Keith, I don't usually comment on project posts but I have to say that that is spectacular. Seeing your finished product makes me want to work on one for my kids today.
Keith, I don't usually comment on project posts but I have to say that that is spectacular. Seeing your finished product makes me want to work on one for my kids today.
"If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment."
That turned out beautifully, Keith. Very well done. Your son will love it.
Where did I put that tape measure...
Beautiful!
Keith, thanks for all the great info. and inspiration. I was in the planning stages for the same project when I came across your post.
As I built mine I did a couple of things differently. First, I was interested in building a more traditional tabletop shuffleboard as well as the bounce-back type. I then figured why not do both in one? So I built one on each side of the gameboard (I increased the sides to 1 3/4" width to allow the rollers to work on either side). I used 1/2" ply for the gameboard surface and dadoed it into the sides. I then glued 1/4" ply onto the reverse for the smaller traditional shuffleboard surface. Also, to simplify the tedious sanding process I decided not to notch the end of the playing board where the shooters are propelled. It doesn't appear to make any difference in the actual playing of the game. Also, I didn't cut notches for the dowel posts - but instead used a flat bottom drill bit to drill into the side rails. I glued the center rail in place which eliminated the need for routing the center groove. I also used screws to hold the rubber bands since I had some that seemed to work perfectly and wanted to make sure the posts would hold up to the pressure from the bands since I only used 1/2" ply. The most confusing thing was the angle of the rubberband deflection. After a lot of trial and error, I went with 90' and it works very well. I couldn't get proper deflection @ 110' (even though that is about what it appears to be in the manufacturers pictures).
On the playing surface, I used decal numbers and letters which worked fairly well (very minimal reaction with the game pieces). I also re-configured the point numbering (25, 50, 75, 100) to make it a bit more equitable and graduated the sizes of the point areas to make it more difficult to get the higher point value (each one goes down by 1/2". And using another poster's suggestion, I looked for a way to store the playing pieces. I decided on 1/4" X 1/16" rare-earth magnets. I inlayed the storage area (the area where the pieces go when you over-roll the game pieces) with a piece of a rubber placemat and then drilled 1/4" holes and epoxied the magnets in place. They work beautifully, even when the board is upside down.
Again, thanks for your inspiration - this is an awesome project! (sorry, some of the pics did not go through).