DIY Network

TV Tray Chinese Checkers Turn a TV try into a freestanding Chinese checkers game. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-106

This TV tray board game is as fun to make as it is to play!

Michele Beschen, host of B. Original, says TV trays make the perfect game boards: They're pretty, portable, freestanding and easy to store. In this project, Michele Beschen shows you how to turn a plain, wooden TV tray into a Chinese checkers set that will be hours of fun for kids and adults alike.

If you want to make an entire set of TV tray game boards, check out Michele Beschen's TV tray cribbage board, also on diynetwork.com.

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Materials:

wooden TV tray
standard pegboard
saw
plunge router
½" core box router bit
woodburning tool (optional)
paint
polyurethane sealer

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

• Remove the legs from the TV tray and set aside. You may want to tape the leg hardware to the legs so it doesn't get lost.

• Cut a square of standard pegboard that has 81 holes in it (9 rows of 9 holes). This will be your template for making the marble dents. Lay the pegboard in a diamond shape in the center of the TV tray and secure it with double-stick tape (figure A). Clamp the entire assembly to a stable work surface.

• Tape another piece of pegboard to a piece of scrap wood and practice the router technique. You'll be using a ½" core box bit, which drills out the perfect indentation for a standard marble. On your practice piece, line up your bit to the center of each hole and plunge down (figure B). This also will give you a chance to adjust the depth of your router bit.
  Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection and use care when using a router or other power tools.

• Once you're confident of your router technique, router the indentations for your TV tray. Tape your spare pieces of pegboard around your template to help keep your router level as you work (figure C). Center the router and plunge down in each of the 81 pegboard holes. Brush away sawdust after making each indentation.

• Once all 81 holes are complete, sand away any finish or varnish that is on the tray.

• Paint the first 10 holes in each side in contrasting colors. Michele Beschen used a woodburning tool to "color" the rest of the holes; she also burned in the game's name and rules, which she first transferred from a printout (figure D).

• Paint or stain the tray top if you like. Finish with a some wipe-on polyurethane.

• Equip your table with marbles (10 in one color, 10 in another) and cloth bags to hold them. Add a cup hooks to hold the bags and put the legs back on—you're ready to pull up a tray and play!