You love nothing but to debate about random things with your friends over coffee or alcohol. Having tackled every single topic that you could think of, you still want to match your wits against your scholastic friends’. In the absence of a good conversation, you can use a board game to measure your level of deductive reasoning. That board game is called checkers. Build a checkers board and prove to your friends that high grades and superior IQ test scores are not the only means for measuring a person’s intelligence.
Checkerboard Dimensions
The checkers board may be a relatively small item but it is not very easy to create. You have to be precise with your measurements for the board to stay upright and for the playing surface to be consistent. Also, you will need some woodworking skills to eke out a playable board, unless you are content with a checkers board made of paper. The trick is to have a board with predetermined measurements. Ideally, the playable surface is 16 inches, the board is 20 x 20 inches, and a square in the playing surface is 2 x 2 inches.
Materials Used:

• medium density plywood (1.5 x 1.5 meters)
• mechanical drill
• screws
• white paint
• green paint
• hammer
• chisel
• handsaw
• sandpaper
• wood plane
• metal hook
• metal hinge
• metal handle
• nails
• wood glue
• checkers pieces/coins/toy soldiers
• varnish
• laminating plastic
• pencil
• tape measure

Fine Wood for a Fine Game
You can get the plywood for your checkers board from a lumber shop. You can see the shop’s supply of medium density wood and check the quality of each wooden sheet. Have a keen eye for cracks and chips on the boards because brittle wood is generally hard to work with. Brittle wood can be easily damaged even if it is covered with varnish and laminating plastic. Besides, you may not even form a checkers board if your plywood chips after a few hits with your hammer.
The Hardware Store is the Mecca of Materials
When you have purchased wood for your checkers board, you can head over to a large hardware store. All of the remaining tools and items can be purchased in a hardware shop. With the number of materials and tools needed, you can think that you are in for a budget-killing “splurgeathon.” You will, then, notice that most of the materials can already be found in your toolbox. You can even borrow some of the items from your neighbors if you are not really in the mood to spend.
From Plywood Board to Checkers Board
Get your pencil and outline the dimensions (18 x 18 inches) of your checkers board on the sheet of plywood. Sketch also the outline of the board’s frame and stand on the plywood. Once done, cut the board and the frame with a handsaw. Use your wood plane, hammer and chisel to remove the excess amount of wood and to smoothen your board. Now, nail the frames to the outer edges of your board. Be careful when driving nails to the frame, since a mispositioned nail can cause the frame to crack.
Easy Carry = More Checker Games
When you have successfully affixed the board and the frame, your next step is to make your board easy to carry. Get your board and outline the playing surface with your pencil. Remember the dimensions of the playing surface (square – 2 x 2 inches, playing surface – 16 inches, border per side – 2 inches) to make sure that your outline is accurate. Once done, get your handsaw and cut the board at the middle. You can refer to the outline of the playable surface for the middle portion of your checkers board.

Use your hammer and chisel to create a pocket for the checker pieces at the inner surface of both sides. Smoothen the inner surfaces with your wood plane and sandpaper. When you’re done, connect the two sides by affixing a couple of metal hinges to the frames of both sides. Drill the holes suggested by the hinges then screw both board sides together. Now, check if you can open and close your checkers board smoothly.

Close your checkers board, then drill a hole on one of the frames. Attach a screw through the hole and make a small portion of the screw protrude (1cm). Screw a metal hook onto the opposite frame below the protruding screw. Once done, attach the metal handle right above the protruding screw. You can bore holes on the opposite sides of the handle then drive a screw for each hole.
The Playable Surface
With your playable surface outlined, you can get your green and while paints then paint the surface accordingly. Follow an alternating pattern (green – white – green – white) when you provide the colors of your playable surface. As for the rest of the board, you can apply varnish to give your checkers board a nice glossy finish. Apply laminating plastic on the board, when the paint and the varnish settle.

At this point, your checkers board is finished. You can now show your friends a thing or two on how a grandmaster plays the game. Pretty soon, you might get the chance to face “Deep Blue” in a supreme battle of checkers between humans and machines.

Watch The Video

Making a Magnetic Checker’s Board