Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Woodworking). This thread is read-only.
I saw something that looked fun to make the other day……yard yahtzee dice. I’m not sure where I saw it, but right away I thought it was funny and my wife and kids really wanted me to make a set, so I did.
The idea of the game is exactly the same as the regular version with two exceptions….the dice need to be very large and instead of a cup, you use a 5 gallon bucket. Simple enough.
I first took a 4×4 piece of douglas fir that I had laying around and cut it into 3.5″ sections. That way, the dice would be 3.5″ x 3.5″. When you cut wood like this, you end up with sharp edges and no dice that I have ever seen had sharp edges. I took a 3/8″ round over bit in my new router table setup and ran all the edges through. This really makes the blocks close to what real dice are supposed to feel and look like.
After that, I took a bit that I have never used and I’m not sure what it is called, but I think it is for making rounded flutes and with the aid of a stop block to make everything consistant, drilled the holes using my drill press. I followed the exact pattern of a real set of dice…..I’m detailed like that.
From there, I sanded and spray painted the dice antique white because that is the color white I had laying around.
After they dried, I hand painted the 100+ dimples with black paint and after they dried, I used a spay can of glossy clear coat to protect the white paint and to give it some gloss.
Just this evening, we periscoped our first ever game of Yard Yahtzee and the dice survived the abuse with only minor grass stains.
Oh by the way, Mondo bet on my daughter beating me and she lost by a lot. I wish we would have had some kind of wager on it. LOL! Maybe next time.
I saw those the other day as well and I have a piece of 4×4 set aside for them. Looks good.
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That is such a great idea!!!
Jimbo
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sweet deal, looks like a fun project good job….
lol between this and the huge jenga game, I may as well turn my deck into a cribbage board…..
Very nice John, I love the size and work you did on the dice. You did cheat a little on Emma too lol. Remind not to play with you haha.
Appreciate the detail you put into this, I can imagine you going through the motions of each piece and the 100+ times painting the dots in. As for games, forget it, you would have to play it for me!! I am boring like that HA!
Great attention to detail. Wish I had that much patience. Looks fun to play. In the end it’s worth the effort if the kids enjoy playing with it. It’s great to see kids play OUTSIDE lol
From a fan of tools with lots of assistance from Siri #TIACREW
Now you just need a barrel to put the dice in! Nice work!
Next project: gigantic dominos!
Great write up John. I need to get a router soon. Emma was cheated on a few points.
BMack37 wrote:
Now you just need a barrel to put the dice in! Nice work!
Next project: gigantic dominos!
They come in all different sizes!
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What a awesome project! I will have to give this a go for the Grandson. I been wanting to build a Bocce Ball court to, hopefully I can make it happen this summer.