Cribbage Boards

Ever since my sister went off to college and learned how to play cribbage, the game has become a staple within my family. When we are all together, it is only a matter of time before someone inevitably asks, "Cribbage?" The only problem: none of us actually owned a cribbage board. Therefore, I figured the best holiday present I could get my family would be home-made cribbage boards.

Getting the Wood

Due to the durability and color, I decided to make the boards out of walnut. I found a company that would deliver "rustic milled" planks at a low price. This wood came directly from a mill meaning they were rough-sawn without any sorting or grading and could contain cracks and knots. It would be up to me to process the wood.

Modeling the Cribbage Boards

Before beginning construction, I modeled a board in Fusion 360 to verify my dimensions and found a DXF file online containing the necessary holes and lines to be etched into the wood. A model will also be helpful when programming the CNC router and laser cutter later during construction.

Cutting, Jointing, and Routing the Boards

My next step was to cut the single plank of wood into individual pieces that would eventually become cribbage boards. Using a table and miter saw, I cut the original wood into five pieces of the correct dimensions. Due to the rough-sawn nature of the wood, I also needed to run each piece of wood through a jointer machine. This cut a very small amount off the top and bottom of each plank, ridding the wood of its rough-sawn surface. Lastly, I routed the wood to cut the fillets into the top surface. After these steps, the boards were ready for drilling.

Drilling the Holes

To most efficiently drill the holes, I made use of the Cal Poly Machine Shop's new CNC router. Using Fusion 360, I programmed the CNC to drill all the holes according to the specs seen below. After completing a test run with spare wood I found in the shop and ensuring the router was properly programmed, I cut the holes into each of the boards.

CNC Specifications

IMG_3269.mov

CNC Hole Drilling Timelapse

(Apologies for shakiness)

Laser Cutting the Lines

To raster cut the lines of the cribbage board, I chose to use a laser cutter. I uploaded the original DXF file to Adobe Illustrator and, after some resizing, printed the file to the laser cutter (timelapse to the right).

IMG_3291.mov

Sanding and Oiling the Boards

The final step in creating the boards was to sand and oil them. I started out with a 120 grit sand paper, then switched to a 240 grit to get the wood super smooth. Lastly, I applied two coats of dark walnut Danish oil to the wood.

Making the Pegs

To make the pegs, I simply bought some small, bronze nails from the hardware store. Then, I grinded the tips off so that the nails would not stab anyone or damage the boards.

The Final Result

The goal of this project was to gain practice and experience in wood working, while also learning to use a CNC machine and laser cutter. While not every cribbage board I made came out perfect, I think each one is beautiful and the knowledge I gained while making them was invaluable. Plus, now my entire family has personal cribbage boards and we can play whenever we want!

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