Stacking blocks Maximum (name changed)

The oversize Stacking blocks based on the popular game (I cannot say the name due to copyright reasons) game is almost essential for outdoor fun. Why huddle around a short stack when you can have 27 inches of play-room.


Once again I did this then found that there are others who have already done so... it appears that originality is becoming rare.

You will need 5 of the 2X3 studs(96 inches long). I used studs since this was all that was available at the local big box.
You will need 54 blocks and the cut studs will provide you with 60. I used construction grade material and the 6 extra did come in handy.

You will also need a wood saw and some sort of sanding implement. I used my trusty stationary belt sander and an 80 grit belt.

You may need wood glue or wood filler later.

The studs cost $1.99 each
Wood filler was $4

Total build time was less than 2 hours

Step 1 Make a Cutting Jig

The best way to cut the blocks is to use some sort of jig. I did not have access to a miter saw so I built a jig from some scrap lumber.

The green base is a 2X8 and the sides are a couple of pieces of 2X4. The thickness of the the cutting section is another scrap 2X4.

There is a hole beneath the cut section to allow the cut blocks to fall to the ground. The jig build time was 5 minutes.

You will need to determine the width of 3 sections of your block material. This was measured to be slightly over 7.5 inches. This was marked as the cut line on the jig. The shoe of my saw was measured and another piece of scrap wood was placed at the shoe edge and screwed into place. This allows of cut repeatability,

I initially started cutting 2 at a time but found that the saw would bind so I went back to single cuts.

A single stud gave 12 blocks with only about 5 inches of waste.

A quick calculation shows that there will be 6 extra blocks. these may be needed later.

Comments

[urtlesquirt]

No more using Jenga guns. Now you can use .45.

[acoleman3]

and on the last page in the upper right corner of the screen we see what this would be worth.....$76 w/free shipping. nice way to entertain and save money mate. i give this 5* easily.

[ttowers]

That site is tumblingtowers.com they make great set and ship fast to your door via fedex. This game is so much fun at any party :)

[acoleman3]

yeah....and the author has been nice enough to show how to make it for a 3rd of that.

[jinxie2300]

Great jig, I think I may need to make this now. The only thing I would do differently, is to sand the lengths of wood first... then chop them down to length. Most of the sanding is now very fast, with only then ends taking up much time.

[Random_Canadian]

Thanks.The jig almost makes the cutting fast enough to be production worthy... Hmmmm...

You might be onto something with the sanding..

[HowlinPreacherMan]

Nicely done....

The jig is a great idea (especially since I can't get to my radial arm saw... we have WAY too much shi.... errr, stuff in the garage)

This would be good to keep in the camper too. And I could use the leftover pieces for leveling blocks :-D

[Random_Canadian]

Thanks.

If you look at my other posts you will see that I too have a two car garage lifestyle in a single car garage...

[shylock]

I just made this at the end of summer too. My friend moved in with her boyfriend and they have several kids in their blended family so I wanted to make something they can do together. (And also something that works at a BBQ as an adult drinking game once the kids are in bed) I thought the 2x3 were a more accurate scaling of the block plus they weigh less than 2x4s (which would also require 6 full 2x4 to make the game).

I put a twist on it though I cut a small die for the wood and painted each side a different colour and then painted 9 x 6 blocks those six colours. I got the idea from the Wii game Boom Blox (awesome party game if you have never tried it!!)

So you can play regular Jenga or mix it up and you have to pull the colour block of whatever you roll for added difficulty. I envisioned all the colours jumbled up but her daughter loves to play with colour levels - so who am I to tell them how to play, right?

But yer right the sanding was terrible - I only had a mouse sander and it took forever. And your Jig was way better than mine. Wish I saw it first. This is something you wish you had a table saw for but I only had the circular saw as well. The paint made it a bit to sticky - so I had to resand all the blocks AGAIN so they would slide better. But I was worth it - they love it!

[Random_Canadian]

I like what you have done. The blocks look great.

[Doganie]

I went to a local church youth rally and they had a set of jenga "blocks" made from two cardboard boxes for each block. It was probably somewhere around 20 ft tall.

[randofo]

Oh man. This needs a giant Jenga Pistol!

[MissouriVillian]

That was my first thought too.