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Hardwood Cribbage Boards[8/4 Wide · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 5 cribbage boards
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
Five heavy, classic 3-track cribbage boards from one pack of wide 8/4 lumber, one board each. There is no glue and no joinery: the work is all in careful layout and a lot of accurate drilling. A storage hole in the end holds the pegs. Keep one for the cottage and give the rest to the players in your family.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cribbage board blanks | 5 | One per board | 18" × 5½" × 1¾" → about 1½" thick |
| Peg holes | 184 per board | 3 tracks × 2 rows × 30 + 3 start + 1 finish | ⅛" dia. × ⅜" deep |
| Peg storage hole | 1 per board | Bottom end, centred | ⅝" dia. × 2" deep |
No joinery: each 5½" board is one cribbage board, 18" long, planed to about 1½".
Holes: 3 tracks × 2 rows × 30 holes, ⅛" × ⅜" deep, in groups of five (5/16" pitch, 9/16" between groups), plus 3 start holes and a 121 finish hole.
Peg storage: ⅝" hole 2" deep in the bottom end, closed with a tapered cork.
Finished size: Each board 18" L × 5½" W × about 1½" (wider boards make wider boards). Plays to 121: twice round a 60-hole track, then the finish hole.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 2ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- 5 sets of metal cribbage pegs, ⅛" shank (at least 6 per board: 2 per player)
- 5 small tapered corks to fit a ⅝" hole
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil or hardwax oil
- 20 felt pads
- A straight scrap for a story stick
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Benchtop planer (or a hand plane / belt sander)
- Drill press with a fence (strongly recommended)
- ⅛" brad-point bits (buy spares) and a ⅝" brad-point or Forstner bit
- Drill stop collar (if using a hand drill)
- Marking gauge or combination square, awl, sharp pencil
- Vise or clamps to hold the board upright
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Cut and flatten the blanks. Square one end of each board and crosscut it at 18". Plane both faces down to about 1½" — a 5½" board fits any benchtop planer. Pick the best face for the top.
- 3 Lay out the rows. Draw a pencil centreline down the length. Set a marking gauge (or a combination square) and scribe six row lines along the top, measured from one long edge: 15/16", 1 9/16", 2 7/16", 3 1/16", 3 15/16", 4 9/16". Each pair of rows is one player's track: up one row, back down the other.
- 4 Make a story stick. On a straight scrap, mark 30 hole positions in six groups of five: holes 5/16" apart inside a group, 9/16" between groups. The row is 10 5/16" long. Mark the stick, check it twice, and use it for every row on every board.
- 5 Mark the holes. Set the stick on each row line with the first hole 3" from the bottom end and prick every position with an awl. Then mark the 3 start holes 14 1/16" from the bottom end, one centred on each track, and the 121 finish hole on the centreline at 14 13/16".
- 6 Drill the peg holes. Use a ⅛" brad-point bit with the depth stop at ⅜". On a drill press, clamp a fence for each row and slide the board along it, dropping the bit into each awl mark. No drill press? Use a stop collar on the bit and keep the drill dead upright. That is 184 holes per board — take breaks and check depth often.
- 7 Drill the peg storage. Clamp the board upright in a vise, bottom end up. Drill a ⅝" hole 2" deep, centred in the thickness and the width. A drill guide or a square scrap block beside the bit keeps it straight.
- 8 Clean up and sand. Sand the top lightly with a block at 180 so the holes stay crisp; heavy sanding rounds them over. Round or chamfer the edges, then sand all faces 120 → 180 → 220. Blow the dust out of every hole.
- 9 Finish. Wipe on a thin coat of oil or hardwax oil, wipe off every bit of excess and blow out the holes again so they don't fill with finish. Two coats, a day apart.
- 10 Add pegs and feet. Push a tapered cork into the storage hole, drop a set of metal pegs inside, and stick four felt pads under the corners.
Why a story stick? Every row has the same 30 holes. Marking them once on a stick and copying the stick is faster and far more accurate than measuring 900 holes one at a time.
Why groups of five? Cribbage is counted in fives. The wider gap between groups lets players count a hand at a glance without counting single holes.
Why a drill press? Every peg hole has to be straight and the same depth, or the pegs lean and wobble. A drill press with a fence does that for you; by hand it takes a lot of care.
Make It Yours
- Contrast inlay: rout a shallow groove between tracks and glue in a thin strip of a contrasting species before drilling.
- Magnetic peg door: instead of the end hole, drill a ½" pocket in the underside and close it with a steel washer held by a small rare-earth magnet.
- Engraving: wood-burn a family name, the cottage name or a date at the top end.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Clamp the board to the drill-press fence or table — a ⅛" bit can grab and snap.
- Clamp the board upright in a vise to drill the end hole. Never hold it by hand.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Each player has a track of two rows. Peg up the outer row and back down the inner row (60 holes), go round a second time (120), then peg out in the 121 finish hole.
Yes, but check the shank size first. Most plastic pegs need a ⅛" hole too, but some are thicker. Drill a test hole in an offcut before you drill the board.
Glue a ⅛" dowel or a matching wood plug in it, flush-cut and sand. Then drill in the right spot. It is why we use a story stick and an awl mark for every hole.
Planned offcuts: about 4¾" off the end of each board — enough for coasters or a matching card holder. All 5 boards go into the cribbage boards.
Yes. A 4ft wide pack makes ten boards: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan. Or make five long 'continuous track' boards about 30" long.
