Hello Frank, I just found your posting regarding table skittles with a lid. I am looking exactly for something like that - table skittles that can be out away and one does not loose anything. Your posting suggests that you make them yourselves. Do you still make them and would you make one for me? I am looking to find someone who can make this for me. Initially one set as I want to pilot it at care home. If I can get it made at the right price and the pilot works I would market it to other care homes. Is this something you would be interested in?

Joanna de Groot-Marzec


On Monday, 17 December 2001 20:25:05 UTC, Frank McVey wrote:
Hi Greg,

Coincidentally, I've just finished my 4th set of Table Skittles (aka "Devil
among the Tailors" here) on the trot. It's a nice job to do, with a bit of
everything for the woodworker, but I hope I don't see another for a while!

I haven't seen any "official" dimensions, but here is the description I made
of an old set found in The Nag's Head at Saltby, Leics.

Basic box - shallow rectangle

Sides pine, 4" x 1" pse 22 x 40" (outside dims) dovetailed. I make the
bottom dovetail secret mitred to cover the rebate for the base. I suppose
biscuited mitres would be quicker, but I like dovetails.

Bottom, 1/2" ply screwed into the generous - at least 1/2" wide - rebates -
don't glue it, since you may have to change the green baize one day. It
isn't really green baize, since this is prohibitively expensive nowadays - I
use forest green felt, glued (sparingly to prevent penetration!) on with
PVA.

Pin diamond - 9 1/2" square x 3" deep. The original was a small
upside-down box, but I find it quicker to use solid 4x3 pine glued-up.
Easier to screw to the base-board as well. I run a small 1/4" moulding
round the top with a router. The pin diamond is on the centre-line of the
box 14 5/8" away from the player's end - ie level with the c/l of the pole.
Point towards the player, of course. I use brass upholstery tacks to mark
the pin-spots - fit them about 1/2" in from the lip of the moulding, and
use a wooden mallet to prevent marring the finish.

Pole - 42" tall. Straight broomhandle looks boring. I used a cut-down
snooker cue for the first (don't saw through the steel weight in the butt
like I did!) and turned the others out of ash on my lathe. I screw a
redundant router bit bearing (3/4" dia) to the top of the pole with a no 8
csk woodscrew (predrill to prevent splitting). Use a couple of very small
washers underneath so the the bearing doesn't bind on the wood. Attach the
string (fine brass chain looks good, but isn't strong enough for pub use) to
the bearing with a 1" hose clip - easy to change the string. The pole
fastens to the LH side of the box 14 5/8" from the head end (ie the player's
end.) I drill all the way through and fix it with 6mm stainless
coachbolts - don't use woodscrews since the pole tends to come off quite
often for transport to various functions.

Pins - 3" tall, slim barrel shape - 1 1/8" dia in the middle, 1" at the
ends. I like to use a different hardwood for each pin - the last set was
beech, walnut, oak, elm, ash, sycamore, blackthorn, cherry and laburnum.
The balls were beech and apple ( I supply 2 off, a large one 2" dia for kids
and a smaller ball for normal pub use about 1 1/4" dia) The pins need to
have a countersunk depression on both ends to locate on the pin-spots.

At the player's end, about 6" away, I house (dado) in a 3 x 1 piece parallel
to the end to form a smaller box, and fit a hinged lid of 6 x 1 stuff, 1/2
proud, moulding round, to contain the rules, spare pins ( I knock off a
couple of spares), ball and counters for the scoreboard. I screw a brass
knob offset to the right for the handle.

The scoreboard is made of solid 16g brass plate screwed to the top of the
boxlid. I lay out mine like a crib-board, and it's a PITA, but people have
come to expect it. By the time you mark, centre-pop, pilot drill, fully
drill, countersink the rag off the underside, fit to the top, then drill to
1/2" depth some 120 holes, you've carried out some 720-odd operations and
your eyes are crossed, and you swear that before you do another, you'll make
up a template in steel plate. But you don't have the time to save yourself
time! This job has to be really accurate as well, since the human eye is
very good at spotting a hole only a couple of hundredths of an inch off
line. Snippet - use a computer drawing package like CorelDraw to lay out
your crib board hole pattern. Use just small dots to represent the holes..
Print out a squillion copies and any time you have a board to do, stick it
to the brass with Photomount spray adhesive, use an automatic centre-pop to
mark through the paper and then go on with the pilot drill.

Since most of the pubs in the area are Olde Worlde (the real thing!), I
don't try to highly finish the box - a good sanding to remove the
machine-planer marks, then antique pine stain and a wipe over with 2-3 coats
of teak oil before assembling to the bottom. Wax with furniture wax and a
boot-brush when the oil is dry. After a few months of abuse and the pub cat
using it for a bed, it looks as good as old.

I use copper nails held in the Jacobs chuck on the lathe and turned down
with a file for the crib-board counters.

Hang on for a while, and I'll post a couple of pix on the a.b.p.f ng.
Meanwhile you can see a couple of different versions at
http://www.mastersgames.com/cat/pub/table-skittles.htm Note the cheating
score-board. Much easier than mine, and it goes up to 101. You'll find the
rules of the game here as well.

You owe me a bucket of beer next time you're in Rutland. If you buy it in
The Plough at Greetham, the Blue Cow at South Witham, or the Tollemache Arms
in Buckminster, you can have a game of skittles as well! (the 4th set was
for a Xmas present...)

Cheer the noo

Frank