I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could count
and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I got a
verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood"). I also
bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which spec's
using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap; I
have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced (0.20"
on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me from using
it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit. Pluswhich, the Vix bit housing
spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to make me worry
about using the template too many times.

2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's my
fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled the
holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't like
the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes, because
the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will, anyhow), and I'd
have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant to
screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

Seems to me finishing before drilling would do the trick, helping to
prevent slight tearout. I'm not familiar with kauri, is it a hardwood?
Brad point should work without tearout with the proper feed and speed.
Fast and Fast, I would think.
Literally hundreds of holes? I wouldn't want to drill that many without
a CNC machine! There are jigs you could set up on your drill press, if
one is available. Basically, a fence with a hinged block which holds a
pin that registers to a previous hole, for a line of evenly spaced
holes. I realize the holes are close, so you may have to drill the
first few before you get far enough away to use the jig.

"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in
:

snip
3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I
drilled the holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that.
But, I don't like the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling
the peg holes, because the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty
sure it will, anyhow), and I'd have to re-drill the holes afterwards,
again without a template.

Well, if it were my project, I'd use the bit in some sort of a hand chuck,
and simply twist the bit a couple of times, by hand, in each hole. A
nearby vacuum hose/port would remove the scrapings. Little power is needed
to scrape recently applied shellac.

And the beauty is, that if you screw up the shellac, a new surface coat is
easy to apply/repair/replace.

No solutions offered to your other questions, however. Good luck.

Patriarch

You might want to upgrade the drill bit. Woodcraft has a line of good
bits that are available in 64/ sizes. Good luck 15-2 15-4 and a run for 7


J.B. Bobbitt wrote:

I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could count
and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I got a
verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood"). I also
bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which spec's
using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap; I
have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced (0.20"
on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me from using
it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit. Pluswhich, the Vix bit housing
spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to make me worry
about using the template too many times.

2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's my
fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled the
holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't like
the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes, because
the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will, anyhow), and I'd
have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant to
screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
...
I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could
count
and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I got a
verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood"). I
also
bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which spec's
using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap;
I
have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced (0.20"
on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me from
using
it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit.

Here is a place:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPR...ARTNUM=120-179

P/N 120-182 9/64 brad point drill bit.



Pluswhich, the Vix bit housing
spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to make me
worry
about using the template too many times.

Find some steel tubing with 9/64 od. Chuck up a short length of this tubing
in your drill press and sharpen the inside of the tube as sharp as you can.
You might want to harden the steel and then hone the edge.

Get a 9/64 pin and make a center punch. This can be done by chucking it in
a hand drill and spining it while you gring the point.

Insert the tube in the hole in the template and give it a tap or two with a
soft face hammer. This will cut the fibers of the wood near the surface.

Uas your center punch to mark the center of each hole.


You could also set the template on top of your board and mark the holes with
a pencil. Now tape the template to the back of the board and put the
template over a pin driven into a board clamped to your drill press. This
will align the top of the board with the drill bit and your template will
suffer no scaring.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.






2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's
my
fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled
the
holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't like
the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes, because
the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will, anyhow), and
I'd
have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant
to
screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 20:15:24 -0800, Socal Woodworker
wrote:

You might want to upgrade the drill bit. Woodcraft has a line of good
bits that are available in 64/ sizes. Good luck 15-2 15-4 and a run for 7


J.B. Bobbitt wrote:

I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could count
and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I got a
verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood"). I also
bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which spec's
using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap; I
have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced (0.20"
on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me from using
it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit. Pluswhich, the Vix bit housing
spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to make me worry
about using the template too many times.

2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's my
fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled the
holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't like
the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes, because
the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will, anyhow), and I'd
have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant to
screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb




My suggestion is to get the best drill bit you possibly can and keep
it dead sharp throughout the entire process.

You run into a very similar problem when you're doing chip carving on
some tropical hardwoods. I'm doing a project in padauk right now so
this is kind of at the top of my mind. The best way I've found to
mitigate it is to get the tool sharp, sharp, sharp.

Another thing you might try is putting a layer of masking tape over
the surface and drill through the tape. That will tend to hold the
wood surface in place and make it less susceptible to tear out.

Finally: Super glue the tiny torn out fragments back in place. Done
right it's almost invisible.

--RC

"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells
'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets
fly with a club.
-- John W. Cambell Jr.

Drill the holes first then plane the top of the board.

The instructions at http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=32777 use a
paper template to mark the hole locations with an awl. This method would allow
you to easily construct any board layout, any size you desire. Drill bits in
x/64" sizes are available from http://woodworker.com/. I think a sharp brad
point bit would make clean holes...

JeffB

"Joe Willmann" wrote in message
. 77...


Drill the holes first then plane the top of the board.

RIGHT!

Only way I can think of else is to reduce the brittleness by oiling the
surface heavily.

Can't you remove the bit and put in a brad point? My Makita branded allow
bit replacement. Willing to bet that reverse chucking a 1/8 and applying a
bit of sandpaper would do for the shank.

First thing you do when you buy a template is use it to make another
template. Second thing you do is put it in a safe place while you use the
one you made. Sorta like floppies back when....

In article , "George" george@least
wrote:

Second thing you do is put it in a safe place while you use the
one you made. Sorta like floppies back when....

errmmm....back when.....what are you saying?

EXCELLENT!!! Thanks Roger.

-jbb


"Roger Shoaf" wrote in message
...
"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
...
I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could
count
and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I got
a
verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood"). I
also
bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which spec's
using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap;
I
have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced
(0.20"
on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me from
using
it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit.

Here is a place:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPR...ARTNUM=120-179

P/N 120-182 9/64 brad point drill bit.



Pluswhich, the Vix bit housing
spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to make me
worry
about using the template too many times.

Find some steel tubing with 9/64 od. Chuck up a short length of this
tubing
in your drill press and sharpen the inside of the tube as sharp as you
can.
You might want to harden the steel and then hone the edge.

Get a 9/64 pin and make a center punch. This can be done by chucking it
in
a hand drill and spining it while you gring the point.

Insert the tube in the hole in the template and give it a tap or two with
a
soft face hammer. This will cut the fibers of the wood near the surface.

Uas your center punch to mark the center of each hole.


You could also set the template on top of your board and mark the holes
with
a pencil. Now tape the template to the back of the board and put the
template over a pin driven into a board clamped to your drill press. This
will align the top of the board with the drill bit and your template will
suffer no scaring.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube,
then
they come up with this striped stuff.






2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's
my
fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled
the
holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't
like
the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes,
because
the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will, anyhow), and
I'd
have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant
to
screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
...
I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

big snip

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could
count
have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant
to
screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb



One drill your holes tearout and all in boards that are slightly over thick
then resurface them enough to eliminate the tearout.

Two make a template out of some relatively thick inexpensive material [say
mdf] glue it, underpressure to the cribbage board with a layer of newspaper
between them . drill holes them separate them with a chisel sand off the
residue.....mjh

J.B. Bobbitt wrote:
EXCELLENT!!! Thanks Roger.


Just a suggestion. 40 years ago I knew an old ex-Canadian who must
have been playing cribbage for 75 years. He used to make his own
boards. I never watched him make them but his rows and ranks were
always straight and even. What set these beautiful boards apart was
the way he would set small brass shoe eyelets into each peg hole thus
making the issue of imperfect hole outline (or tearout) moot.

FoggyTown

I built a cribbage using a steel template I bought from a guy on eBay.
Worked great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

Dave

"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
...
I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could
count and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I
got a verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood").
I also bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which
spec's using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap;
I have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced
(0.20" on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me
from using it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit. Pluswhich, the Vix
bit housing spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to
make me worry about using the template too many times.

2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's
my fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke
CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled
the holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't
like the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes,
because the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will,
anyhow), and I'd have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a
template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant
to screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

writes:
Seems to me finishing before drilling would do the trick, helping to
prevent slight tearout. I'm not familiar with kauri, is it a hardwood?
Brad point should work without tearout with the proper feed and speed.
Fast and Fast, I would think.
Literally hundreds of holes? I wouldn't want to drill that many without
a CNC machine! There are jigs you could set up on your drill press, if
one is available. Basically, a fence with a hinged block which holds a
pin that registers to a previous hole, for a line of evenly spaced
holes. I realize the holes are close, so you may have to drill the
first few before you get far enough away to use the jig.

If one were to build a framework to set the cribbage board into, the same
height of the board, wouldn't it be possible to use such a jig for all of
the holes? (securing the four sides of the frame with a band clamp to
prevent shifting while working)

Would tearout be prevented by having a piece of 1/4" or 1/8" hardwood
plywood tightly clamped to the top of the board? With that done, wouldn't
any tearout be confined to the plywood? Also, that board could be the one
marked with the locations, perhaps with an awl as someone suggested.

Glenna

JB,

I have had no experience with "ancient kuari wood" but have made cribbage
boards from over 35 domestic and exotic species See http://5thpeg.com Plain
sawn softer hardwoods are the worst for tearout i.e. basswood, poplar, ash,
oak. Quartersawn and highly figured woods are the worst for deflecting bits
and ending up with holes out of alignment.

Prevention of tearout is most easily done using brad point end-mill bits in
a drill press that has been well tuned to minimize vibration. These bits
are expensive but give you clean holes. ( a 1/4" carbide tipped bit is ~
$90)

Designing your own indexing jig for a drill press with this type of bit will
give you perfectly aligned holes. Starting with a little extra thickness
will allow sanding out any minor chipout. (Planing is an excellent idea if
you can ensure yourself your not going to end up with snipe).

Finsihing previous to drilling will do little to prevent tear out. DO NOT
attempt to redrill the holes to remove finish. This will lead to tearout
even where there was none before. My advice is to hone the holes after you
have applied your final finish to the board. One way to do this is to use
the same size bit as you drilled the holes with and chuck it upside down in
a portable drill and use it to ream the holes.

As you have already stated all of this is best done on "non-precious" wood
until you have worked all the "bugs" out of your techniques. I hope these
ideas provide you with some useful insight. Good luck.

Dave
5th Peg


"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
...
I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could
count and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So I
got a verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri wood").
I also bought the continuous track cribbage template from Rockler, which
spec's using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the Wreck's advice,
test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage boards/pegs use
"standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap;
I have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced
(0.20" on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me
from using it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit. Pluswhich, the Vix
bit housing spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough to
make me worry about using the template too many times.

2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's
my fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke
CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled
the holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't
like the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes,
because the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will,
anyhow), and I'd have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a
template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant
to screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

Dave;

Thanks for the info. I had already visited your site numerous times before
your post here, as a result of a google search on "cribbage boards". In
fact, I lifted a few pics to use for inspiration and ideas.

I'll put your expertiese and advice to good use.

-jbb

"jds" wrote in message ...
JB,

I have had no experience with "ancient kuari wood" but have made cribbage
boards from over 35 domestic and exotic species See http://5thpeg.com
Plain sawn softer hardwoods are the worst for tearout i.e. basswood,
poplar, ash, oak. Quartersawn and highly figured woods are the worst for
deflecting bits and ending up with holes out of alignment.

Prevention of tearout is most easily done using brad point end-mill bits
in a drill press that has been well tuned to minimize vibration. These
bits are expensive but give you clean holes. ( a 1/4" carbide tipped bit
is ~ $90)

Designing your own indexing jig for a drill press with this type of bit
will give you perfectly aligned holes. Starting with a little extra
thickness will allow sanding out any minor chipout. (Planing is an
excellent idea if you can ensure yourself your not going to end up with
snipe).

Finsihing previous to drilling will do little to prevent tear out. DO NOT
attempt to redrill the holes to remove finish. This will lead to tearout
even where there was none before. My advice is to hone the holes after
you have applied your final finish to the board. One way to do this is to
use the same size bit as you drilled the holes with and chuck it upside
down in a portable drill and use it to ream the holes.

As you have already stated all of this is best done on "non-precious" wood
until you have worked all the "bugs" out of your techniques. I hope these
ideas provide you with some useful insight. Good luck.

Dave
5th Peg


"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
...
I know it sounds pretty easy: get a nice board, drill the holes, play
cribbage. But I got problems.

I'm making two boards for my daughters (we've played since they could
count and add; they're teenagers now), so they've got to be perfect. So
I got a verrrrrrry nice board (see separate post for "ancient kauri
wood"). I also bought the continuous track cribbage template from
Rockler, which spec's using a Vix bit for the holes. I've taken the
Wreck's advice, test/practice before you f*** it up. Most cribbage
boards/pegs use "standard" 1/8" or 9/64" holes.

Problems:

1. The Vix bit (No. 9, 9/64") doesn't make a clean hole (in other scrap;
I have no scrap of the good board). The peg holes are closely spaced
(0.20" on center); there's enough tearout between holes to discourage me
from using it. I can't find a 9/64" brad point bit. Pluswhich, the Vix
bit housing spins enough to counter sink the plexiglass template enough
to make me worry about using the template too many times.

2. I'm not keen on drilling hundreds of holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
without a template. (I don't like the template I got anyway, but that's
my fault. I'd prefer to use a 4-track pattern, e.g. Dreuke
CribbageMaster).

3. I had planned on finishing the boards with shellac before I drilled
the holes, but the tearout problem has me re-thinking that. But, I don't
like the prospect of finishing the boards after drilling the peg holes,
because the shellac will fill the holes (I'm pretty sure it will,
anyhow), and I'd have to re-drill the holes afterwards, again without a
template.

OK, any or you Wreckers made cribbage boards out of wood you're reluctant
to screw up? Any insight? Or flames?

As always, thanks a heap.
-jbb

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 11:09:39 -0800, "TeamCasa"
calmly ranted:

I built a cribbage using a steel template I bought from a guy on eBay.
Worked great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

$18 plus $12 to ship it? Bwahahaha!



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