge for a split second. :mad: It wasn't a HUGE deal, but was going to cause me to make the inlayed walnut line 1/16th wider than I planned it. Oh well. The process of plowing out all five grooves took about 20 minutes, only because I was trying to be as careful as possible. In the end, it looked like this...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/2040854329_aaaa771d1c.jpg

At this point, I got to "milling" the inlay material. To match the trim, I used scraps of walnut. It was a little tricky, and it didn't take me long at ALL to make sure LOML knew that a perfect stocking stuffer for me this year would be a good set of exacto knives. I did my best with the knives I had, and even managed not to slice into a major vein in my hand. :D After a test fit, I glued them in, making sure that I used enough pressure on the 2x4 cauls I grabbed. After the glue set, I grabbed a 1/2" chisel and cleaned up the inlay a bit...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2041651344_e9e8cece75.jpg

I managed to keep the number of times that I got over-zealous with the downward pressure, thereby slightly gouging the plywood, to one! BONUS! :rolleyes:

After cleaning up all of the inlays, I gave the playing surface a sanding, taking it through 120, 150, 180, and 220 on the ROS. The sanding process, and subsequent pressurized air I used to clean it off, showed me that I still have a lot to learn as far as inlaying, but overall...I'm OK with the way it looks.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/2041651362_70a00799c6.jpg


I am going to stain the game surface with a light colored stain, and then apply several coats of poly. For the walnut trim, however, I would like to use BLO. I love the way it brings out the richness in the wood. At this point, I'd like to get opinions as to final assembly and finishing. I'm definitely going to stain the plywood before I attach all of the walnut trim, but should I also apply the BLO previous to assembly, too? I'm concerned with messing up one or the other if I wait until after final assembly to finish it all. I'd really appreciate any comments or opinions.

Thanks for looking!!

- Keith

[Frank Fusco]

Wonderful projet. Sumptin' about kids. It would have been easier to spend the $100.00 but you are buidling a treasure. :)
BTW, what, exactly, are the 'pucks'?

[Keith Starosta]

Wonderful projet. Sumptin' about kids. It would have been easier to spend the $100.00 but you are buidling a treasure. :)
BTW, what, exactly, are the 'pucks'?


Thanks, Frank!

If you look at the last picture in my original post, you'll see a picture of the pucks. They're basically a ball bearing fitted inside a hard plastic ring. The bearing is fitted such that it is able to roll as it is pushed. I remember using them for different things when I was a kid. :D

- Keith

[Garry Foster]

I like this project. It seems perfect for the kid in all of us!.
Garry


PS
My Saturday project this week was finishing an air cannon and shooting it with my grandkids yesterday. Yes real serious stuff.

[Toni Ciuraneta]

Great project! I can imagine myself making one as well, I can't wait to see it finished!

Please let us know the results on the 110º angle, as well as the rest!:thumb:

[Vaughn McMillan]

Looks like it'll be fun to play, and that it's been fun to build. I also saw it in the Duluth Trading catalog and thought "there's something that could be fun to build instead of buy".

[Keith Starosta]

Great project! I can imagine myself making one as well, I can't wait to see it finished!

Please let us know the results on the 110º angle, as well as the rest!:thumb:


Hi Toni! Yesterday afternoon, I was standing in the shop, looking at the board, when my wife came out and asked what I was doing. I told her I was fretting over that stupid angle again, so she went back in the house, then came back with a couple of rubber bands, three pencils, and a big marble. We rigged up the rubber bands, and I sent the marble down the track. It hit the band on the right, deflected over to the band on the left, and went rolling down to track to the scoring area!! WOOHOO! :thumb: In the grand scheme of life, it's not that big a deal, but for this project, I was psyched. :D

- Keith

[Les Hoste]

Keith

Can you share with me which on line auction you used for the pucks, and did you use
the word pucks for the search. GOOD JOB on the game !!!!

[Billy Burt]

I like it, Keith. Nice little project that could easily provide years of fun for the family.:thumb:

[Keith Starosta]

Keith

Can you share with me which on line auction you used for the pucks, and did you use
the word pucks for the search. GOOD JOB on the game !!!!

Les, I sent you a PM...

[Ed Nelson]

What a neat project! Looks like it will be a lot of fun. You may want to take a look at Behlen's Rock Hard finish for the playing surface.

[Keith Starosta]

Update: Wednesday, November 28, 2007


A few family obligations, along with traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday, kept me away from this project longer than I wanted to be, but I'm back at it now. At this point, I'm ready to get all of the trim pieces glued up, and head into final sanding. I quickly realized that I am in desperate need of longer clamps. :( Being that the board is 48" long, and the longest clamps I have are 36", I had to use some CCP.....Creative Clamping Practices. :D

After letting it sit overnight, I unclamped it, slapped a 1/4" roundover bit in my laminate trimmer, and rounded over all sharp edges...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2160/2071303334_313c91ca9e.jpg

...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2270/2070508989_024e58efab.jpg


At this point, I went through four stages of sanding, to a final 220 grit. Some of the more cramped areas needed some hand sanding, which led me to realize that I had somehow let myself run out of sheets of 150 and 180 grit paper. :eek: 5-hole disks don't necessarily fold in half that well. DAMHIKT. This is the state that the board currently sits in...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/2070508975_6ea016644c.jpg


The only steps I have left to do are to purchase and install some maple doweling for the rubber band posts, then apply the finish. Based on the input of some well-informed woodworker friends, I've decided to go with Behlens Rock Hard varnish. While the pucks aren't going to be able to do a ton of damage to the surface and sides of the board, this will be primarily used by kids, so I want it to be durable. I haven't yet decided whether I'm going to apply a coat of BLO before the Rock Hard.

A few notes before I wrap it up for the day. I'll be making another one of these boards before Christmas, which is going to allow me to apply a few lessons learned, and for those of you that mentioned you might like to make one, they could help you, too. First, I will sand the interior face of all trim before I glue it to the board. Not that hand sanding was difficult by any means, but running the ROS over the walnut will certainly cut down on sanding time, which is not my favorite part anyway. :p Next, I will apply the green felt to the hardboard before I glue the hardboard down. I think this will give the gutter a cleaner look than having to apply an over-sized piece and trimming away the extra.

The one thing that I am probably NOT going to be able to do is inlay the text, indicating the "Foul" line, and the four scoring levels. At this point, I think I need to get the Rock Hard on the board to give it a proper curing time in order to buff it out to a gloss finish. I'm bummed about this, but one learning step at a time, I suppose.

Thanks for looking!!!

- Keith

[Stuart Ablett]

Keith it is looking great, and learning a few things as we go along is pretty much par for the course, as far as I know.

Why would you want to put the BLO on the wood, to "Pop" it?

It will really slow down your work, as it takes time to completely dry out and cure........ right?

Having fun watching you do this, so keep the pics and comments coming please! :wave:

[Keith Starosta]

Hi Stu! Thanks for comments!

As far as the BLO, yeah...I just wanted the walnut to stand out and look as nice as it can. From what I understand, and please...if this is wrong, correct me, but if I let the BLO sit for a day or two, then add a barrier coat of de-waxed shellac, I should be able to move forward with the Rock Hard. No?

Again, thanks for the encouragement!

- Keith

[Stuart Ablett]

Keith, I think you are correct, that a few days and it should be fine, but......... you just knew there was a "but" coming......... it depends on your local and weather etc. I would imagine in the middle of the summer in a hot dry place, a few days would be plenty, but in a cool humid place, it could take longer. So, if you screw it up, are you going to enjoy re-sanding all them pieces :doh: :D

I'd suggest you try some on a few scrapes you have laying around, wait a few days and give the scrapes a go, if all is well, get-r-dun, if not, wait another few days.

I was told by an experienced woodworker that the time to slow it down and take it easy is when you can smell the finish, nothing will make or break a project as much as the finish, screw that up, and it will not matter if you joints are perfect, or you dovetails are hand cut.

I don't use BLO much, as I had one bad experience with it, which was my fault for not knowing enough to let the BLO dry long enough.

Maybe some others with more luck with BLO will chime in.

Cheers!

[Drew Watson]

Ok Stu I am new here and guess feeling rather stupid but was does BLO stand for?

[Carol Reed]

BLO = boiled linseed oil

[Vaughn McMillan]

Ok Stu I am new here and guess feeling rather stupid but was does BLO stand for?
Carol answered that one, but if you have any other questions about mysterious acronyms around here, there's a list here.

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?p=68849


Hope this helps (HTH) - :wave:

[Drew Watson]

Thanks for the definition and the link Carol & Vaughn. Gee you would think I should have seen that one. Now I really feel like :bang::bang:

[Carol Reed]

Hey Drew, don't feel bad. There were probably a half dozen people out there who are glad you asked, because they wouldn't. You did them a favor. And you did us one as well. We can't give unless someone is willing to receive. So thank you. And that makes us all more willing to ask about something we don't know.

So there, good job!

[Stuart Ablett]

Sorry about that, I try not to use acronyms, but sometime I do :o

Don't worry about asking, I had to ask too, at some point, I remember also asking why everyone was calling these beautiful vases and such they were making "Harbor Freights" (HF) :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I get in real trouble here in Japan, as I've been here now over 17 years, and most of my non-Japanese friends are also long term guys, so when we speak, we often use some common words from Japanese, so we speak a kind of Engrish, or Janglish, funny, when you think you have been speaking English, but when you realize that the third person in the conversation just arrived in Japan and cannot understand some of what you are saying, you kind of do a :doh: to reset the "English" part of your brain, and get back to the conversation, leaving out the Japanese :D :wave:

Cheers!

[Corey Hallagan]

That is a real neat project Keith.. I think your son will love it!

Corey

[Keith Starosta]

UPDATE: December 21, 2007

---------------------------------------

Howdy, Folks!! I took some time last night to put together a rough SketchUp drawing of the Tabletop Shuffleboard. Here are some snaps from that drawing...


Here are the overall dimensions of the board. I forgot to place the dimension of the center rail. It is 36 3/4"L x 1"H x 3/4"W. It is centered in the board, placed in a groove that was routed 3/8" deep. It is butted up to the trim at the foot of the board.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2138/2126251509_5c7e92461f.jpg


Spacing out the placing of the inlays took a little trial and error. I finally got it set the way I liked it...based on nothing more than what I thought looked appropriate.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2127028494_7d5619d278.jpg


The gutter was hogged out using a 1/2" straight bit in my hand-held router. I will ulimately use 3M spray adhesive to apply a piece of green felt.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/2127028480_2230a4dc84.jpg


The notches cut into the walnut trim were nibbled away one pass at a time, using my shaky miter guage on the table saw. The dowels are centered in the notch.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2325/2126251517_064ed42b75.jpg


If anybody has has any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm really looking forward to starting the rubbing-out process this weekend. Wish me luck... :eek: :o

- Keith

[Keith Starosta]

************************
Update: December 23, 2007
************************

Well, I've got this thing about as done as I can get it.....without screwing it up, anyway. :D

Here are some pictures of the final product. My photography skills are...well, they're not good. Suffice it to say that the board looks a bit better in person.

After letting it sit for about 10 days after applying the Rock Hard, I rubbed it out using successive grits of 400, 600, 800, and 1200. Having never used paper with grits that high, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Halfway through 800, I was getting pretty concerned that I had done something wrong, because I wasn't seeing any discernable difference in the surface. But after I finished with the 1200, and then rubbed it out with a gray Scotch Brite pad, I was happy to see and feel that I had a very smooth, satiny surface. I applied three coats of Johnson's Paste Wax, which brought it too a satin finish...which is what I was hoping for. I have to admit, there is a bit of orange peel throughout the board, which sorta sucks. But my wife gave me the slap to the back of the head, and said that it looked awesome...which was good enough for me!! :D

Anyway, Here are some pictures...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2204/2131111086_828ebb1b84.jpg

....

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2075/2130331215_84df90be6f.jpg

...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/2130331401_70d2e9633b.jpg

...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/2131111284_007b53983f.jpg

...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2149/2130330769_fcf94c9f0e.jpg


And, as promised, I made a short YouTube video of the "playability" of the game itself. I think it came out pretty well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxY2z_xDsO8


Please let me know what you think. I've got a couple more of these to make now, so If I can make improvements, all the better!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

- Keith

[Art Mulder]

Keith, I'm with your wife. Fantastic.

But I want to know about the bumpers. How did you fabricate them? How do you tension the rubber bands? etc. That is the one thing about this project that I can't figure out.