Game Time - Corn Toss

  I was asked if I could make up a couple of game boards that would meet the specs of a game called "CornHole / Corn Toss".    I was guided to the following web site for information as to what the specs were for this game:   http://www.playcornhole.org/rules.shtml     After reading the web site over, I recalled playing a game similar to this, but never heard of it being referred to as the CornHole game.   Anyway, using the measurements of the plan given on the web site I went to work building a set of these.   

   Naturally, I head to the old scrap pile and found a bunch of 2x2's of pressure treated wood that were about 40 inches long that a friend had given me a while back.  Thinking that the base of this project would be setting on the ground, this would be a good time to use up some of these.  I glued two together hoping that I would end up with one 2x4 as a result.     They were a little warped and needed some coxing to straighten out while I clamped them together.    Of course they were a little shorter than the 48" needed for the length, so one had to be a little creative when gluing up the longer ones.    Once the glue was dry, I ran them all through the planner and ended up with several boards that were a full inch thick, 2 3/4 inches wide.  These were the boards that I was going to use as a frame and also use for the legs. 

     The tops were easy to make as the dimensions for the top was 2' by 4'.    This happens to be 1/4 of a full sheet of plywood.     I ended up using 1/2  inch thick maple plywood for this because the surface is smoother than what the pine plywood would be.    Cutting of the hole was a little tricky as it was to be a 6" diameter hole and I did not have a circle cutter to cut a hole that big.   I did look on the Internet to see if I could make a jig of some sort to do that, but most jigs were for circles where the end result was a much larger hole.   So I drew a circle with a compass, got out the saber saw and I cut out my 6 inch hole that way.  (If you stand back 10 feet or more it does not look so bad.)   The picture to the right shows the game table tops with the pressure treated wood supports on the sides.    So far, these could be used for an ACA Sanctioned Tournament.   (Sounds impressive doesn't it?)

  The plan on the web site calls for solid sides,  but I was asked if I could make it with legs that would fold up and down which would make the game boards less bulky when being moved from site to site.   Over to the left you can see how I did that.  (Not sure, but maybe we just left the sanctioned world with this little design change.)  I made the legs so that the high end would end up being at the correct height of the plan and bolted them to the side of the top with carriage bolts.   I will have to follow up on this later on to see how stable those legs will be after the game has been moved around a few times.    I slapped on a couple coats of exterior varnish for a little protection from the weather.    (I even sanded a little bit...)

    The next thing I did that was not in the plan, but again was asked if there was a way to hook the two game boards together and attach a handle to the package so they could be carried around.     To the right is how I did that.   It seems a little heavy and one has to wonder how long that will last before a hook fails.  (That will be another test phase I will have to follow up on later on.)    If the hooks are too loose the package seems a little sloppy when it is carried.   If the hooks are tight, then it is more solid when it is carried around, but it is difficult to unhook them when you are ready to set up.    (I think this is a project where mom and the kids get to play the game and dad gets to cart it back and forth.)

   Another suggestion made was that I put a string between the two boards so when it is set up, it will be apart the exact distance that the specs say they should be.     There it is.    I'm ready.   Game on.    Come on!   Oh, I forgot.   I don't have any bags.    All I got here are the boards.     When the wife came home I asked if she had any idea of what I could use as a substitute for a bag.    I just wanted to try it out.   I just wanted to toss something back and forth to see how well the top and legs would hold up.    She thought awhile and said that maybe I could use one of the beanie babies that was in the toy box.   I thought about that for sometime and then decided that a beanie baby would not work very well.   (That was when I came up with a great idea of my own.....  -   Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty.   HERE KITTY, KITTY, KITTY, KITTY.   Where is that cat anyway.)