As long as I can remember growing up, my dad always had a "man cave", a place where he would do his own DIY and woodworking projects but also a place for games. He always had some sort of game whether it was pool, corn hole, ring toss, basketball, or darts. I grew up in a very competitive family who loved a good old Friday game night. Usually these were more physical games but we also were very into cards and the occasional board game. This was something I loved about my family and I still do to this day. I know when I go home I can always count on my dad challenging me to a game of pool or a round of darts. This is something that I have continued with Conner. We love a good game. This may make us seem old but every night after we finish dinner we play a round (or two or three) of double solitaire while we watch Jeopardy and try and guess the most questions right, and we love it (lol). We also mounted a dart board in our garage, which we play pretty much daily. This is what made me think of my next craft.
With Father's day coming up I wanted to come up with a craft that you guys could create as a Father's day gift. So if your dad is into darts or maybe isn't but loves games this is an ideal setup to create for his dartboard. This craft is inspired by my dad who made his own dartboard setup at home. This craft is also a more simple woodworking craft. It only requires a few simple cuts with an electric saw and a drill so that you can assemble it with screws and mount it to the wall. This craft may seem kind of complicated but it really is simple and fun to put together. I ultimately wanted to create a backboard for our dartboard so that when we missed the board we weren't putting small holes into our wall anymore. I also wanted to create a small shelf to keep the darts on and a scoreboard for our games. Below was our original setup.
Supplies Needed to Create:
Whiteboard for scoreboard (optional)
Wood Clamps (optional but recommended, only optional if you have another person to help you)
Saw horse (optional, I used two chairs)
Pencil
Screws (#8 2-1/2 inch & #8 1-1/4 inch)-about 15 count of 2-1/2 " and 30 count of 1-1/4"
6 washers
Wood Stain (whatever color you would like, I chose a darker stain because I like the look and it is the stain I chose for our coffee table, this is also optional you could leave the bare wood, the stain just gives it a more finished look)
Old sheet and cardboard or wood to stain on
1 nail to make the holes for the darts shelf
Paint brush that is made for the type of stain you are using, mine is an oil based stain so I chose a paint brush that worked for oil based stains
Estimated Time To Create: 3-4 hrs for building plus 6 hrs per side of wood so 12 hrs for the stain to dry
I would like to start by saying that using power tools can be dangerous so don't use them if you don't feel comfortable with them. If you are new to woodworking make sure you read the owner manuals and watch videos on how to assemble and use the power tools. I am generally new to woodworking and I never operate my electric saw without another person there to help and to be there in case something went wrong. Conner always helps me with my electric saw, holding down the wood and helping me position the saw since he has experience using an electric saw. The saw that I purchased that is linked above is a great first timer electric saw. It has a an easy to grip long handle opposed to a circular table saw. It also isn't the strongest but good for a beginner so that they can get used to the power of a saw. It cuts up to 2 inches deep which I haven't needed to cut more than that but later on if I get into more complicated projects I will look into getting a more powerful saw that cuts deeper than 2 inches. Also when you are cutting a piece of wood you should always wear protective eye wear such as safety googles or safety glasses. I use my lab goggles from college. This will help prevent a piece of saw dust getting into your eye while you are cutting.
Step 1: The first thing you're going to want to do is measure the space that you are going to put the backboard set up. You want to decide how wide you want it to be based on either side of the dart board. I decided that I wanted each piece of wood to be 40 inches long because I wanted space for a shelf below the board and I wanted the wood to be set apart at the top and bottom for every other piece of wood (as you can see in the first picture). I also decided that I wanted 9 pieces of wood together to give me 31 inches wides. I measured and marked off 40 inches on the wood and each piece of wood gave me two 40 inch pieces plus a 16 inch extra piece which I ended up using as my shelf. I then used one piece of wood to mark off two 31 inch pieces to use on the back of the setup to secure all the wood.
Step 2: Using your electric saw, cut your wood along your marks. I highly suggest if you are new at all to woodworking to have another person to help you with the saw. Have that person hold down the wood while you cut it if you don't have wood clamps. If you do have wood clamps it is probably still a good idea to have someone around to help you or just be around. If you don't have a table horse setup to put your wood on in order to cut it you can use a table or chairs to hang the wood off of, just as long as the wood is secured to the chairs or table. I used two dinning room chairs and had Conner hold down the wood securely. Below I had Conner pose so that you could see how I had it set up.
Step 3: Now that you have all the wood cut it is time to stain the wood (if you want to, you can always keep the natural look if you would like). Keep in mind that stain is permanent and can stain anything so make sure that you have a piece of wood or cardboard and an old sheet over top, you could also do it in the grass and just put down an old sheet but if you do it on concrete or a floor make sure you have something under the sheet because it will stain the concrete. I also suggest wearing plastic gloves if you have them handy because they help prevent getting any stain on your hand and it just helps with an easier cleanup. Once you have everything setup you will want to open the can of stain. If you don't have a paint can opener you can use a screwdriver, that's what I used. Once you have the can open use your paint brush and dip an inch of the brush into the stain. Using long brush strokes and paint against the grain of the wood. Continue this until one side of the wood is completely covered. Then let it dry for 6 hours, turn it over and do the same thing on the backside. After both sides are finished and dried you could repeat this again to do another coat depending on how dark you want your stain to appear. Since mine was a dark stain I liked how it looked after one coat and I didn't think it needed another coat but you can always do another coat.
Step 4: It is now time to assemble your dartboard set up. You will first want to arrange your wood exactly how you want it. I measured how much I wanted the wood set apart at the bottom and the top for every other piece which was two inches. I then had the wood setup where the back two pieces were on the bottom and the top pieces were over that and I used my drill to drill holes into each piece of the front wood through to the back wood. I then screwed in the #8 1-1/4 " screws with the screwdriver bit on my drill. I did it this way so that the wood wouldn't split. I did this on all three pieces of the back wood until all the front pieces of wood were secure. This means that each piece of wood running vertically had one screw into each of the two back pieces of wood that ran horizontally.
Step 5: It is now time to mount the shelf to the backboard. Figure out where you want your shelf and make sure to measure where the dartboard is going to be, leaving room for the darts to stand up on the shelf (in holes that you will make). Before mounting the shelf use a hammer and a nail to make holes in your shelf for all your darts. Just lightly hammer the nail into the wood but not too much that it goes through the wood. Then remove the nail. Do this until you have all the holes you want for your darts. Once you have figured out where you want your shelf, use your two chair braces and screws (that come with the chair braces and are the perfect length) and secure the shelf into place using your drill. I put the chair braces on the very ends of the shelf so that it didn't interfere with the dart holes.
Step 6: Next you will want to mount the dartboard to the backboard. You can do this by using your #8 2-1/2 " screws and washers. You will want to position the dartboard exactly where you want it. Keep in mind of where the darts shelf is with the darts on it. You will then want to use your drill to screw three screws with washers underneath the dartboard and three on top of the dart board so that the side of the washer is overtop the edge of the dartboard. This is shown in the picture below. There are different ways to mount different types of dartboards but since this was an older and heavier dartboard, this was the best way for me to mount it with the materials I had. You now have your backboard complete. Now it's time to mount it to the wall.
Step 7: If you are giving this as a gift to your father you could either give it to him now with the screws to mount it to the wall or you could take it to where it is going to be and mount it yourself so that it is set up for your dad. I mounted mine into two studs in the wall (it's pretty heavy so this is important) with two screws on either side of the backboard where the back pieces of wood and front pieces of wood come together. This is when you will also want to use your #8 2-1/2 " screws because they are longer. You will probably need someone else to help you mount this to the wall since it is pretty heavy and kind of awkward to hold. Make sure that from the floor to the center of the bullseye is 5 ft & 8 inches (this is regulation). Also just for reference the toeline (where you stand) should be 7 ft & 9.25 inches from where the floor and wall meet below the dartboard. In the picture below you can see where I put the 4 #8 2-1/2 " screws into the wall because they are the lighter colored screws and are in the corners.
Step 8: Once you have the setup mounted to your wall, you're all finished. Put your darts in their holes on the shelf and hang up your scoreboard if you have one (mine came with mounting strips) and you're all ready to play darts!
Thanks for reading guys! I know this craft was a little more complicated than the first one but with some researching and a little help I know you guys can do this. It really turned out so much better than I thought it would and I am really happy that I went with this more complicated craft as an example of a great Father's Day gift. As always email or DM me with any questions you have about this craft or anything at all. Next week's craft will be a home decor item that is a very easy craft and only uses a few materials. I can't wait for you guys to see what it is. Until next Saturday...keep crafting on my friends.
Excellent job! I love this! We are a game playing family for sure!!❤