Making counters for a backgammon/draught board

[B.O.B.]

Hi all!

I have recently completed a marketry backgammon board and am now looking to make the coloured circular counters.

I don't have access to a lathe. I have a recollection of seeing a circular cutter similar to a forstner bit that cuts a circular plug with a profiled top into a flat board. The plug is then freed by ripping the board on a table saw. I have looked on Carbetec and Timbecon's website, but can't seem to find one.

Can someone suggest where I might find such a device or alternatively another methd for making round game counters out of timber?

Thanks

Bob

[dancameron0]

You can use a holesaw without a pilot drill, drilling partway through a strip of wood clamped to a drill press table. Take a strip of masking tape to anchor the disks and slice them on a table saw.

[keju]

this might be a silly question.... but why can't you just buy a broomstick ( cheaper then buying same size dowel) and slice it with either a scroll saw ? You can make a little jig to make sure they are all the same size.

Juvy

[joe greiner]

Not a silly question, Juvy. Apples and oranges. Pieces cut with a hole saw and ripped will be round, flat, and have strong cross-grain orientation. Pieces cut from the broomstick will also be round, but might not be as flat, and they'd have weaker long-grain orientation subject to cracking. In addition, broomsticks would likely be available in only one timber, and would have to be dyed for colour; using the hole saw on flat timbers could exploit natural colours of the woods instead.

Cheers,
Joe

[keju]

would have never thought of that..... I'm always thinking "small/tiny" where things like that don't matter much. Learned something...

Juvy

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

You got a scrollsaw? You could make a circle-cutting jig, much like one would for a bandsaw, but scaled down. (I wouldn't like to use a BS for this, as you'd need a very fine blade to get a good radius and I just don't like the idea of having my fingers that close to a BS blade all the time.)

Hmmm... Or possibly you have a linisher? That'd be even better! Imagine a jig that clamps to the linisher table, with a hinged arm towards the sanding disk. In the free end of the arm, drive a sharpened brad all the way through to act as a pivot/pin.

You'd position this jig so that the nail is exactly the radius of a finished draughtsman away from the sanding disk, place a small square blank of wood so it just touches the sander, then close the jig's arm, allowing you to rotate the square about the pin, grinding it into a disk.

Much more finger friendly than a saw, now that I think on it.

Of course, you'd need to sand the face of the disk to remove the mark from the pin, but that's just a minor detail.

[B.O.B.]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I found a piece of Tassie Oak dowel 32 mm dia and wrapped it in blue tape before cutting it on the mitre saw. The tape did a good job stopping tear out.

I put a small chamfer on the edges with my sanding attachment for my drill press. They turn out well.

Now all I have to do isfigure out how to make them two different colours without painting them. I was thinking of lime washing for the white ones and dark wood dye for the others.

Bob

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Now all I have to do isfigure out how to make them two different colours without painting them. I was thinking of lime washing for the white ones and dark wood dye for the others.

A cheap ebonising solution can be made by covering a pad of coarse steel wool with vinegar and leaving it for a day or two. (Ensure the steel wool is completely covered else the exposed bit'll rust and don't try to squeeze it out when removing from the vinegar, else you'll end up with filings in the mix that'll eventually rust. DAMHIKT)

Works best with a couple of coats, but I haven't tried it with Tas. Oak myself...