Every year for Christmas we encourage our children to make gifts for their gift giving needs. It’s really fun to see what each one comes up with. This year Gabriel made cribbage boards for each family in our extended family – and us, of course.
I’m going to share how he made the boards in this post but the template won’t be same for you since your board will be shaped differently, I’m sure. However, there are templates, game making instructions, and game playing instructions in the Handmade Wooden Games ebook.
He started with a cedar log that was actually cut down when he did his very first bee removal. He cut 2″ slabs from the log and removed the outer bark.
He then sanded it with a hand sander and waxed it with some beeswax using a drill and a polishing pad for a drill.
For the pegs, Gabriel found some vintage nut pickers on ebay and then cut them down to size using his dremel.
ok, Here’s the tricky part. There needs to be a total of 120 holes in 2 lines going around the board. Gabriel traced the board and then folded the paper into quadrants. Then he put 30 dots in each quadrant. Here’s a photo of his pattern, of course, yours will look different since the shape of your log will be different.
Drill the holes using a drill press or hand drill. Lightly sand and wax.
You can get printable game instructions here.
If you’re giving these as a gift, you might want to make fabric bags to put them in.
What are some of your favorite family games? Feel free to leave links to your game posts in the comments.
They look fabulous. I remember when you posted the picture last fall of him sanding them. Wow! What a treasure your family members have and what a gift God has given him.
Thanks Rachel! It was a little time consuming, but we all love them so much.
I love this! The wood is so pretty and will be treasured by everyone who received the game.
awww, Thanks, Patty. When he decided to make them I made sure he knew that’s what I wanted, too.
Don’t cha just love a homemade gift? It’s beautiful and will give family members so much pleasure.
We do love homemade gifts around here. Thanks so much for your kind words, Daisy.
Absolutely love it! I truly admire his creativity. I have been wanting to make my own board for some time now. I will be scoping out scrap wood this weekend now.
oh, Thank you Leisa! I hope you find just the right piece of wood for your project.
My father has passed on his love of cribbage to me and my sons. I will have to show my husband this project. I think it would be a great one for my children!
Thank you.
What a fun heritage. Carl’s parents introduced me to cribbage and I always think of them when we play. If you guys make some, I’d love to see pictures.
Those are very pretty!