Introduction: Wooden Rebound Game
I saw one of these on the internet, and thought, I could make one of those. So I did. And this instructable shows you how I did it (with a little help from my friends).
There are a few differences between my game and the plastic one.
1. Mine is made from wood.
2. Mine looks a lot better.
3. Mine is a lot bigger.
4. Oh forget it... My point is that mine is better in every way apart from the cost, and the portableness (is that a word?) On with the instructable.
Instructables tip / Common sense: Read through the whole instructable before you make it so there are no bits that take you by surprise.
I'm not going to beg for your votes like other people do, but it would be appreciated if you just click the vote button on my instructable.
By the way, the reason that there are no photos of the making is that I made it in school, and I made it just over two years ago.
Step 1: Materials
My game is like a human. It has a main 'body', a 'spine' and other parts that have nothing to do with the human body. Anyway... this is what you'll need for this project.
The 'body': 121cm/47 5/8" by 46cm/18 1/8" by 1.8cm/??? MDF or for non-veneer method pine or another such wood.
The edging: width 2.5cm/1": height: 4.5cm/1 3/4" length 2 sets: 48cm/19" and 121cm/47 5/8" preferably a hardwood
Veneer: 121cm/47 5/8" by 46cm/18 1/8" pine or similar. small strips of other veneer, preferably different colours
Triangles: 22.5cm/nearly 9" by 25.5cm/10" by 2cm/3/4" rectangle cut corner to corner. Preferably same wood as edging
Spine: 93cm/36.5" by 2cm/3/4" by roughly 1cm/1/2"
2 thick elastic bands
About 10cm/4" dowel thick enough not to break when quite a lot of pressure is applied
2 circular rods of plastic of diameter 2cm different colours
12 ball-bearings
A strong wood glue
Step 2: Cut the Wood
You are going to need to cut four pieces of the edging wood, two sets. One set (as it says in the 'materials' step is 48cm/19" and the other, 125cm/49.5". The 'body' of the game needs to be 121cm/47 5/8" by 46cm/18 1/8". The plywood underneath needs to be exactly the same size as the body in the finished product, however, I would recommend leaving a small amount of 'safety' material. This will mean that if you get the cutting a bit wrong, it won't matter. Now, cut out a rectangle 14cm/5.5" (lengthways) by 23cm/9" (widthways) from one of the corners. This will give you the-pit-that-the-'pucks'-fall-down-if-you-push-them-too-hard AKA *imagine an epic voice* The Pit Of Doom. O.K I just made that up. I'm getting really sidetracked today. Anyway, remember not to cut the rectangle out of the plywood.
Further on and further up!
Step 3: 'Body' Attached to Plywood
Optional (recommended)
Hammer nails in through the plywood and into the 'body' at regular intervals. Use however many you think you will need to make sure it never comes apart.
Step 4: Veneer
Right. The hard bit (well I think it is). Adding the veneer. If you used solid wood, then you can skip this bit. I used two pieces of veneer that run the whole length of the game. Glue them on and trim off any excess. It is better to do this that have a solid block of expensive wood because obviously that would be expensive. I used MDF for the body and covered it with a veneer.
Optional (recommended for advanced woodworkers):
Well you could do it anyway but it's quite hard to get right. Where you deem the scoring zones should be (I did mine one 20.5cm/8 1/4" from The Pit Of Doom edge of the board, one 33cm/13" and one 52.5cm/20 3/4" from it), cut out a thin strip, roughly 7mm wide off the veneer on the board. Use a stanley knife (craft knife or xacto)(remember to cut so that if you slipped it wouldn't hit you) and run it along a couple of times lighter to make sure you have the line that you want before cutting the strip off the 'body' (remember to only cut halfway across the 'body' so you only get the scoring zone on one side!). Now, get another piece of veneer of a different colour and (making sure it has the right dimensions) glue it in its place. Repeat with different colours of veneer to get the effect of light to dark for the different scoring zones. Or you could just do the same colour veneer for each. Up to you.
Step 5: Edging
Step 6: Triangles
Step 7: The Pegs and Bands
Step 8: The Spine (or Backbone)
Step 9: Polish
Step 10: The 'Pucks'
Step 11: Conclusion
Suggestions:
Put some material in *epic voice* The Pit Of Doom to cover up the plywood.
If you used veneer, maybe put some along the edge of *epic voice* The Pit Of Doom to cover up whatever wood you used for the body.
Any suggestions below are welcome, any comments. If you are thinking of making this, or anything inspired by this, keep me updated on your progress and what changes/improvements you've made. It would be good to know that someone has benifitted from this instructable. Until next time...
Et be talk loik a poiret day whenoi publesh thes enstruct'ble
Translation: It was talk like a pirate day when I published this instructable.