How to Make a Pichenette Board Game

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Things You'll Need

  • 28 inch square, 1/2-inch thick plywood

  • 24 inch square, 1/4-inch thick plywood

  • 2-inch trim boards

  • Screws

  • Nails

  • Wood glue

  • Paint

  • Wood checkers or dowel rod

  • Clear finish

  • Pedestal

  • Band saw or circle cutting drill bit

  • Sand paper

  • Clamps

Make a Pichenette Board Game

Tabletop games are a great pastime to play at family gatherings and parties There have been a number of different types for this particular style of game ranging in name of pichenette, pichenotte, carrom, or pitchnut. This game is a cross of air hockey and pocket billiards. Choose a name, play the game and unleash the fun.

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Step 1

Cut your plywood sheet down to 28 inches square, using a table saw. Sand your plywood with sand paper until smooth. Do the same for the 24 inch square plywood.

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Step 2

Draw out a 2 inch border along the edges of the 28 and 24 inch plywood. Draw a 10 to 12 inch circle in the center of the 24 inch plywood.

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Step 3

Place the 24 inch square plywood in the outlined square drawn on the 28 inch plywood. Use wood glue on the back of the 24 inch plywood to attach it to the 28 inch plywood. Using clamps, hold the plywood in place and allow to dry.

Step 4

Trim the four corners of the 28 inch plywood using the band saw or the circle cutting drill bit. Sand the cut circles until smooth.

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Step 5

Cut the corners of the trim boards at a 45 degree angle to have them join like a picture frame, or you can choose to leave them straight and have them butt up against each other. Once decided, cut them to length to line up against the edges of the 28 inch plywood.

Step 6

Apply the wood glue at the bottom of the trim boards and match it up against the 28 inch plywood edges. Clamp them in place and allow to dry. For extra support, nails can be put in from the outside of the trim boards, nailed into the edges of the plywood. Sand the trim boards until smooth.

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Step 7

Paint the two inch border of the 24 inch plywood with the color of your choice. For a smooth edge, use painters tape to mask off the rectangle to be painted. Now paint the circle in the center of the 24 inch plywood. Paint a middle dot circle one inch big in the center.

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Step 8

Screw in 1 or 1 1/2 inch screws about 1/4 inch into the plywood at the four corners, 2 per corner. These screws should be placed on the inside of the 2 inch border and one inch in from the corner of the 2 inch border. Do the same in the outer center circle with 4 screws total making a square inside the circle.

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Step 9

Coat the entire surface with clear finish and allow to dry. The board can be placed onto of a table to play or mounted to a pedestal.

Step 10

Cut the dowel rod with the band saw or table saw every 1/4 inch. Sand the edges until smooth. Paint one a different color for the odd piece, equivalent to the eight ball. Paint half one color such as white and the other half another color such as black.

Tip

There are other variations slightly different depending on the area, so feel free to stylize yours or change to your preferences. You can use wooden checkers if you don't want to make your own.

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