How to Make a Settlers of Catan Board Out of Plywood
Intro: How to Make a Settlers of Catan Board Out of Plywood
Throughout this Instructable I will show you how to make a Settlers of Catan
Supplies:
• Plywood & Plywood Scraps
• Spray Paint (Red, Tan, Blue, Grey, Light and Dark Green, and Yellow)
• Wood Files
• Jig Saw
• Circular Saw
• Miter Saw
• Sand Paper
• Clamps/Vise Grip
• Drill/Screw Gun
• Safety Glasses
• Sharpie/Carpenter Pencil
• Palm Sander/Table Sander
Find some of the supplies on Amazon.com below:
STEP 1: Trace & Cut Out the Inside Pieces of the Board
You can do this in several different orders but I chose to work on the board itself first, and then trace the pieces after to insure my border fits perfectly.
• Take a game piece from a Settlers of Catan
• Always line the pieces up on the edge of the plywood to reduce the overall amount of cuts you'll have to make.
• Also try your best to line up the pieces so you can make longer continuous cuts. Also helping reduce the overall total cuts. Trust me there's a lot of cuts.
STEP 2: Filing/Getting All the Pieces the Same Size
It's not easy to make dozens of perfect cuts forming over a dozen hexagons. In this step we will use a simple technique to insure all the pieces are as close to the same shape as possible.
• Clamp
• Using some wood, clamp all the pieces and the clamp together to the vise grip.
• Using a rough File
• Make sure you've got nice straight lines.
STEP 3: Tracing & Cutting the Border Out
In this step we will trace the pieces to find the exact border we need to fit our pieces. We will then cut out our border.
• Line up your pieces in the correct shape of the game.
• Trace your pieces onto your piece of plywood you will be using for the game board.
• Grab your Settlers of Catan
• Now your border is ready to be cut out.
• Clamp the plywood to your vice grip and begin drilling out each and every corner. I used a 3/8" drill bit for mine.
• Get your Jig Saw
• Remove the inside piece you've just cut out.
• Clamp the board to your work surface and use a circular saw to cut the remainder of the board out.
STEP 4: Filing the Inside of the Border
We will now finish filing and sanding the inside and outside of the border.
• Use some scrap wood to avoid damaging the board and clamp the board to your vise.
• File one segment at a time occasionally checking if a board piece fits properly.
STEP 5: Spray Painting the Board & Pieces
In this step we are going to prime and paint the border and inside pieces.
• I primed everything with a plasti-dip spray paint first.
• Then spray the pieces their respective colors. 3 Red, 3 Grey, 4 Dark Green, 4 Light Green, 4 Yellow, 1 Tan/Black.
• Spray the border blue.
• I put on 3 coats to make it nice and thick.
• Let it dry for an hour at a time.
STEP 6: Have Fun! Instructable on the Cards and Game Pieces Coming Soon!
I will be adding an Instructable on how to make the Cards and Game Pieces for Settlers of Catan. Stay Tuned.
5 Comments
jtobako 7 years ago
Making the cards will probably get you in the same trouble that the scrabble board instructable got into - blocked for copyright.
MortonT 6 years ago
as I recall they technically can't do anything as long as the artwork is different, of course, that won't necessarily stop them. but my understanding is that the copyright on board games extends to the artwork, the name and other unique words, and the wording of the rules. other than that, everything should be fair game
mlawing 8 years ago
One of the better Catan projects I've seen. Nice work!
Fathomlis 8 years ago
Really nicely done! Awesome Instructable!
AnthVale 8 years ago
Thanks!