Recently a friend of mine gave me an old DeWalt radial arm saw that he had inherited but had no need for. Super cool! I need to make a rolling stand to mount it on but that will have to wait for now. After we loaded up the saw in the truck we started talking about woodworking and I was showing him some pictures of my projects including a dart board set that I had made for my brother last year for Christmas. Turns out my friend loves darts! He showed me his setup that he had outside in the pool area. It was a dartboard that was mounted to one of the brick support columns on the patio. I asked him if I could build him a cabinet for his dart board and he said sure! He wouldn't take any money for the radial arm saw so it was the least I could do. Plus I was excited to work on another dart board cabinet and maybe change things up a bit. I decided to trim down my previous design and make the new cabinet so it wasn't as big and heavy. I went with a 28 inch square cabinet by 6 inches deep and I omitted the drawer since it sort of seemed unnecessary. The cabinet is made of solid walnut and the backboard is solid teak. I was very happy with the USB chargeable lights in the last design so included those again as well as painting the back of the doors with chalkboard paint so you can keep score. I also included 2 dart caddies to complete the set. Super nice! I did raised panel doors again because I already have the router bits and it gives the cabinet a professional look.

So if you are interested in darts and would like to make an over the top set for yourself then read on...

Supplies

MATERIALS

Rustins Chalk Board Paint

Rechargeable LED Lights

Walnut and Teak Lumber

TOOLS

Router Table

Box Joint Jig

Masking Tape

Table Saw

Surface Planer

Miter Saw

Random Orbital Sander

100 and 220 grit Sand Paper

Drill

A variety of clamps

Screw Drivers

Paint Brush

Cotton Cloth

Ruler/Straight Edge

Hot Glue Gun

Raised Panel Router Bit

Rail and Stile Router Bits

Step 1: Cabinet Frame

The cabinet frame starts with four identical pieces. Each is 6 inches wide, 28 inches long, and a little less than 3/4 inch thick. Here we are using walnut but you can use whatever you like. These boards were rough cut lumber so there was a bit of work to be done to get them to a usable state. One trick I use is to screw a 6 foot long straight edge to the board before I run it through the table saw. This makes a straight cut on the opposite side. Afterwards the metal straight edge is removed and you have a board you can work with.

A number of years ago I started making puzzle boxes to hold a set of double 6 dominoes and I put together a jig to facilitate cutting box joints. So I use box joints a lot now even though sometimes it's overkill. They are very strong, attractive, and I like that it makes the assembly process very easy.

So after the boards are dimensioned I move over to the router table to cut the box joints. In pic 5 I'm raising the router bit so that it is a little higher than the board thickness. This ensures that the box joint fingers will stand a little proud when assembled. Once everything is assembled and the glue has cured the joints are sanded flush for a smooth finish. Using the jig is simple. Two boards are cut starting with the board pushed against the stop shown in pic 6. The first slot that is cut is placed over the stop and another slot is cut. You keep working down the board until all of the slots are cut. To make the matching cut for the other two boards you use the first board as a guide... pic 7 and 8. That board is removed once the first pass is made and you continue on cutting slots. Pic 10 shows a test fit. I used a slow curing two part epoxy to glue everything together to give myself plenty of time to assemble the frame and get the clamps in place. Another good thing about epoxy is that it doesn't make the joints swell like regular wood glue. The joints go together easily that way. 24 hours later the epoxy is set and a random orbital sander smooths the corners. Looks great!

Step 2: Face Frame

The face frame pieces are 2-1/4 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. The lengths correspond to the cabinet frame dimensions but I did make them just a tiny bit oversized so that once the glue dried a could sand them flush. I used Titebond wood glue and clamped everything in place. Pipe clamps pull the side pieces together to get a good fit with the cross pieces.

Step 3: Doors

The doors are each 25-1/2 inches tall, 12-3/4 inches wide, and 3/4 inch thick. The style is called a "raised panel" door and requires some specialized router bits along with a good router table. It is comprised of a frame and a panel. The frame pieces are called rails and stiles. Rails are horizontal and stiles are vertical.

I start off cutting the profile on the rails. In the first couple of pictures I hot glue a couple of blanks together to make it easier and safer to run across the router table. This first cut is across the end grain sides. In the third picture the router bit is raised to the correct height and in the fourth picture we set the fence so the straight edge just barely touches the roller bearing in the bit. Both sides of the boards are run across the router table and you can see the result in pic 5. In pic 6 the rails are ripped to the correct width on the table saw along with the pieces for the stiles.

Time to swap out the router bits and make the next cut. In pic 7 you see the bit we used to cut the tabs on the rails. Now we install the bit to the left to cut the slots on the inside face of both the rails and stiles. In pic 8 the newly installed bit is raised to be just a teeny tiny bit higher than the tab on the rail and in the next picture the fence is set so that the straight edge just barely touches the roller bearing. In pic 10 we're ready to run the first rail across the table and in pic 11 all the parts have been shaped.

The last piece of the puzzle is the raised panel. It is made from 5/8 inch thick lumber. There was a knot that was missing on the piece of wood that I was using for the panel and I was concerned that it might be a problem so I filled it with epoxy colored and thickened with saw dust from the random orbital sander. As it turns out it really didn't show in the finished assembly as most of the area ended up being milled away on the router table. Once the epoxy was fully cured the panels were cut to the correct dimension and run across the router table with the raised panel bit installed. Ha, this is kind of a big scarey bit and it's pretty intimidating when is running at full speed! It's best to cut the panel in several passes and gradually raising the bit after each pass. Keep working it down until the panel slides easily into the channel cut in the rails/stiles. In pic 19 I've made the final pass and it fits nicely. You can also see the area that filled with epoxy. There's not much left but I like that the edge is strengthened and I really like that it won't show when the door is assembled. Worked out great!

I dry fit all of the parts for the 2 doors in pic 20 and then set the knobs in place in the last pic to see what they look like. Very nice!

Last step is to glue it all together. Once again I used Titebond. The only area that is glued is the joint where the tabs on the rails fit into the slots on the stiles. No need to apply glue on the raised panels.

Step 4: Teak Back Board

I love teak wood. It is naturally bug and rot resistant, it is dimensionally very stable with respect to moisture content, and it looks amazing. The downside is that it's not that easy to find, it's kind of expensive, and it's tough on your cutting tools. But again... it's beautiful stuff!

Here I have some 5/8 inch thick by 5 inch wide pieces. They are cut to length to fit just inside the cabinet and I have also cut half lap joints so that everything overlaps and there won't by any gaps. I also cut and shaped parts for a frame to further strengthen the joint along the side as well as providing a more decorative look to the assembly.

I used Titebond wood glue for everything. First the back panel parts are installed and once the glue sets the frame is installed next. I cut a scrap piece into little sticks and wedged them in place to hold down the frame while the glue set.

Finally the dart board mounting bracket is screwed into place in the center of the back panel. This is a typical installation for a dart board and the parts are included when you buy it. Just follow the mounting instructions included with the dart board you buy.

Step 5: Mounting the Doors

The process for mounting the doors to the cabinet frame will depend on what type of hinges you buy. Just make sure you get hinges that are intended to mount doors to a cabinet with a face frame and follow the installation instructions. Is actually very easy but careful attention to detail will result in a nice fit where everything is flush and aligned. I applied masking tape to the cabinet to give me a visual reference and ensure that the doors are mounted straight. Once the doors are securely in place I added the sea glass door knobs. Love it!

Step 6: Lights

The lights are USB rechargeable and magnetically attach to the inside of the dart board cabinet. There are two metal plates for each light that are self adhesive. Just peel off the backing and press the whole assembly in place centered on the dart board. Remove the light and install the included screws to the plates for a secure fit.

I'm very impressed with these little lights. They are very bright and do a great job illuminating the dart board. And it's super easy to remove them for charging... and just as easy to reinstall.

Step 7: Chalk Board

Now that the woodworking is done it's time to start the finishing process by taking everything apart. Seems like extra work but the process is way easier without the hardware in place. I could have finished the parts first but I like giving the cabinet one more pass with the sander to clean up any dents and dings that may have occurred while figuring out the hardware installation. Plus it's simple to put back together once all the holes are drilled and you know everything fits together properly. I'll start with the chalk board paint...

The inside faces of the door panels are masked off and painted with Rustins Chalkboard Paint. I used the 100 ml can and it was more than enough for one really good thick coat. It doesn't go on smoothly... that is... you can see lots of brush strokes when the paint is wet. But once it dries the brush strokes disappear and you get a very nice smooth surface.

Step 8: Polyurethane Finish and Reassembly

I used a Minwax wipe on polyurethane for the cabinet. It takes a minimum of 3 coats to get a nice finish. Just follow the directions on the can. If your dartboard is going to be outside then you probably should consider some sort of a marine grade spar varnish to better protect it from moisture and UV. Once the finish is dry it's time to put everything back together.... which is easy since all the holes are drilled for the doors. After the doors are installed replace the lights and the dartboard and you are all set!

Step 9: Dart Caddies

The dart caddies are a fun finishing touch to the set and are super easy to make. They can either be laser cut or hand cut with a scroll saw. I have an Instructable specifically for the dart caddies that will provide you with the patterns. Just note that you might need to modify the design depending on your particular dart dimensions.

Since the back board for my cabinet is teak I decided to make matching teak dart caddies.

And just like that.... our dartboard cabinet is finished and ready to mount.

Step 10: Mounting the Cabinet

There are standard dimensions for dart board mounting. The center of the bullseye should be 5 feet 8 inches above the floor. The Throw Line (the line you stand behind when throwing darts)... also known as Toe Line or Oche (rhymes with HOCKEY)... is 7 feet 9.25 inches from the face of the dartboard. As far as physically mounting the cabinet to the wall... that will depend a great deal on wall material. This thing is pretty heavy so I definitely wouldn't try to mount it to sheetrock or thin wood panel. You'll need to find a wall stud behind the sheetrock/panel instead. Brick and stone walls will require special mounting hardware and drill bits. You could get fancy and use French cleats if you wanted to be able to easily take down the cabinet. There are lots of options. If you are mounting the cabinet outdoors I would recommend getting a weatherproof cover made for it when it is not in use... even if you used a really good spar varnish for the finish. I had a cover made for our outdoor kitchen teak bartop by a company called Covers and All. Really happy with their product and customer service. Highly recommended.

I hope you found the Instructable helpful and inspiring. Comments and questions are always welcome. If you happen to build your own Delux Dartboard Cabinet Set then please click the I MADE IT button and post pictures. I'd love to see your work.

Until the next Instructable...

Introduction: Delux Dart Board Cabinet Set