Cribbage Board 18 – Go, Leafs!

Board #18 was a Christmas gift for my brother-in-law, and there was really only one solid log choice, so the Toronto Maple Leafs it was. Go, Leafs!

Here’s the ironic part: this board is a solid slab of oak (not maple). Let’s call it an intentional decision…sure.

It looks like an inlay, but it isn’t. I taped the face, engraved the leaf, and painted the exposed wood blue. Then I re-engraved the design so the bright lines in the leaf are bare oak peeking back through the paint. It’s the only way to get crisp lines amongst the paint — at that scale the tape just peels. You can see the in-process work below.

A satisfying way to work, and the contrast between the automotive paint and the fresh wood came out beautifully.

The back gets a couple extras: a routed peg holder so the pegs don’t wander off, and a keyhole notch so it hangs flat on a wall instead of living in a drawer.

Another one-of-a-kind. And yes, I’m aware I built a Maple Leafs board out of oak…