Getting Started

We are going to make a simple 6' x 4' gaming board which can be placed on a (smaller) tabletop to extend it or on the floor to provide a decent surface. There are loads of options to customise it, but we'll concentrate on making a robust board which should last a good few years.

To begin, we must choose our wood. The best quality wood for this type of project is marine plywood, closely followed by exterior plywood. However, both are quite expensive and heavy to carry around. We will use 18 mm MDF as a cheaper, lighter alternative, which is still more than strong enough for our purposes. We'll get three 4' x 2' sheets which cost about £12 each.

When buying a sheet of wood from a DIY store, remember to stand it upright and look down on it to ensure it hasn't warped in storage and check it's clean with no major scratches. It's common practice to take several pieces off the shelf and compare them.

The pictures below show most of the tools used. There's a blade, hammer, automatic pin punch, 20 mm venir pins, punch, wood glue, filler, tape measure, sealant, paintbrush, sand-paper, screw-driver, screws, and a braddle. The pictures also show the wood, edging, and piano hinges.

Strengthening the Board

All wood can warp, but we can decrease the chance of it happening by putting an edging round it and connecting the sheets with hinges that span the width of the wood (instead of lots of small hinges). These measures help keep the wood straight.

Short lengths of edging can be purchased at hobby stores, but it's significantly cheaper to buy longer lengths from a general builder's merchant. To border this board, we'll need 20' of 12 mm softwood quadrant edging which should cost about £6.50.

We'll use 12 mm piano hinges to connect the wood; two hinges placed end-to-end is sufficient for each join. All four should come to about £10.

Attaching the Edging

First we measure and saw the edging pieces to size, allowing extra length for the corners. For added strength, we will 'mitre' them—saw the joining ends at a 45° angle so they fit together neatly. Then glue them in place on the sides of the MDF, starting at one 4' end. When the position is right, knock in a few evenly-spaced pins to hold it, approximately one every 6" and parallel to the board so the wood doesn't split.

The pins hold the edging in position and the glue is just there for added strength. Leave the heads of the pins 'proud'—don't hit them in fully in case you need to pull them out to re-align. Make sure the corners fit together tightly, then knock in the pins fully, wipe off any excess glue with a damp cloth, and use sand-paper to smooth it down.

To do a professional finish, we 'lose' the heads of the pins—position the punch on a pin-head and give it a single, good hit with a hammer so that it sinks beneath the surface. Then we spread filler over all the joints and lost pin-heads, the more the better, let it dry, and sand off the excess.

Attaching the Hinges

Before attaching the hinges, each sheet of wood should be sealed and the underside should be done. We used a damp cloth to wipe over the surface to remove any unseen dust and then applied a light covering of sealant to the MDF and the edging. We repeated this for each surface and left them to dry. This protects the wood from air and water and allows us to paint it (otherwise MDF has a habit of absorbing paint).

We used a brown preserver to paint the underside. If you want a perfect finish, you should gently sand the surface after each coat and apply about four coats.

We now position the hinges, one pair upwards and one pair downwards so that the board folds up properly, and then use a braddle to pilot the holes of the screws before screwing them in. It is best to start with the middle board and attach hinges to both sides of it first.

If you want to 'lose' the hinges, so they don't stick out as much, you can hide them in 1 mm 45° bevels (see diagram below) using a plane. We added some felt pads to raise the board up enough that the downwards hinge doesn't scratch the table or floor on which the board will rest. Baize—which is used on the underside of caskets—would also work as a base. Remember, when the board is folded up for storage, some surfaces will be pressed together and the hinge should be positioned to allow it room to fold. Therefore, felt pads could be placed in an asymmetric pattern or baize could be used in alternate strips so that their thickness doesn't double up when folded. It is important that the board folds up flat so it can be stored properly.

The downward hinge causes a small gap between the sheets of wood it holds together. We solve this by attaching a thin piece of rubber all the way along the inner edge of one sheet so the gap is filled when the table is laid out. A thin piece of wood or foamboard would also suffice.

Attaching the Mat

We chose to use the lightweight Citadel gaming mat on top of the board. First we ironed the back of it to flatten out the creases and then attempted to use PVA glue to stick it to the board. However, PVA had no effect on it! So we had to use carpet tape applied round the edge of the board to hold it on. This part is quite fiddly and requires two people or lots of clamps.

The edges of the gaming mat were not perfectly straight, so we needed to tidy up. We clamped a straight edge to each side and scored along it with a blade to remove the rough bits, as well as along the hinges.

And here's the finished board, shown laid out, folded up, and standing upright:

The upward hinge sticks up about 1 mm. Some people may prefer using two or three smaller hinges spread along the edge for this join, sacrificing a bit of robustness for a more ideal finish.

Maintaining the Board

The board should be folded up flat and stored leaning against a wall. To avoid warping or damage to the hinges, make sure the top edge touches the wall flat all the way along. To protect it from dust and scratches, put an old sheet over it. Any damage to the Citadel gaming mat can be easily repaired using static grass.