How to Create a Dartboard

Can you think of a better combination than alcoholic beverages and sharp flying objects? Me neither. Add a soft piece of wood, a little paint and a narrow dimly lit area and you've nearly got all the necessary components for one of the planet's most enjoyable pub-pastimes...darts. If you decide to create a dart board by following the easy steps below, it might be a good idea to save the ale for after you put the sharp tools away. Otherwise, it's almost so simple a drunk monkey could do it...

Things You'll Need

  • Cork
  • Plywood
  • Adhesive (glue)
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • String
  • Small nail
  • Hammer
  • Spider wire
  • Staples (standard or dart specific)
  • Paint
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a saber saw or jig saw to cut a circular piece of plywood measuring 18.75 to 19.75 inches in diameter. This will act as the backing for the dart board, providing both a stable base to apply the cork and sturdy material to securely hang the dart board from the wall.

    • 2

      Next, cut a circular piece of cork 1.25 to 1.5 inches thick, with the same diameter as the plywood. Use a utility knife, or preferrably a matte knife, to achieve a clean, smooth cut. The "official" diameter of the cork used for the board including the area on the outside that does not count for scoring is 17.75 inches (451mm), but the extra area around the edges can be helpful to catch errant darts. Now, glue the cork to the plywood with high-strength adhesive. Next, draw a mark with a pencil in the exact center of the cork.

    • 3

      Lightly mark with a pencil where the concentric rings will be on the board. Measuring from the center outward, the outside of the doubles is at 6.7 inches (170mm), with the inside of the doubles at 6.4 inches (162mm). The outside of the triple ring should be marked at 4.2 inches (107mm), and the inside of the triples at 3.9 inches (99mm). The outside of the bullseye is at 1.25 inches (31.8mm) and the inside ring is at 0.5 inches (12.7mm).

    • 4

      Very gently, tap a small nail into the center of the bulls eye. Attach a piece of string to the nail with the other end of string knotted around a pencil. Extend the string to each pencil mark (making the string taut), amd then lightly trace in a circle where the rings will be. You will have five concentric rings extending from the sixth, which is the center bull.

    • 5

      Section the layout into twenty equal pie shaped divisions radiating from the center to be used for the scoring zones (1 to 20). The numbering system starts with "20" at the top-center then continues clock-wise as such: 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12, 5. These numbers can be applied with spider wire or paint (acrylic).

    • 6

      Attach the spider wire (purchased from any dart or gaming supply store) with special dart staples or standard staples to visually define the sectioned scoring divisions, or hand paint the dividing lines using a ruler.