My Twilight Imperium board

I wanted to have a way to confine the tiles for my Twilight Imperium games, and not content with a simple frame (and because we sometimes need to push two tables together), I decided to make a full board:

[click pictures for larger versions]

It has a score track, a space for the Wormhole Nexus, as well as trays for the fighter, ground force, and trade good tokens.

There are a few noticeable empty spaces, but I just put various card decks in those areas to fill the space.

I drafted up the design in AutoCAD, printed out a template/stencil to transfer to the 1/4" birch plywood, then used a router and utility knife to cut out the recesses. My router work in the large tile area isn't too pretty, but you barely see it when playing, so I don't care.

My first attempt at the score track was to cut a stencil out of paper and trying to paint it on with white paint. It looked like garbage from all the paint bleeding under the stencil. So I had to sand it down, re-paint it black, add the stars, then go for round 2. I cut the stencil out of clear contact paper. Stuck it down, painted a single pass of black paint at all the edges to fill in any holes between the stencil and board (to prevent bleed), then gave it a light dusting of silver spray paint. For how much of a hassle it was, it turned out damn near perfect.

Front page this!!

That's fucking awesome!

I would buy one in a heartbeat.

That is a thing of beauty.

Excellent work. What router bit did you use? Did you ever think about doing it as two pieces (seems like it could be done easier with a scroll or jigsaw)?

Nice choice on the birch plywood though, it will last forever and is not stupidly heavy - like MDF.

Bad ass and well done. I wish I had those skills.

Damn, man.

@airmarkus - It doesn't take much skill. I'm no professional; I was basically figuring this stuff out on the fly. I just really enjoy making stuff in general.

fastbilly1 wrote: What router bit did you use?

Just a 1/2" straight router bit I had laying around because I was too cheap to go buy a larger one to save myself a lot of trouble. Luckily I realized before starting that I needed to start from the center and spiral out so at least half of the router plate would still be touching the top surface.

fastbilly1 wrote: Did you ever think about doing it as two pieces (seems like it could be done easier with a scroll or jigsaw)?

That was my original plan, to use two pieces of 1/8", but they were bit warped and I was concerned about how flat it would lay once glued together. So I went with the single piece, which did warp a bit after I removed more than half the layers from the bulk of it, but it's minor enough to not be an issue.

Disgustipater wrote: Luckily I realized before starting that I needed to start from the center and spiral out so at least half of the router plate would still be touching the top surface.

That happens to everyone with a router - No matter the skill level. Atleast you recognized the issue before you started and not after it slipped and cut you...atleast when I did it it was a plunge router, so when I let go it sprung back up and did not gouge my arm too badly.

Disgustipater wrote: That was my original plan, to use two pieces of 1/8", but they were bit warped and I was concerned about how flat it would lay once glued together. So I went with the single piece, which did warp a bit after I removed more than half the layers from the bulk of it, but it's minor enough to not be an issue.

Good thought, it does make a more professional looking final product aswell.